🚨 Change of Government: Core Principle of Democracy and Peaceful Transfer of Power

Today Korean Social News | 2025.06.04

📌 Lee Jae-myung Wins Presidential Election After 3 Years - Strong Victory in Seoul Area and Honam Region

💬 In the 21st presidential election, Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung is confirmed to win against People Power Party candidate Kim Moon-soo by a 5.5 percentage point margin. With 73% of votes counted, Lee Jae-myung recorded 48.5% of the vote. Strong support from the Seoul metropolitan area and Honam region was decisive. This presidential election was held early after former President Yoon Suk-yeol's impeachment and martial law crisis, leading to a change of government after 3 years. Candidate Lee Jae-myung expressed gratitude for the people's choice and stated his will to meet public expectations.

Summary

• Change of government means the process where political power moves from one political group to another.
• Peaceful change of government through elections is a core principle of democracy that prevents power monopoly.
• Change of government is an important system that reflects people's will in politics and increases political stability.

1️⃣ Definition

Change of government means the process where political power moves from one political group to another political group. Simply put, it's when the power to run a country moves from one political party or politician to another political party or politician.

This means more than just changing the president - it involves completely changing the direction of national management, policies, and personnel appointments.

💡 Why is it important?

• Prevents power monopoly and corruption to keep democracy healthy.
• Allows various opinions and demands from citizens to be reflected in politics.
• Provides opportunities for change while ensuring political stability and continuity.
• Prevents abuse of power through checks and balances on ruling groups.

2️⃣ Methods and Characteristics of Government Change

📕 Main Methods of Government Change

• Government change happens in various ways. The main methods are:

  • Change through elections: When opposition parties win presidential elections or general elections and take power. This is the most common and desirable form in democratic countries.
  • Change through impeachment: When presidents or high officials violate the constitution or laws, the National Assembly impeaches them and the Constitutional Court accepts it, leading to power change.
  • Change through resignation: When presidents or prime ministers voluntarily resign taking political responsibility, leading to power transfer.
  • Change through parliamentary no-confidence: In parliamentary systems, when the National Assembly votes no-confidence in the cabinet, leading to government change.

• There are conditions for peaceful government change. The main conditions are:

  • Free and fair election systems must be established.
  • Political pluralism must be guaranteed so various political groups can compete.
  • Rule of law must be established so power transfer follows the constitution and laws.
  • Civil society must be developed to monitor and check political processes.
  • Freedom of press must be guaranteed to provide fair information and criticism.

📕 Effects and Meaning of Government Change

• Government change brings various effects to the political system. The main effects are:

  • Power checks: Ruling groups cannot monopolize power and are always checked, preventing corruption and tyranny.
  • Policy innovation: New political groups can try different policies and approaches when they take power.
  • Strengthened democratic legitimacy: Power change by people's choice strengthens the legitimacy of the political system.
  • Increased political participation: The possibility of change through elections increases people's desire to participate in politics.

• There are characteristics that appear during government change. The main characteristics are:

  • Personnel changes: Large-scale personnel changes occur from cabinet-level high officials to working-level staff.
  • Policy transitions: Previous government policies are modified or abolished and new policies are introduced.
  • Organizational restructuring: Government organizations are expanded, reduced, or merged.
  • Change in governing philosophy: The basic direction and values of government management change.
  • Evaluation of past governments: Verification and evaluation of achievements and failures of previous governments occur.

Major Issues in Government Change

1. Policy continuity: Possibility of confusion and national losses due to rapid policy changes
2. Political revenge: Problems where new governments politically retaliate against previous government personnel
3. Administrative vacuum: Possible gaps in national management during handover processes
4. Social conflict: Conflicts and divisions between supporter groups regarding government change
5. International relations: Instability in international relations due to foreign policy changes

3️⃣ History and Characteristics of Government Change in Korea

✅ Major Cases of Government Change in Korea

• Korea has experienced various types of government change. The main cases are:

  • 1960 April 19 Revolution: The Rhee Syngman government fell due to national resistance against election fraud and dictatorship, ending the First Republic.
  • 1961 May 16 Military Coup: Military forces led by Park Chung-hee seized power through a coup.
  • 1979 October 26 Incident: After President Park Chung-hee's assassination, the Chun Doo-hwan government came to power through a transitional government.
  • 1987 Democratization: Direct presidential election constitutional amendment was achieved through the June Democratic Uprising, and democracy began to take root.
  • 1998 Kim Dae-jung Government: This was the first peaceful government change where an opposition candidate took power through elections.

