Yushin Constitution

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The Yushin Constitution (also Yusin Constitution ; kor . : 유신 ; officially: Constitution of the Republic of Korea (No. 8) ) was the eighth constitution of South Korea .

The Korean term Yushin means something like “renewal” or “modernization”, but in this context it is often translated with the word “restoration”. The constitution was shaped by the then President Park Chung-hee , under whose government it was enacted on December 27, 1972 in Seoul . It replaced the seventh constitution of the Republic of Korea, which only came into force in 1969. The decree marks the beginning of the fourth republic , which is also known as the Yushin system or the Yushin period. The constitution was repealed on October 27, 1980.

Park commented on the Yushin system in 1971 as follows:

“The Yushin system is neither imitative nor dependent, but a creative and independent system. We need to change the point of view of the dependent relationships of stronger nations on cooperation and existence with other nations. We have to solve our own problems ourselves in order not to be dependent on other nations. With the help of this system we can then establish self-confidence and independence. "

- Park Chung-hee

prehistory

Need for a new constitution

At the beginning of the 1970s, the situation around South Korea visibly worsened. The Democratic Republican Party ( Korean 민주 공화당 Minjugonghwa-dang ) had to struggle with setbacks for the incumbent President Park, and not just domestically . So was Kim Dae Jung (New Democratic Party, Korean 신민당 SINMIN-dang ) of the votes can unite at the elections in April 1971 about 44 percent and was thus inferior Park just barely. This led to violent student protests that soon spread to large parts of South Korea.

The situation also deteriorated in terms of foreign policy. As a result of the Nixon Doctrine , almost 20,000 American soldiers were withdrawn from Korea - the American forces stationed in South Korea were to be disbanded in the coming years. North Korea's eyes increasingly turned to the south. The government in Seoul tried to get closer to Pyongyang , some of which were very successful.

In order to continue to secure his power and to give South Korea the necessary stability, Park declared a state of emergency on December 6, 1971. Almost eight months later, on October 17, 1972, Park announced during a radio speech that the events of the past few months required a reorganization of the country and a new constitution would have to be passed. Less than a month later, on November 21, a referendum passed a referendum on this new constitution, which was supposed to revive the old power structures of the Rhee era .

Although its contents were well known and the poorer Korean population suffered under Park Chung-hee's government, the election was clearly in favor of the new constitution with 12.8 million votes in favor, 1.08 million against and 1.7 million abstentions out. This was mainly due to the good economic situation in the country, which was strongly promoted by Park's government and created great satisfaction in the middle and upper classes and to the anchoring of the Confucian philosophy in Korean society.

Come into effect

But not only South Korea, but also North Korea is working on a new constitution in the last days of 1972. Almost at the same time, the two new Korean constitutions came into force on December 27, 1972. While the basic features of the constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea still exist today, an amended constitution was passed in 1980 and a new constitution for the Republic of Korea in 1987.

Constitutional content and significant changes

Park was forbidden to run again after his election victory in 1971, as the old constitution only provided for a term of office of a maximum of three terms (amendment of the constitution 1969). In order to remain President of South Korea, he changed the constitution one more time to his advantage.

construction

The Korean constitution consisted of 126 articles, which were divided into 12 chapters. They mainly dealt with the composition of the executive and legislative branches. The new constitution was composed as follows:

preamble

  1. Chapter - general rules
  2. Chapter - Rights and duties of citizens
  3. Chapter - The National Unification Conference
  4. Chapter - President
  5. Chapter - Government
    1. Prime Minister and Council of State members
    2. State Council
    3. Executive Minister
    4. Supervisory authority
  6. National Assembly
  7. dishes
  8. Constitutional Council
  9. elections
  10. Local government
  11. economy
  12. Constitutional amendments

Civil rights

The new constitution brought some disadvantages and restrictions for the Korean people. The constitution itself did not contain any obviously problematic articles, but changed or supplemented existing ones so that they could be interpreted in favor of Park's government. Articles 10 (1) and 32 (2) are particularly striking.

