[Book Sip] Saving Democracy Returning to the Age of Monarchs: 'The President's Task'

Some sentences encapsulate the entire content of the book itself, while others instantly reach the reader's heart, creating a connection with the book. We excerpt and introduce such meaningful sentences from the book. - Editor's note

Analyzing Korean democracy through the lens of economics. It reveals why and in what ways we are failing and seeks solutions. In particular, it closely examines the case of the Moon Jae-in administration over the past five years. The author points out that today's Korean democracy is at a dangerous stage. It vividly shows how the principles of democracy, which we have unconditionally regarded as right, are corrupted when they meet populism.

According to the Constitutional Court's ruling, the reason President Park Geun-hye was impeached was that she abused the authority entrusted to her by the people for personal purposes. The background of the abuse of power was attributed to "the power structure of our constitution, criticized as the 'imperial presidency'." ... The anti-corruption demands shouted at rallies organized by the resignation movement were thoroughly focused solely on Park Geun-hye as an individual, whether it was people or policies. There was not a single word about the causes and solutions of the state affairs manipulation scandal. ... The limitation of failing to properly point out the cause of presidential power abuse appeared in the next administration. The Blue House under President Moon Jae-in became "a Blue House that is clearly stronger than before in terms of budget, personnel scale, and visible influence." Rather than reducing the excessive presidential power that caused the state affairs manipulation, it actually increased. Moreover, the anti-corruption campaign, biased by the theory of factional cleansing, escalated into extreme factional conflicts.

- From Chapter 1: "Ominous Signs Revealed in the Candlelight Protests"

From Roh Moo-hyun, Lee Myung-bak, Park Geun-hye to Moon Jae-in, the imperial presidential power remained unchanged. Money politics also persisted. The rent-seeking using the economic monopoly power of conglomerates and the private gain of the family heads actually grew in scale. A significant change was the participation of the urban upper-income class in the new rent alliance. People at the top of income and assets, such as large corporations, regular workers in the public sector, and apartment owners in the Seoul metropolitan area, built solid walls between classes. The soaring apartment prices in the metropolitan area, far exceeding the rise in median wages, also created enormous rents. Jobs and real estate are new keys to entering the 21st-century elite alliance... The reason Korea has not transitioned to proper democracy is that it has failed to find ways to loosen and dismantle this elite rent alliance.

- From Chapter 2: "The Cruel History of Presidents"

The Moon Jae-in administration, upon its launch, attributed the rise in housing prices to speculators and advocated for the eradication of real estate corruption. It imposed punitive taxes on multi-homeowners or owners of high-priced homes, consoling the grievances of the homeless common people. ... The government's real estate policy focused on demand regulation. It regulated housing-related loans and raised taxes. It even regulated redevelopment, claiming it was a target of speculation. The idea was that since speculators were to blame, traps (pinpoint regulations) should be set wherever speculators moved. However, when loans were regulated, everyone from those trying to buy new apartments to those selling their current apartments to move to new ones faced difficulties. Under these conditions, loan regulation inevitably created the paradox of loan inequality. The policy of imposing sin taxes on real estate was also negative. ... Ultimately, the ruling Democratic Party created patchwork policies over four years, raising and lowering tax rates and expanding and narrowing the scope.

- From Chapter 3: "Politics Against Economics"

The President's Homework | Written by Han Ji-won | HanbitBiz | 256 pages | 16,500 KRW

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.