My Take | Martial law fiasco exposes cracks behind the South Korean facade
Spreading social malaise and economic stagnation in country reinforce political instability while being caught in worsening US-China rivalry
Political instability, economic stagnation and social malaise tend to reinforce each other, and that is exactly what’s happening in South Korea.
The signs have been there for some time, but the latest martial law fiasco with President Yoon Suk-yeol has brought all that into sharp relief. The six-hour crisis that shook the country and shocked the world this week didn’t happen in a vacuum, even though Yoon himself took direct and personal responsibility for it.
Most outsiders have been mesmerised by the spectacular success of global brand names such as Samsung, LG and Hyundai. Many of us probably own their products such as a smartphone and a flat-screen TV, and perhaps even the family car.
K-pop, from music to films, has long become a worldwide phenomenon. Musical groups such as BTS have a huge fan base in Asia and around the world. But behind the facade, cracks are showing. The chaebol dominate the Korean economy so much it’s almost impossible for new entrants and start-ups to launch, let alone compete against them.
Horrific scandals keep hitting the entertainment industry, exposing a dark side of society at large. Such symptoms are all emblematic of a bleak future.
High growth has long been a thing of the past. gross domestic product growth was just 1.4 per cent last year, the country’s second worst since the last global financial crisis.
