Speaker:

Assistant Professor Yongwook Ryu
Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy
National University of Singapore

Date & Time:

Thursday, 10 April 2025
3:30 pm – 5:00 pm (Singapore Time)

Venue:

EAI Conference Room
NUS Bukit Timah Campus, Tower Block #06-01,
469A Bukit Timah Road, Singapore 259770

Registration is required:

Please click on https://nus-sg.zoom.us/meeting/register/TdamK1rbQ6Kw9XD2nZyfCQ and indicate if you are joining us in-person.

Synopsis:

The declaration of emergency martial law by President Yoon Seok-yeol in December 2024 and the ensuing political upheaval in South Korea surprised the world. What has caused one of Asia’s most vibrant democracies to fall suddenly and unexpectedly into political abyss?

Korea’s recent political turmoil stems from deep polarisation between major political groups, driven by divergent views on critical historical events that form post-independence Korean national identity: Japanese colonial rule, Korean War and democratisation movement in the 1980s. As a result, both groups have increasingly demonised each other and denied the other’s political legitimacy. This clash of political identity stymied political compromise between the president heading the ruling party and the opposition party controlling the National Assembly, resulting in a series of impeachment of high-ranking officials of the Yoon administration. The intense political clash also manifests in judicial decisions and policy swing in Korea’s foreign policy, further exacerbating political polarisation in Korea.

About the Speaker:

Dr Yongwook Ryu is an Assistant Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, NUS.  He specialises in international relations, with a focus on East Asia.  His research interests include foreign policies of China, Japan, Korea and ASEAN as well as broad regional and global issues. His current research examines (i) the effect of national identity on foreign policy and international relations, (ii) Chinese economic statecraft, (iii) Sino-Japanese relations and (iv) Korea-Japan relationship.