How Citizens Reshaped the Path of Presidential Impeachment in Korea

This study aims to explain what facilitates presidential impeachment in Korea. More specifically, it compares the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye with the case of former president Roh Moo-hyun, and examines how citizens reshaped the power relationship between the ruling and opposition parties, and, finally, led to the impeachment of the president. This study claims that presidential impeachment is a political punishment of citizens and that a legislative shield or a judiciary shield is not sufficient to protect presidents from impeachment when most citizens turn their backs against the incumbent president. Generating strong and widespread public support or resistance is the most critical determinant of the success or failure of an attempt to impeach a president, especially in those new democracies where party systems are less stable and political parties are less cohesive.