What Delays Democratic Consolidation in South Korea?

Economic development led to the transition to democracy in South Korea. However, South Korea’s democracy is not consolidated according to the maximalist definition despite that South Korea transitioned to democracy almost three decades ago. Factors that facilitated democratization, such as strong leadership and Confucianism seem to delay democratic consolidation in South Korea. Confucianism helped economic growth thanks to its promotion of work ethics. The government-led economic development paradigm or the statist approach was the basis of South Korea’s economic success. However, Confucius-based political culture led to personalism, resulting in a weak political party system. The statist approach led to the concentration of power in the president. These factors slow down the maturation of democratic institutions, which delays democratic consolidation in South Korea.