“모든 국민 은 신체 의 자유 를 가진다. 누구 든지 법률 에 의하지 아니하고 는 체포 · 구금 · 압수 · 수색 · 심문 · 처벌 · 강제 노역 과 보안 처분 을 받지 아니한다. ”

“Every citizen should enjoy personal freedom. No one may be arrested, imprisoned, seized, persecuted, interrogated, forced into forced labor or detained for security reasons, unless otherwise provided by law. "

- Article 10 (1), Constitution of the Republic of Korea (No. 8)

“국민 의 자유 와 권리 는 헌법 에 열거 되지 아니한 이유로 경시 되지 아니한다.”

"Laws that restrict the freedom and rights of this nation should only be passed if necessary for national security, administration or for the benefit of the public."

- Article 32 (2), Constitution of the Republic of Korea (No. 8)

These articles severely limited the basic and human rights of citizens, as they could be partially or completely overridden at any time, especially through so-called emergency ordinances.

Emergency Ordinance

In order to grant himself special rights and to be able to act independently of the government if necessary, Park added the extensive emergency ordinances with Article 53. In this way, Park was able to initiate comprehensive emergency measures if necessary. The first of these emergency ordinances, issued on January 8, 1974, prohibited any criticism or opposition of the Yushin Constitution and made it a criminal offense under prison terms. The second emergency ordinance, which came out the same day, stated that violations of this ordinance could be punished without a judicial authority. The ninth emergency ordinance, published in May 1975, brought about radical censorship of the media. In order to cope with the increasingly frequent bloody student movements, demonstrations of any kind, as well as political activities and meetings, especially by students, were prohibited. In order to protect himself against the growing opposition in the National Assembly, he introduced an article that also authorized him to dissolve Parliament in the event of an emergency ordinance.

Term of office and election of the President

As early as 1969, Park had the constitution changed in order to run for a third time. Now it had become necessary to reshape the constitution according to his ideas so that a term of office was possible for life and the complete control of the state was incumbent on him. So he removed the limitation of the terms of office as president and extended the term of office from four to six years. At the same time, he extended the term of office of the members of the National Assembly by two years, also to six years. However, the term of office of the members elected by the national reunification conference was reduced to three years. Park wanted to create a more stable and long-term government.

The new constitution also made some significant changes to the structure of government. Thus, in Chapter III, the “National Unification Conference” was introduced as a state organ. This body should act as the electoral body for the presidential election. This returned to the original presidential electoral system from the times under Rhee Syng-man, which had been replaced by general, equal and secret direct elections since the 6th constitution. Park was allowed by law to be elected indefinitely and to extend his term for life.

Organs and electoral bodies

National reunification conference

The formation of the executive and legislative branches under the Yushin Constitution

The National Reunification Conference ( hangeul : 통일 주체 국민회 의) was established as the main electoral body in the Yushin Constitution. Its members were elected in direct general elections and were not allowed to hold public office or be a member of a political party. In addition, they were not allowed to belong to the National Assembly. The number of delegates had to be between 2,000 and 5,000 people. Since, above all, many representatives from business were running for a place in the national reunification conference and the reforms of recent years had had significant positive effects on business, the conference consisted mainly of park sympathizers.

In another election, the President was elected by the National Unification Conference.

However, the National Unification Conference was given another important task. She was allowed to vote for a third of the National Assembly. These elections were based on a list drawn up by the President in which he proposed potential candidates. The national reunification conference could either accept it completely or reject it. It was also empowered to decide on constitutional amendments that had been passed by the National Assembly.

The National Assembly

The National Assembly of the Republic of South Korea , also Gukhoe ( hangeul : 국회), was anchored in the first constitution of the Republic of Korea in 1948. It is the legislature in Korea to this day and is ranked third in today's constitution. The Yushin Constitution, however, gave it only a subordinate place and reduced its sphere of influence. 1/3 of the National Assembly was determined indirectly by the President and elected by the National Unification Conference. Together with the votes of the DRP - which in the meantime could no longer unite the sole absolute majority of the votes - Park could be sure of his government, since he now knew half of all votes behind him.

With this system, Park had protected himself from the growing mistrust of the poorer population and the increasingly stronger opposition party and thus created a legal dictatorship.

Demonstrations and the end of the Yushin Constitution

After the introduction of the new constitution, there were several protests. Park issued the first emergency ordinances in the following years. After that it became quieter in the country. An election conducted in 1975 was intended to show whether the population was still behind the policies of their president. Park just won it.

