Choi Jang-jip (崔章集, born May 24, 1943) is a South Korean political scientist. He has actively researched the realities and prospects of Korean democracy.
Born May 24, 1943Last edited Oct 15, 2026, 2:51 PM
Bachelor's and master's degrees in political science and diplomacy, Korea University; master's and doctoral degrees in political science, University of Chicago
Choi Jang-jip (崔章集, born May 24, 1943) is a South Korean political scientist. He has actively researched the realities and prospects of Korean democracy.
He completed his bachelor's and master's degrees in the Department of Political Science and Diplomacy at Korea University, and in August 1983 he received his doctoral degree from the Department of Political Science at the graduate school of the University of Chicago in the United States. In September 1983 he took up a post as assistant professor in the Department of Political Science and Diplomacy at Korea University, was promoted to professor in 1987, and retired with emeritus status in 2007. He has served as a visiting professor at the Jackson School of International Studies at Washington State University and in the Department of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley in the United States, as a visiting researcher at the Institute of Developing Economies in Tokyo, Japan, and as director of the Institute for Asian Studies at Korea University.
Choi Jang-jip ideology controversy
Overview
From April 1998 to April 1999, during the Kim Dae-jung administration's "People's Government" period, while Professor Choi served as chairman of the Presidential Advisory Policy Planning Committee, an ideological verification controversy was triggered by the Monthly Chosun. Known as the "Choi Jang-jip ideology controversy," the affair arose when a November 1998 issue of Monthly Chosun ran an article titled "The Shocking View of the Korean War by Professor Choi Jang-jip, Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Policy Planning Committee," which stated, "In conclusion, it is clearly revealed that Chairman Choi develops his argument in evaluating the June 25 War in a way that is disadvantageous to the Republic of Korea and advantageous to North Korea," and which launched a McCarthy-style ideological attack on Professor Choi. Woo Jong-chang, the reporter who wrote the article, had conducted a two-hour interview with Professor Choi, who had become chairman of the Policy Planning Committee, on the "Second Founding" of the nation. Regarding the situation at the time, Professor Choi stated, "Reporter Woo, rather than asking about the Second Founding as originally agreed, focused his questions on my understanding of modern Korean history and my view of the Korean War, and it felt as though I was being subjected to an ideological test."[1]
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Monthly Chosun objected to the wording of a paper on the Korean War included in Professor Choi's 1996 book The Conditions and Prospects of Korean Democracy. It attacked his views on North Korea by pointing to expressions such as "The June 25 War was the historic decision of Kim Il-sung," "The greatest victims of the Korean War were the people of North Korea," and "The early stage of the war was a national liberation war." In response, Professor Choi argued that the magazine had distorted the content of his paper, deliberately quoting words and sentences out of context to make it appear that there was a problem with his ideology, and he took active action by issuing a rebuttal and filing a defamation lawsuit.
Professor Choi's rebuttal of the distortions
Professor Choi stated that the headline of the Monthly Chosun article, "The June 25 War was the historic decision of Kim Il-sung," described Kim Il-sung's "miscalculation," in which he overconfidently launched the war, and that the phrase "The greatest victims of the Korean War were the people of North Korea" was not meant to stress that the suffering of the South Korean people was smaller, but to emphasize that Kim Il-sung was the greatest beneficiary of the war. He further said that the claim that he had "defended the intervention of the Chinese army" distorted an objective description into his own subjective judgment, and that the claim that "in evaluating the June 25 War, he develops his argument in a way disadvantageous to the Republic of Korea and advantageous to North Korea" completely reversed the overall argument of the paper.1
Legal response
Professor Choi responded legally by petitioning for a provisional injunction to ban distribution of the November 1998 issue of Monthly Chosun, by requesting a correction from the Press Arbitration Commission, and by filing a 500 million won damages suit against the Chosun Ilbo and the reporter on charges of defamation. In response, the court accepted the provisional injunction request to ban distribution and ruled that "the Monthly Chosun November issue must not be published, sold, or distributed without deleting the disputed content."[2]
