[Insight & Opinion] The Impeachment Game and Collectivism

The Power of Collectivism Returns in the Impeachment Crisis
"Yoon Seok-yeol Out" vs. "Lee Jae-myung Out"
A Political Game of Who Goes First

South Korea is known to have a stronger collectivist tendency than Western countries. People in our country tend to be conscious of others' views and follow the majority within a group. The national individualism index published by Hofstede in the early 1980s indicated that a lower score meant lower individualism and higher collectivism. At that time, South Korea scored only 18 out of 100. There was no disagreement that South Korea was a collectivist society.

Recently, changes have occurred. A foreign research institute following Hofstede re-measured South Korea's individualism index using the same scale as in the 1980s. Surprisingly, it came out to 58 points (2024). Over more than 40 years, Korean society has absorbed Western-style individualism like a sponge. The younger generation's avoidance of marriage and childbirth is also related to this. However, another indicator related to collectivism, 'Confucian dynamism,' showed almost no difference between now and the 1980s. In short, modern Korean society exhibits both collectivist and individualist tendencies, with one or the other becoming prominent depending on the situation.

During the impeachment crisis of President Yoon Seok-yeol, the collectivist trend showed its power again. Yoon's expectation that the agenda of rebellion and riot would compete with the runaway agenda of the National Assembly was off the mark. The opposition party holding the impeachment rights, some ruling party members, five major investigative agencies, media, and the popular culture sector joined as reinforcements. The president's duties were suspended 11 days after the martial law incident.

The movements in the entertainment industry were particularly interesting. On the day the first presidential impeachment motion failed, Lim Young-woong posted a 'birthday celebration for his pet dog' on social networking services (SNS), and Cha Eun-woo posted a photo shoot. Both suffered hardships. Gong Yoo's past remark calling Park Chung-hee a "cool man" was also criticized. Afterward, a 'spiral of silence' operated in that world. No one made any more thoughtless remarks.

Prominent entertainers and the cultural and artistic community repeatedly signed declarations urging impeachment. Even among those with progressive tendencies, opinions on certain events inevitably vary slightly from person to person. Nevertheless, these political declarations, in which all signatories express the same opinion, reflect a facet of Korean collectivism. Entertainers, as 'free spirits,' participated without hesitation. The expressions in their declarations, such as "punish the coup forces," were as direct as the Democratic Party's comments. The unique implication and aesthetics typical of artists were not felt. Nobel laureate Han Kang only said, "I hope we do not return to a situation controlled by force and coercion," providing a contrast. In the process of collective expression, restraint in expression is difficult.

The commonality between Park Geun-hye's impeachment and Yoon Seok-yeol's impeachment is the high approval rate for impeachment, exceeding 80%. This likely also reflects the cultural characteristic of Korean society where, once a certain situational model is formed, collectivism spreads like wildfire and public opinion tilts to one side.

The difference between the two impeachments is that public outrage against Yoon Seok-yeol is weaker than against Park Geun-hye. Looking at the results, no one among the characters was harmed during Yoon's martial law. There was little impact on citizens' daily lives. It feels like watching a two-hour movie with a sloppy plot. It is hard to be engulfed in anger, though cynicism is possible. The scale of candlelight protests and defections within the ruling party was much smaller than during Park Geun-hye's impeachment. Yoon's impeachment increasingly takes on the character of a political game about whether Yoon Seok-yeol or Lee Jae-myung will be ousted first.

The problem is that the key factor determining the outcome of the game is not legal principles or evidence but public opinion riding on collectivism. Groups do not admit their mistakes. Once a public opinion trial direction is formed, it rarely changes until the desired result is achieved.

Heo Man-seop, Professor at Gangneung-Wonju National University

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