In spite of all the measures Park took, the population became increasingly unsettled. In July 1978 he was successfully re-elected, but his party lost a majority in parliament with only 68 seats. In order to remain capable of governing, the members proposed by him, who were elected by the national reunification conference, had to be consulted.

End of the Yushin Constitution

When the opposition leader Kim Young-sam was re-confirmed in his office as president of the opposition party in 1979 and began to criticize the regime by easing the emergency regulations (now permitted again), Park saw his government in danger. Taking advantage of the laws of the Yushin Constitution, the government withdrew Kim's seat in the National Assembly on October 4th . In solidarity, all opposition politicians also resigned from their seats.

The lack of opposition worries citizens so much that the following weeks lead to the most violent uprisings to date under the Yushin Constitution. When Park attempted to use military force to crush the protest movements that were spreading like wildfire, the situation escalated. This protest movement was also called the Busan Masan Protests .

These measures also met with great resistance from park supporters. On the evening of October 26, 1979, Park was shot dead by his intelligence chief Kim Jae-kyu while they were having dinner together. According to his own statements, he had done this to give democracy in South Korea a new chance.

After Park's assassination, the system he set up began to falter. After Choi Kyu-ha's appointment as temporary president, voices were raised calling for a new constitution. There were repeated violent protests, mostly by students. On October 27, 1980, under the newly elected President Chun Doo-hwan, a new constitution came into force, which, however, corresponded to a modified form of the Yushin constitution. Until another constitution was enacted in 1986, which provided for a fully functioning democracy for the first time since Park came to power, the Republic of Korea was in turbulent times.

literature

  • Jun-Sang Bae: The position of the president in the Korean constitution of December 26, 1962 - a comparative law analysis. Inaugural dissertation to obtain a doctorate from a high law faculty at the University of Cologne. Cologne 1970.
  • Bong-Gyu Ha: Bonapartist authoritarianism in South Korea: Political Economy of the Yushin System, 1972-1979 . Inaugural dissertation to obtain the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Social Sciences and Philosophy of the Philipps University of Marburg, dissertation, University of Marburg 1989.
  • James E. Hoare and Susan Pares: Conflict in Korea - an encyclopedia . ABC-CLIO Inc., 1999, ISBN 978-0-87436-978-6 .
  • Kyung Moon Hwang: A history of korea . Palgrave macmillian, New York 2010, ISBN 978-0-230-20546-8 .
  • Gottfried-Karl Kindermann: The Rise of Korea in World Politics - From the Opening of the Country to the Present . OLZOG Verlag GmbH, Munich 2005, ISBN 978-3-95768-014-3 .
  • Hiyoul Kim: Korean History - An introduction to Korean history from prehistory to modern times . ASGARD Verlag Dr. Werner Hippe GmbH, St. Augustin 2004, ISBN 978-3-537-82040-2 .
  • Jonggab Kim: Effects and limits of political legitimacy and the regime stability of authoritarian rule illustrated using the example of South Korea . Inaugural dissertation to obtain a doctorate in philosophy (Dr. phil.) At the Department of Political and Social Sciences of the Otto Suhr Institute for Political Science at the Free University of Berlin, 2003 Berlin.
  • Marie Seong-Hak Kim: Constitutional Jurisprudence and the Rule of Law: Revisiting the Courts in Yusin Korea (1972–1980) , Hague Journal on the Rule of Law, Volume 5, Issue 2, Springer International Publishing Springer Science & Business Media, 2013 .
  • Marion Eggert and Jörg Plassen: Small History of Korea . CHBeck oHG, Munich 2005, ISBN 978-3-406-52841-5 .
  • Michael E. Robinson: Korea's Twentieth-Century Odyssey - a short history . University of Hawai'i Press, 2007.

