Knowledge by the Slice | Whither South Korean Democracy?: Democratic Backsliding, Executive Power, and Constitutional Governing

Penn Arts & Sciences' long-running Knowledge by the Slice lunchtime series offers educational talks led by our insightful faculty experts. Did we mention there’s pizza? So, come for the discussion and have a slice on us. 

On December 3, 2024, in a surprising move, President Yoon of South Korea declared emergency martial law, which was revoked six hours later after lawmakers blocked the order with a Parliament vote. Along with the indictment of the president on insurrection charges, the Constitutional Court is conducting the impeachment trial.

This panel, which consists of three Penn faculty members in political science and law, and moderated by the director of the James Joo-Jin Kim Center for Korean Studies, starts with some background and context leading to this political turmoil in South Korea, then delves into how the political crisis there can be understood in relation to the global trends of democratic backsliding and consolidation of executive power. The panel will conclude with some thoughts about the future of constitutional governing and implications for the relationship between South Korea and the United States.  

This event is free and open to the public. Click on the link below to register to attend the event in person or watch a livestream via Zoom Webinar. 

Register Here

Moderator

Hyunjoon Park, Korea Foundation Professor of Sociology and Director, James Joo-Jin Kim Program in Korean Studies  

Panelists 

Soosun You, Senior Fellow in Political Science
Soosun You is a political scientist specializing in comparative politics with an emphasis on gender and politics and political behavior, and regional expertise in South Korea. You is currently working on a book project that examines the relationship between demographic policies and women’s empowerment, focusing primarily on the case of South Korea. Drawing on archival research, observational and survey data analyses, the book investigates the emergence of government policies on having children, and how they have evolved, as South Korea transitioned from an autocracy to a democracy in the past few decades. The book also argues that demographic policies have played a dual role—first expanding women’s rights and later fueling a backlash against women’s empowerment

Jane Esberg, Assistant Professor of Political Science
Jane Esberg is an Assistant Professor of Political Science and a faculty affiliate at the Center for Latin American and Latinx Studies. Her research uses text and statistical analysis to better understand authoritarian repression and censorship. She received her PhD at Stanford, after which she was a postdoctoral fellow at Princeton and the International Crisis Group.

William Burke-White, Richard Perry Professor and Professor of Law
House, and a co-faculty lead for the Global Order: Power, Technology, and Governance research theme at Perry World House. He is an expert on international law and global governance and served in the Obama Administration from 2009-2011 on Secretary Clinton’s Policy Planning Staff, providing the Secretary direct policy advice on multilateral diplomacy and international institutions. His current research explores gaps in the global governance system and the challenges of international legal regulation in a world of rising powers and divergent interests.

This event is co-hosted by Penn Arts & Sciences, the James Joo-Jin Kim Center for Korean Studies, and Perry World House. 

Knowledge by the Slice is generously funded by the Adolf and Felicia Leon Fund, which supports Penn Arts & Sciences programming and lecture series.