ABSTRACT
Analysts of Korean politics have tended to present two different, and to some extent conflicting, interpretations regarding what really caused South Korea’s recent democratization since 1987. According to one popular interpretation, it was primarily – if not entirely – due to a series of elite calculations and interactions.1 The focus of this interpretation is June 29, 1987 on which the chairman of the ruling Democratic Justice Party, Roh Tae Woo, made his eight-point proposal on democratic reform – the “June 29 Declaration.” It is still disputable if there existed a real split between the “hardliners” and the “softliners” within the ruling elite.2 Nevertheless, according to this interpretation, ruling elites predicted that the opposition would be fragmented, and this is why they agreed to adopt a set of democratic reforms including a change to a direct presidential election system.