Regarding the court's ruling, the Chosun Ilbo protested that "this decision prohibits the Chosun Ilbo from further reporting on some points of contention in a situation where social debate is still ongoing, and some parts of the decision are even inaccurate as to the facts." The Chosun Ilbo also objected that the court had not properly reviewed the evidence and had prohibited future debate. In response, the judge handling the case criticized the Chosun Ilbo's distorted arguments in a post on the court's internal computer network.[3]
Afterward, as the Chosun Ilbo faced a growing likelihood of losing not only the provisional injunction but also Professor Choi's 500 million won damages suit and his suit for a right of reply, and as it clashed with the Blue House, then-editor-in-chief Kang Cheon-seok personally met Professor Choi in early 1999 and barely reached an agreement to publish Professor Choi's rebuttal and paper in the Chosun Ilbo and Monthly Chosun.[4]
Withdrawal of lawsuits
After the agreement, Professor Choi withdrew all lawsuits against the Chosun Ilbo, including the suit and the application for a provisional injunction to ban distribution. The Chosun Ilbo subsequently published his rebuttal, titled "Toward an Era of Reconciliation and Mutual Growth (相生) in Unification," as a special contribution in its January 18, 1999 edition. The February 1999 issue of Monthly Chosun, published the same day, carried an article titled "Conditions and Prospects of Unification: Two Choices in the Post-Cold War Era," which was a partially revised version of the paper from his 1996 book The Conditions and Prospects of Korean Democracy. Behind the agreement between the Chosun Ilbo and Professor Choi, a senior official of the Blue House personally stepped in as mediator, and the Chosun Ilbo, after intense internal debate, took personnel measures including replacing its editor-in-chief.[5]
When asked by a student why he had not pursued the lawsuit against the Chosun Ilbo to the end and sought a victory that would hold it accountable, Professor Choi explained his reasons for withdrawing, citing his status as a public official at the time and his obligations to the government, as well as the problem of hegemony, which would be difficult to resolve even with a court victory. He also said that, as a scholar who had pursued critical academic work from the perspective of the many victims of the war and the viewpoint of the people, he felt a different kind of distress from the criticism he received from Korean War veterans and bereaved families than from the attacks of the Chosun Ilbo.2
Other matters
Taking responsibility for the affair, Professor Choi resigned as chairman of the Presidential Advisory Policy Planning Committee in April 1999.
In 2005, the Public Security 1st Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office decided not to indict Professor Choi, who had been reported to the authorities by conservative groups for violating the National Security Act, ending the seven-year investigation.[6]Archived 2011-06-16 - Wayback Machine
In its December 1998 issue, the monthly magazine Mal ran an article pointing out the ideological bias of Woo Jong-chang, the Monthly Chosun reporter who had raised the ideology controversy. In response, Woo filed a lawsuit objecting to the magazine's statement that "a sadistic pathology can be felt in Reporter Woo, and a murderous intent can be felt in his writing." He lost in the first trial and lost again in the retrial he sought on appeal. The court ruled that Mal's criticism of the Chosun Ilbo's ideological bias was recognized as serving the public interest.[7]
The Choi Jang-jip ideology controversy also became an occasion, in early 2000, for an intensification of the anti-Chosun movement among civic groups and netizens, through the campaign "Chosun Ilbo, Sue Me!"[8]
Exploration of democracy
In Democracy After Democratization, he argued that Korean democracy has been declining since democratization, and that the conservative monopoly party system is the cause. In addition, through his book Democratization of Democracy, he pointed to the failure of labor to be integrated into the party system in Korean politics and emphasized the importance of "institutional practice."
Views on the Roh Moo-hyun administration
Choi argued that the failure of the Roh Moo-hyun administration was largely due to the fact that the democratic government did not fulfill its role, including in its policy ideals and direction as well as in the process and results of actual policy implementation, and that it failed to firmly maintain the critical awareness of what values and ideas it would use to run democracy. He criticized it on these grounds, and these views also generated controversy during the 17th presidential election.
Views on the candlelight protests
He evaluated the candlelight protests as showing the passion of citizens for democracy in that they voiced opposition to the government's authoritarian decision-making style. At the same time, however, he actively criticized opposition politicians for joining the demonstrations in the streets rather than seeking an institutional solution through representative democracy. This can be said to reflect his view that while politics relying on movements was effective in toppling military regimes, what matters today, when institutional democracy has been achieved, is for capable political parties to take root in society and develop concrete alternatives.