• Democratic government change has been established since 1987. The main features are:

  • 1998: Kim Dae-jung (New Politics National Congress) ← Kim Young-sam (Democratic Liberal Party) rule
  • 2008: Lee Myung-bak (Grand National Party) ← Roh Moo-hyun (Uri Party) rule
  • 2017: Moon Jae-in (Democratic Party) ← Park Geun-hye (Saenuri Party) rule (early change through impeachment)
  • 2022: Yoon Suk-yeol (People Power Party) ← Moon Jae-in (Democratic Party) rule
  • 2025: Lee Jae-myung (Democratic Party) ← Yoon Suk-yeol (People Power Party) rule (early change through impeachment)

✅ Characteristics and Challenges of Korean Government Change

• Korean government change has unique characteristics. The main characteristics are:

  • Regionalism: Government change tends to be based on concentrated support from specific regions.
  • Ideological confrontation: Clear ideological differences between conservative and progressive camps lead to stark policy changes.
  • Settling past accounts: New governments repeatedly investigate and punish corruption of previous governments.
  • Radical change: There's a tendency to pursue comprehensive and radical policy changes rather than gradual reforms.

• There are challenges that appear during government change. The main challenges are:

  • Ensuring national continuity: Must minimize confusion from rapid policy changes and maintain stable national management.
  • Social integration: Must heal social conflicts and divisions from government change and achieve national unity.
  • Rational settlement of past issues: Need rational settlement of past issues based on law and principles, not political revenge.
  • Institutional development: Government change should lead to democratic development and institutional improvement.
  • Maintaining international trust: Must prevent loss of international trust due to rapid changes in foreign policy.

4️⃣ Related Terms Explanation

🔎 Impeachment

• Impeachment is a system to hold high officials politically responsible for violating the constitution or laws.
• Impeachment means the system to remove from office high officials like the president, prime minister, cabinet members, administrative department heads, Constitutional Court justices, judges, Central Election Commission members, Board of Audit and Inspection chairman, and audit members when they violate the constitution or laws.
• The main impeachment procedures are: First, the National Assembly makes an impeachment decision (for the president: proposal by majority of members, approval by more than 2/3 of members). Second, impeachment trial proceeds at the Constitutional Court. Third, if the Constitutional Court accepts the impeachment, the official is immediately removed from office.
• Impeachment is an important constitutional device to check abuse of power by high officials. In Korea, there have been cases like President Roh Moo-hyun's impeachment in 2004 (rejected), President Park Geun-hye's impeachment in 2017 (accepted), and President Yoon Suk-yeol's impeachment in 2025 (accepted).

🔎 Elections

• Elections are the core system of democracy where people choose their representatives.
• Elections mean the process where people elect political representatives or decide political will. It's the most basic and important way to realize popular sovereignty in democracy.
• The basic principles of elections are: First, universal suffrage (any adult can participate), Second, equal suffrage (equal value of one person, one vote), Third, direct elections (direct voting without intermediate stages), Fourth, secret ballot (guaranteed secrecy of voting content).
• Korea's major elections include presidential elections (every 5 years), National Assembly elections (every 4 years), and local elections (every 4 years). Peaceful government change through elections is an important indicator that democracy is working properly.

🔎 Party Politics

• Party politics is a democratic political system centered on political parties.
• Party politics means a political system where people with the same political ideology and goals organize political parties to gain and exercise political power. Most modern democracies operate in the form of party politics.
• The main functions of political parties are: First, interest aggregation (organizing various social demands into policies), Second, political recruitment (training and selecting political leaders), Third, political education (delivering political knowledge and values to people), Fourth, political participation (providing opportunities for people's political participation).
• In party politics, government change occurs through competition between ruling and opposition parties. For healthy party politics, fair competition, responsible politics, and democratic operation must be guaranteed.

5️⃣ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: Is it good for government change to happen frequently?

A: What's more important than the frequency of government change is whether it happens democratically and peacefully. Appropriate government change has positive effects on democracy. First, it can prevent power monopoly and corruption. Second, various political groups can gain governing experience, improving the quality of politics. Third, opportunities increase for various public demands to be reflected in politics. However, if governments change too often, policy continuity may decline and it becomes difficult to pursue long-term national development plans. Also, administrative gaps may occur during handover processes. What's important is that government change occurs by people's free choice, and new governments operate by inheriting achievements of previous governments while improving problems. Ultimately, the value of government change depends on its quality, not frequency.

Q: Why do previous government officials get investigated after government change?

A: Investigation of previous government officials after government change in Korea results from several complex reasons. First, due to lack of power checking mechanisms, corruption that wasn't properly checked during ruling periods often emerges after government change. Second, there are public demands for settling past accounts, which new governments sometimes use politically. Third, investigative agencies like prosecutors sometimes actively investigate previous governments while watching the new government's reactions. However, if such settlement of past issues takes on the character of political revenge, it harms democracy. Desirable settlement of past issues should be conducted fairly according to law and principles, and should proceed for establishing rule of law, not for political purposes. Also, it should focus on actual law violations rather than simple political judgments. Ultimately, it's important to create a system where proper checks and monitoring occur even during rule, making large-scale investigations unnecessary after government change.