activities.
65
This unfair enforcement tended to breed distrust of law and of
law-enforcement authority. In sum, much of Korean society is trapped in a
vicious circle of socially stratified lawlessness, the enactment of unfair laws,
and their arbitrary enforcement.
v. concluding remarks
In the first decade of the twenty-first century, Korean constitutionalism took on a
new dimension after the first phase of democratization lapsed in six consecutive
transfers of power since 1987. The conservative presidency of Lee Myong-bak
between 2008 and 2013 was a contrast to the previous ten years of liberal or
progressive governments of presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun. Undoing
President Lee’s unexpected retroactive approaches and setbacks to constitutional
developments such as popular participation in the political process and better
protection of human rights will be seen by many Korean people as the outstanding
task for the new president Park Geun-hye beginning after one circle of transfer of
powers between the main political forces since the establishment of the so-called
1987 constitutional system. In addition, the global financial crisis of 2007 – 10
spurred many Korean people to advocate more procedural democracy, social
regulation of the market and fair distribution of social resources, all of which are
democratization goals.
In conclusion, after experiencing the ups and downs of constitutional develop-
ment in the first stage of the new millennium, upgrading constitutionalism in the
direction of enhancing both procedural democracy and social equalization now
constitutes a return to the verified agenda that the first generation of the 1987
constitutional system in Korea set forth.
(^65) Civil Proceedings Panel 51 of South Branch of Seoul District Court 2010 KaHap 211 , April 15
2010. See also “Lawmaker ignores court ruling, discloses members of liberal teachers’
union,” Yonhap News Agency, April 19 , 2010 ,athttp://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/jscript/
EnPrint.html.