Education
.Graduated from Kyungdong High School
February 1965: Bachelor's degree, Department of Political Science and Diplomacy, College of Political Science and Economics, Korea University
February 1969: Master's degree, Department of Political Science and Diplomacy, Graduate School, Korea University
August 1983: Doctoral degree (Ph.D. in Political Science), Department of Political Science, University of Chicago, United States
Career
1971–1973: Administrative official, Public Information Secretariat, Presidential Secretariat
September 1983–August 2008: Joined the Department of Political Science and Diplomacy, College of Political Science and Economics, Korea University, serving as assistant professor, associate professor, and then professor, for 25 years
1986–1988: President, Korea Industrial Society Research Association
1988–1992: Co-chairman, Council of Academic Societies
March 1988–December 1990: Member of the Korea committee, Social Science Research Council, United States
1989: Visiting professor, Jackson School, Washington State University, United States (taught Korean politics)
1990–1991: President, Korean Political Studies Association
August 1995–December 1995: Visiting professor, University of California, Berkeley campus, United States
January 1996–August 1996: Researcher, Institute of Developing Economies, Tokyo, Japan
January 1997–June 1999: President, Labor Academy
April 1998–April 1999: Chairman, Presidential Advisory Policy Planning Committee
August 1999–December 1999: Visiting professor, Department of Political Science, Cornell University, United States (taught Korean politics)
April 2000–August 2006: Korean representative, Korea-Japan Joint Research Forum
April 2000–August 2008: Director, Institute for Asian Studies, Korea University
September 2008–: Professor emeritus, Korea University
March 2009–June 2009: Visiting professor, Department of Sociology, Stanford University, United States
May 2013–August 2013: Chairman of the board, Policy Network Tomorrow
November 2018–: Advisor, Special Committee on Political Reform, National Assembly
Major Works
(* Bold type indicates major works)
Dissertation
Interest Conflict and Political Control in South Korea: A Study of the Labor Unions in Manufacturing Industries 1961-1980, Ph.D. dissertation in Political Science, University of Chicago, 1983.
Articles and Presentations in Korean
"Gramsci's Concept of Hegemony," Korean Political Science Review 18, 1984.
"Liberal Democracy or Bureaucratic Authoritarianism?," Minjok Chisŏng 16, 1987.
"The Nature and Structure of the Formation of the Early South Korean State, 1945-1948: Focusing on the Emergence, Change, and Disappearance of Political and Social Groups," Korea University Social Science Review 14, 1988.
"The Meaning and Direction of Peace and Unification on the Korean Peninsula," Minjok T'ongil 1, 2, 1989.
"An Analysis of the Line of the Italian Communist Party: A Search for an Alternative to Socialism," Economy and Society 2, 1989.
"Toward a New Search for Democratic Transformation of Korean Society," Society and Thought 26, 1991.
"Korean Democracy and the Press," Eŏnlon kwa Sahoe, 1994.
"Democratic Reform and the Press," Nara ŭi Kil, 1994.
"Possibilities for East Asia after the Second World War: From the Perspective of South Korea," Sinhak Sasang, 1994.
"Transformationism and Korean Democracy," Sahoe Pyŏngnon 13, 1995.
"Contemporary Korea-Japan Relations and Korean Nationalism," Segye ŭi Munhak, 1996.
"Democracy and the Reform of Labor-Management Relations," Reform of Labor-Management Relations and Social Development, Fall Conference of the Korean Association of Industrial Sociology, 1996.
"Japan's Constitutional Revision and the New Regime of the US-Japan Security Treaty," Sekai, No. 641, 1997.
"Korean Conditions and Implications of Democratic Market Economy," Tangdae Pyŏngnon 3 (Spring issue), Samin Publishing, 1998.
"The 1997 Presidential Election and the Reform Tasks of the New Government," Sahoe Pyŏngnon 18, 1998.
"A Model of New Leadership for a New Era: For Democratic Reform and National Unification," Church and World 160, 1997.
"Crisis and Alternatives in South Korean Political Economy: Focusing on Democratic Market Economy," Sasang Vol. 37, 1998.
"Crisis and Alternatives in South Korean Political Economy: Focusing on Democratic Market Economy," Special Academic Conference on Korean Politics II: Crisis and Response in South Korean Political Economy: Evaluation of the Kim Young Sam Government and Tasks of the Kim Dae Jung Government, Korean Political Science Association, 1998.
"Crisis and Alternatives in South Korean Political Economy: Focusing on Democratic Market Economy," Graduate School of Labor, Korea University, 1998.
"A Brief Note on the Reform Direction and Strategy of the Kim Dae Jung Government," International Academic Conference, Asia Problems Research Institute, Korea University, 1998.
"An Evaluation of the Park Chung Hee Regime," Dialogue (quarterly), No. 5, 1999.
"Citizenship and a Participatory Welfare Society: Can Market Economy and Social Policy Be Compatible in Korean Society?," Labor Academy Academic Seminar, 1999.
"Democratization, Civil Society, and Civic Movements in Korea: The Significance of the Civic Alliance's Civic Movement for the 2000 General Elections," Planned Academic Conference of the Korean Political Science Association, Issues and Prospects of Political Science in the 21st Century: Korean Civil Society and Democracy, 2000.
"Globalization, Democratization, and Civil Society: The State-Civil Society Parallel Model as a Search for New Social Values and Principles of Social Organization," Spring Symposium of the Professional Intellectuals' Conference for Reform and Alternatives, 2000.
