ABSTRACT
This study has revisited the roles of political leadership and civil society that affected the democratic consolidation process in South Korea. While there have been chronic problems in Korea's democratic development process, such as the lack of justification of political leadership due to its incompetence and corruption, in this situation, civil society has played a role as a counterbalance to this political deficiency. The experiences of Korean society show that establishing a political system that can check the dictatorship and the continuous growth of civil society are critical elements in the transition to democracy and the process of democratic consolidation. The Korean case shows that civil society's role in checking political corruption and power overuse can be essential to a democratic social transformation.
