By Lee Jong-eun
Many parts of the world have been closely following this year’s U.S. presidential election. Amid surprises and anxieties, international observers have followed a series of dramatic events, such as assassination attempts on former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris replacing President Joe Biden as the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, keeping the race unpredictable and competitive.
Korea is among the countries watching the U.S. election results with keen interest. A primary reason for this attention is the significant impact the next U.S. president will have on the geopolitics of the Korean Peninsula. Another reason is that Korean politics have long looked toward the United States as a political model.
South Korea’s first president, Syngman Rhee, rejected proposals for a European-style parliamentary system, instead pushing for the adoption of an American-style presidential system. Korea has frequently debated adopting multiple features of the U.S. political system, such as two-term presidency, to strengthen Korea’s political democracy. For many Korean citizens who are critical of their country’s politics, U.S. politics has often been perceived as having greater stability, pragmatism and accountability.
Yet, this year’s presidential election has shown that similar to multiple contemporary democracies, the U.S. political system also experiences significant political challenges. What lessons, then, can Korea draw from observing the current state of U.S. politics?
Some aspects of contemporary U.S. politics are less applicable to Korea. Certain social issues that polarize U.S. politics, such as gun control and abortion, do not define political cleavages in Korean politics. As still a largely ethnically homogenous country with a high percentage of college-educated citizens, Korean politics does not experience the same degree of partisan divides along the lines of ethnicity or education as seen in U.S. politics. A foreign policy rhetoric similar to “America First” will likely have difficulty finding political traction in South Korea, which relies on economic and security partnerships with other countries such as the United States. Finally, Korea elects its president through a direct popular vote rather than through an electoral college system.
Other characteristics of U.S. politics, however, provide relevant lessons for contemporary Korea. First, the two major U.S. political parties are likely to exhibit selective empathy toward the political activism of various domestic groups. Trump’s Republican Party is more likely to affirm empathy toward the activisms of voters protesting what they perceive as the imposition of liberal cultural values and the burdens of international trade and alliances. In contrast, Harris’s Democratic Party is more likely to affirm empathy toward the voters protesting the perceived reversal of socioeconomic progress and the erosion of U.S. global leadership. Across the political spectrum, voters’ fear of the political outcome has amplified, with anxiety and aversion toward the outcome where the party less empathetic to their concerns wins the presidency.
Second, U.S. politics is experiencing increased desensitization to political scandals and violence, reinforced by a partisan outlook on national politics. Voters supporting Trump are more likely to ignore new controversies concerning their candidate, anchored in their preference for his presidency over that of the opponent. In contrast, voters opposed to Trump are more likely to react resignedly to the news of assassination attempts on Trump as a continuation of political instability fueled at least partly by Trump’s own divisive rhetoric.
Third, hyper-partisanship has encouraged challenges to long-standing political traditions and practices once regarded as essential for political stability but now perceived as favorable to the rival party. Since his first presidential term, Trump has shown a willingness to reverse diplomatic agreements and political precedents. Criticizing the “weaponization” of the judiciary system in prosecuting Trump, Republicans have become vocal in criticizing the actions of courts and prosecutors. The Democrats, in contrast, have also become vocal in their opposition to the U.S. Senate’s supermajority rule, filibuster and Supreme Court’s lifetime appointments as granting partisan advantages to conservative Republicans.
These trends in contemporary U.S. politics serve as warnings for Korea’s democracy, which faces similar political challenges. As Korean society becomes diversified with competing demands from various social demographic groups, there are concerns that Korea’s political parties are also incentivized to exhibit selective empathy toward specific groups, potentially fueling antipathy among groups with conflicting socioeconomic interests. Specifically, as Korea grapples with reforms in education, labor and pension systems, there are dangers that a culture war similar to that in the U.S. could occur if a certain group perceives neglect in empathy by one of the major parties. As multiple high-profile figures in contemporary South Korean politics face political controversies and legal trials, there are also risks that the South Korean public may become politically desensitized. Anchored in their aversion toward a particular political party whether ruling or the opposition, Korean voters may exhibit static partisan loyalty, minimally affected by news of political scandals or legal verdicts.
Finally, Korea may face a similar temptation to adopt a “winner-take-all” approach to politics. Frustrated by perceived obstruction from the opposition, the winning party may be motivated to maximize its political mandate to enact policy changes by reducing the number or ability of potential “veto players.” While such changes could facilitate the quicker passage of major reforms, they also risk escalating hyper-partisan political conflicts.
How will contemporary U.S. politics overcome the challenges of selective empathy, political desensitization and hyper-partisanship that will likely persist beyond this year’s presidential election? As contemporary South Korean politics struggles to address similar political challenges, the U.S. political system continues to serve as a model, for positive and cautionary lessons. And perhaps, South Korean politics may also find solutions that offer relevant lessons for the United States.
Lee Jong-eun is an assistant professor of political science at North Greenville University.
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