Continuing our Referendum Rundown, Japan’s political situation has become ever more precarious for the long standing LDP. After a drawn out election cycle, Japan has elected its first ever female leader: Sanae Takaichi. She has had a long career as a politician and served in the Abe Administration for years. Many are already calling her Japan’s Iron Woman. In fact, Takaichi has publicly mentioned her adoration for the late British Prime Minister, having drawn inspiration for her signature blue suits from Thatcher’s iconic blue suits of the 1980’s..
Voting for the next South Korea president is already underway with early and shipboard voting having commenced earlier in the week. South Korea’s democracy is a major facet of what makes South Korea a success story. June 3rd will only be South Korea’s 21st presidential election. While it looked like Lee was going to win in a landslide, the conservative candidates have made some serious headway in the last few weeks. But we entered the polling blackout period, one of the many unique ways South Korea tries to regulate, protect, and promote its elections. Let’s take a look at some facets of Korea elections that make the system unique, as they are laid out in the Public Official Election Act (POEA).
Welcome to our Referendum Rundown! Our new series on elections from around the world. This series will take a look at elections from around the world. Coverage will cover different aspects of elections including, candidate rundowns, predictions and implications, and results and analysis. Our election coverage will often have a foreign policy angle, as that is our expertise, and it ensures relevance to global audiences. My personal interest and expertise will mean that you can expect coverage to focus on Northeast Asia, specifically South Korea. However, my own intrigue will often lead me to explore elections from around the pacific. In the coming days you can expect pieces previewing several key elections from around the Indo-pacific. Australia, South Korea, and Canada are all set to have elections in the coming weeks. While other states, like Japan, are inching their way towards a general election in the near future.
In 2024, the world saw the most people in human history cast their ballots for their respective states. As we have come to see, democracy can be a fragile system. We should stop and take the time to appreciate the time we live in. Millions of people get to have a voice in the government that rules over them. This concept would be unheard of just a few centuries ago. When each person gets a say in politics, politics becomes messy. The electoral process is attempting to get a group of people to have a conversation and come to a decision. This conversation becomes increasingly complicated. It’s difficult to have a productive meeting with 5 people talking, let alone millions. This messy, complicated, and fragile system creates equally complicated, and at times, unexpected results.
Whether or not we will ever see more people vote than in 2024 is yet to be seen. We are in a time of democratic backsliding across the globe, making each election increasingly important to watch. It is our goal to bring you along for the crazy ride that is a world full of vibrant elections from all around the world!
Chaos broke out at the Western Seoul District in the early hours of the morning on January 19th. They furiously ran through the court house, destroying and defacing everything in their path. The mob made it as far up as the 7th floor, where the judges’ offices are located. The staff that were working in the building at the time were forced to hide on the roof of the building behind a makeshift barricade. According to reporting by the Korea Times, 63 people have been arrested and formally charged for the violence at the Courthouse. Many traditional media sources, observers, and ordinary citizens are comparing the violence in South Korea, to the violence from January 6th 2021 in Washington DC.
South Korea’s National Assembly has impeached a president for the second time in almost 7 years. (Background on that can be found in our prior missive.) South Korean President Yoon, former Prosecutor General, has found himself in a legally precarious position. He is facing 2 major investigations. The case focused on his impeachment from office will be heard by the constitutional court starting December 27th. The court has impeach presidents before, this is not uncharted territory. However, this is the first time ⅓ of the bench is vacant. Yoon’s martial law debacle has put the South Korean political system on full display, the good and the bad. The international community has heralded South Korea as one of the strongest democracies in Asia, especially after seeing how civil society reacted to the martial law declaration. However, Yoon’s declaration has exposed a critical flaw in South Korea’s democratic system – judicial appointments.
Update: 7:54am PST, December 14, 2024—According to the Associated Press, South Korean President Yoon has been impeached by the National Assembly. The powers of the Presidency have been transferred to Prime Minister Han Duck-Soo. The Constitutional Court will have 180 days to rule on Yoon’s impeachment.
South Koreans and international observers are struggling to remember a time when tension on the Korean Peninsula has been higher. We have seen North Korea sending trash balloons into South Korea, including over the Blue House, so in response, Seoul resumed loudspeaker broadcasts towards the North. In recent days, we have even seen North Korea send over 7,000 troops to reinforce Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.