"The Tradition of Movements and the Model of Democracy," Korean Political Science Association, Planned Academic Conference on Political Change and Democracy in Korea, 2000.
"The Tradition of Movements and the Model of Democracy," Asia Research Vol. 43, No. 1, 2000.
"The Philosophy of Peace and Coexistence in the Era of the Dissolution of the Cold War," Hwanghae Munhwa, No. 29 (Winter issue), 2000.
"Reflection and Tasks of Korean Democracy," co-authored with Choi Jang-jip et al., Retrospect and Prospect of Korean Democracy, Hanaram, 2000.
"Democracy and Political Reform: Focusing on the Kim Dae Jung Government," edited by Min Ki-gi, Korean Politics in the 21st Century, Parkyoung Publishing, 2001.
"The Choices of the Kim Dae Jung Government and Korean Democracy," Ssial ŭi Sori, May-June issue, No. 160, 2001.
"Democracy after Democratization: Directions and Tasks for the Development of Korean Democracy," edited by the Institute for Democratic Society, Democracy, Baeksan Seodang, Vol. 1, 2002.
"On the Conditions of Korean Democracy and Good Government," Citizens and the World, Tangdae No. 3, 2003.
"The Future of Korea-US Relations: Reflections on Anti-American Sentiment," Asia Research Vol. 46, No. 1, 2003.
"Renaissance Italian City-States' International Relations and Machiavelli: A Research Note," edited by the Woo-am Peace Research Institute, History and Theory of Political Realism, Hwapyeongsa, 2003.
"A Preliminary Study on the Institutional Design of Korean Democracy," Asia Research Vol. 46, No. 4, 2003.
"Democracy without Labor: An Interpretation of the Failure of the Japan Socialist Party," Comparative Politics of Korea and Japan in a Period of Change, Ayon Publishing, 2003.
"Korean Democracy and the Roh Moo-hyun Government: Can the Vicious Cycle of Hope and Disappointment Be Broken?," The Participatory Government: 100 Days, Present and Future, Presidential Advisory Committee on Policy Planning, 2003.
"General Discussion: The Fragile Socioeconomic Foundations of Korean Democracy," Asia Research Vol. 47, No. 3, September 2004.
"Preface to the Korean Edition, Democracy and Constitutionalism: The United States and Korea," translated by Park Sang-hoon and Park Soo-hyung, Robert Dahl, American Constitution and Democracy, Humanitas, 2004.
"Ideological Foundations of East Asian Community: A Common Horizon of Meaning for Coexistence and Peace," Asia Research Vol. 47, No. 4, 2004.
"Toward Overcoming the 1987 System: A Critical Reflection on the Constitution and Social Structure," Changbi and Citizen Action, 2005.
"Conditions for Peace on the Korean Peninsula: From the Perspective of Kant's Perpetual Peace Theory," 2nd Seoul International Literature Forum, "Writing for Peace," 2005.
"Democracy and Korean Labor," Korea Labor and Society Institute Symposium, Korean Labor: Past, Present, Future, 2005.
"Korean Democracy without Social Citizenship," edited by Choi Jang-jip, Labor in Crisis, Humanitas, 2005.
"An Interpretation of 60 Years since Liberation: From the Perspective of a Democrat," Citizens and the World No. 8, 2006.
"The Transition to Democracy without Labor: An Interpretation of the Failure of the Japan Socialist Party," Asia Research Vol. 49, No. 2, 2006.
"(Book Review) Democratic Development Is Difficult without Labor," Asia Research Vol. 49, No. 3, 2006.
"Democracy as Institutional Practice," Memory and Vision No. 15 (Fall issue), 2006.
"Political Democratization: What Is the Problem with Korean Democracy?," Pyŏngbi No. 14, 2007.
"Characteristics of Korean Nationalism," co-authored with Choi Sang-yong et al., Nationalism, Peace, and Moderation, Kachi, 2007.
"Three Meanings of Korean Democracy and the Gwangju Uprising," Asia Research No. 128, 2007.
"Two Different Ways of Understanding Democracy: The People and the Citizens," Hwanghae Munhwa No. 58 (Spring issue), 2008.
"What Should We Think about the Lee Myung-bak Government?," Pyŏngbi No. 19 (Summer issue), 2008.
Articles and Presentations in Foreign Languages
"A Comparative Control of the Labor Union in South Korea," Korea Social Science Journal 11, 1984.
"The Strong State and Weak Labor Relations in South Korea: Their Historical Determinants and Bureaucratic Structure," The Institute of Seoul Sciences, Seoul National University, conference on The Dependency Issue in Korean Development: Comparative Perspectives, 1985.
