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Democracy and South Korea's Lemon Presidency

Although South Korea has elected every president under the same democratic constitution since 1987, it has an ongoing puzzle: why do some presidents personalize their regimes (or at least made an effort to do so) while others remain democratic? To explain this puzzle, this study introduces a novel concept, a “lemon presidency.” This is where a democratically elected president engenders a personalized regime that is backed by prejudiced judicial authorities such as courts and prosecutors’ offices. South Korea experienced two lemon presidencies under Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye. South Koreans viewed Lee and Park as true representatives of democracy during the 2007 and 2012 presidential elections; however, they turned out to possess an unrealistic sense of superiority and became semi-democratic rulers. They personalized political powers by exploiting their appointment and removal powers. Based on case studies and survey results, this study provides evidence for Lee’s and Park’s lemon presidencies. The overall analysis of this study envisions another lemon presidency in South Korea’s future if voters choose to vote for a grandiose leader.