韩国政治的结构性问题:双重分裂结构和两种“体制”的制约

Structural Problems of South Korean Politics:the Constraints of Two Structures and Two Systems

近年来韩国政治由于乱象丛生而备受外界关注,尤其是历任总统或在任期中或在卸任后总会遭遇各种政治困境的现象,成为焦点问题。此文致力于探讨韩国政治表象背后的“结构”性因素和“局势”性因素。整体而言,在“结构”性因素方面,韩国政治受到双重分裂结构的制约;在“局势”性因素方面,则受到两种“体制”的制约。所谓双重分裂结构,是指朝鲜半岛上的南北分裂和韩国国内的社会分裂,后者又包括岭南地区与湖南地区之间的地域对立,和进步势力与保守势力之间的理念对立。两种“体制”则指政治上的“87年体制”和经济社会上的“97年体制”,即1987年“六月抗争”之后形成的宪政体制和1997年亚洲金融危机发生后韩国全面推行新自由主义政策而形成的经济社会体制。对于韩国的政治领导人来说,在这些因素的影响下,在贪腐问题上是可以在相当程度上发挥行为体的主观能动性的,并不一定不能避免困境;但在执政效能的问题上,韩国总统受到前述因素的极大制约,所能发挥的主观能动性有限,确实难以避免结构性问题所带来的困境。

In recent years,South Korean politics has received growing attention because of its unusual dynamics and instability,particularly the fact that former or even sitting presidents could end up in very undesirable circumstances.This article aims to examine the structural factors and conjunctural factors that give rise to such phenomena.Generally,South Korean politics has been shaped and constrained by the“dual divisions”on the structural level,and by the presence of the“two regimes”as conjunctural factors.The“structure of dual divisions”refers to the division of the Korean Peninsula between the South and the North,and the internal divisions within the South Korean society including the regional division between the Southeastern Gyeongsang provinces and the Southwestern Jeolla provinces and the ideological division between the so-called“Progressives”and“Conservatives”.The“two regimes”refer to the 1987 Regime and the 1997 Regime,with the former being the constitutional regime created in 1987 as the result of the“June Democracy Movement”(or“June Struggle for Democracy”),and the latter being the socioeconomic regime generated by the sweeping neoliberal reforms after the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis.With regard to the corruption problem,South Korean leaders are not necessarily destined for an unhappy ending because even under the constraint of the above-mentioned factors,they can still choose whether to become corrupt or not.However,when it comes to the issue of governance effectiveness,they are significantly constrained by those factors and will inevitably have to face the political predicaments such factors may cause.