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percentage of the labour force was more than 25% in Hungary in 2013, 40% in
Russia in 2011, and 50% in China in 2012. On the other hand, public sector
employment in South Korea was the lowest (8%) among advanced countries in
2013 (OECD 2015). Finally, one legal constraint on South Korean presidents is

notable, although presidential power is strong over the legislative and judicial
branches: South Korean presidents can serve only one term by constitution.
Because of the term limit, South Korean presidents wield strong power only while

in office; they are unable to accumulate political power sufficient to subvert
democracy.

When these structural conditions and the cultural erosion of democratic
support among mass citizens are considered together, one expects that South

Korean democracy is likely to survive without making substantial progress. Two
decades ago, Richard Rose and Doh Chull Shin (2001, 331) raised the possibility
that Korean democracy would fall into “a low-level equilibrium trap in which the
inadequacies of elite are matched by low popular demands and expectations.” and
incomplete democracy may persist indefinitely unless leaders abide by rule of law

and demonstrate liberal integrity. The overall results presented in this chapter
determine that the incomplete democracy of South Korea has been locked in such a
low-equilibrium trap.

5. CONCLUSION

Recent scholars have reported that the third wave of global democratisation is

over and democratic backsliding is evident in some new democracies (Levitsky and
Ziblatt 2018; Mounk 2018). International institutes such as Freedom House and
Economic Intelligence have shown a consistent decline in the levels of civil liberties

and political rights across new democracies. In line with this trend, comparative
scholars have examined and debated the degree to which cultural deconsolidation
of democracy has proceeded in old and new democracies (Foa and Mounk 2016,
2017; Norris 2017).

This chapter took a cultural perspective to examine deconsolidation of South
การอภิปราย Korean democracy and evaluate its conditions and prospects in a systematic

manner. Analysing the WVS from 1996 to 2018, I found that support for
democracy has steadily eroded, whereas public openness to strongman rule and