further reading

  • Byung-Kook Kim: The Park Chung Hee Era: The Transformation of South Korea , Harvard University Press, 2013, ISBN 978-0-67407-231-2 .
  • Jin-Wook Shin: Modernization and Civil Society in South Korea: On the Dynamics of Violence and Holiness in Modern Politics (Social Sciences), German University Press, 2005, ISBN 978-3-82444-590-5 .
  • Jürgen Kleiner: Korea: A Century of Change , World Scientific Publishing Company, 2001, ISBN 978-9-81024-657-0 .
  • Thomas Kern: South Korea's Path to Democracy: Modernization, Protest, Regime Change (Studies on Democracy Research ), Campus Verlag, 2005, ISBN 978-3-59337-862-6.
  • Yong-Hun Jo: Development Policy and Church in South Korea , Waxmann Verlag, 2001, ISBN 978-3-83091-007-7 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Kyung Moon Hwang: A History of Korea . Palgrave Macmillian, New York 2010, ISBN 1-4039-3811-3 , pp. 237-238 .
  2. ↑ Park, Chung-Hee: Selected Speeches of the President Park Chung-Hee, Vol. II, Seoul, 1973, p. 22; Quoted from: Jonggab Kim: Effects and limits of political legitimacy and the regime stability of authoritarian rule illustrated using the example of South Korea. Inaugural dissertation to obtain a doctorate in philosophy (Dr. phil.) At the Department of Political and Social Sciences of the Otto Suhr Institute for Political Science at the Free University of Berlin, 2003, Berlin, Chapter 4, p. 75
  3. ↑ a b c Gottfried-Karl Kindermann: The rise of Korea in world politics - from the opening of the country to the present . OLZOG Verlag GmbH, Munich 2005, ISBN 978-3-7892-8165-5 , p. 175 .
  4. ↑ Kim Hiyoul: Korean History - Introduction to Korean History from Prehistory to Modernity . ASGARD Verlag Dr. Werner Hippe GmbH, St. Augustin 2004, ISBN 3-537-82040-2 , pp. 311-312 .
  5. ↑ a b Gottfried-Karl Kindermann: The Rise of Korea in World Politics - From the Opening of the Country to the Present . OLZOG Verlag GmbH, Munich 2005, ISBN 3-7892-8165-4 , p. 174 .
  6. ↑ Michael E. Robinson: Korea's Twentieth-Century Odyssey - A Short History . University of Hawai'i Press, 2007, ISBN 978-0-8248-3174-5 , pp. 135 .
  7. ↑ Marie Seong-Hak Kim: Constitutional Jurisprudence and the Rule of Law: Revisiting the Courts in Yusin Korea (1972–1980) . In: Hague Journal on the Rule of Law . tape 5 , no. 2 . Springer International Publishing Springer Science & Business Media, 2013, p. 179, 181 ff .
  8. ↑ Hiyoul Kim: Korean History - Introduction to Korean History from Prehistory to Modernity . ASGARD Verlag Dr. Werner Hippe GmbH, St. Augustin 2004, ISBN 3-537-82040-2 , pp. 315-316 .
  9. ^ A b Michael E. Robinson: Korea's Twentieth-Century Odyssey - A Short History . University of Hawai'i Press, 2007, ISBN 978-0-8248-3174-5 , pp. 136 .
  10. ^ Text of President Park's statement on October 17, 1972 . In: Koreana Quarterly . tape XIV , 4, Winter 1972/1973, 1973, pp. 75-78 .
  11. ↑ Park's speech on political system change . In: Koreana Quarterly . tape XIV , 4, Winter 1972/73, 1973, pp. 79-85 .
  12. ^ Wording of the new South Korean constitution. In: Koreana Quarterly . tape XIV , 4, Winter 1972/73, 1973, pp. 86-111 .
  13. ↑ Korean Constitution (No. 8), Article 36 (2)
  14. ↑ Michael E. Robinson: Korea's Twentieth-Century Odyssey - A Short History . University of Hawai'i Press, 2007, ISBN 978-0-8248-3174-5 , pp. 136-137 .
  15. ↑ Gottfried-Karl Kindermann: The Rise of Korea in World Politics - From the Opening of the Country to the Present . OLZOG Verlag GmbH, Munich 2005, ISBN 978-3-7892-8165-5 , p. 138 .
  16. ^ Byung-Kook Kim: The Park Chung Hee Era: The Transformation of South Korea . Harvard University Press, 2013, ISBN 978-0-674-07231-2 , pp. 166-167 .
  17. ^ Theo Sommer: Murder in the evening. Zeit Online, 1979, accessed November 2, 1979 .
  18. ↑ Gottfried-Karl Kindermann: The Rise of Korea in World Politics - From the Opening of the Country to the Present . OLZOG Verlag GmbH, Munich 2005, ISBN 978-3-7892-8165-5 , p. 184 .