"The State and Political Regime in South Korea," Workshop on Political Economy of the Asian NICs under the auspices of the United Nations University, Japan, 1986.
"Kim Young Sam's Reforms and the Conditions for the Consolidation of Democracy in South Korea," The American University (Washington D.C.), 1994.
South Korean Labor Unions under the New Democracy, Georgetown Conference on Korean Society, Capitalism and Corporatism in Korea: Comparative Perspectives, 1994.
"The Characteristic Feature of Korea's Social Movements in a Comparison with Japan's," Rikkyo University (Japan), 1996.
"A Comparative Study of Civil Society and Democracy in Japan and Korea," Visiting Research Fellow Monograph Series, No. 295, Institute of Developing Economies (Ajia Keizai Kenkyujo), 1997.
"Power Transfer and Reforms in Korea: On the Advent of the Kim Dae Jung Government," Japan, 1997.
"Power Transfer and Reforms in Korea: On the Advent of the Kim Dae Jung Government," Kyushu University, Japan, 1997.
"The Political and Economic Reforms under the Kim Dae Jung Government," The Institute for East Asian Studies, Columbia University (New York), 1999.
"Constraints and Dilemma in the Kim Dae Jung Government's Reforms," sponsored by East Asian Program, 1999.
"Democratization, Civil Society, and the Civil Social Movement: The Significance of the Citizens' Alliance for the 2000 General Elections," Korea Journal Vol. 40, No. 3, 2000.
"Fighting Globalization, Using Globalization," Seoul International Forum for Literature: Writing across Boundaries: Literature on the Multicultural World, Daesan Foundation, 2000.
"South Korean Democracy and the Kim Dae Jung Administration," Journal of Asian-Pacific Studies No. 4, 2001.
"Is Korea's Path to Democracy with Labor Possible?," IPSA, Japan, 2004.
"At the Crossroads... Korean Labor Movement (Part 1)," Saenghwal Kyŏngje Chŏngch'aek No. 126, 2007.
"How Have Korea's Democratic Governments Adopted Neo-Liberal Globalization in So Drastic a Way?," The Asiatic Research Center's 50th Anniversary International Conference, "Labor, the Welfare State, and Democracy," Korea University, 2007.
Projects and Lecture Collections
Labor, Welfare, and Democracy (principal researcher), policy planning research report, Policy Planning Committee, 2006.
Research on Alternative Industrial Policy for Shared Growth (chief supervisor), Korea Industrial Technology Foundation, 2007.
From the People to the Citizens, "Humanities Lecture Series with Scholars 04," Academic Promotion Foundation, 2008.
Korean Democracy and the Coordinates of the Judiciary, research service report "Public Perception of the Judiciary and Future Tasks of the Judiciary," Office of Court Administration, Supreme Court, 2008.
Books in Korean
Korean Modern History 1945-1948 (edited), Yeoleumsa, 1985.
The Labor Movement and the State in Korea, Yeoleumsa, 1988.
Structure and Change of Korean Modern Politics, Kachi, 1989.
Study of the Korean War (edited), Taeam, 1990.
Marx (edited), Korea University Press, 1990.
Lectures on Peace (edited), Hangilsa, 1990.
Study of Regional Sentiment (co-authored), Hakminsa, 1991.
The Theory of Korean Democracy, Hangilsa, 1993.
The Challenge of Civil Society (co-authored), Nanam, 1993.
Conditions and Prospects of Korean Democracy, Nanam, 1996.
Democracy and Labor Politics in Europe (edited), Beopmunsa, 1997.
The Labor Movement and the State in Korea (revised edition), Nanam, 1997.
Korean Society and Democracy (co-authored), Nanam, 1997.
Democracy after Democratization: The Conservative Origins and Crisis of Korean Democracy, Humanitas, 2002.
Labor in Crisis (edited), Humanitas, 2005.
Democracy after Democratization (revised edition), Humanitas, 2005.
Democratization of Democracy, Humanitas, 2006.
What Kind of Democracy? (co-authored), Humanitas, 2007.
Seeking Transformation: Where We Are and What We Should Do (co-authored), Saenggakui Namu, 2008.
What Is the Problem with Korean Democracy?, Saenggakui Namu, 2008.
Human Wounds of Democracy without Labor, Politeia, 2012.
Books in Foreign Languages
Sustainable Democracy (co-authored with Przeworski et al.), Cambridge University Press, 1995.
Contemporary Korean Political Change: Historical Conditions of Modernization and Democracy, translated by Nakamura Fukuji, Bokutakusha, 1997.
Conditions of Contemporary Korean Politics, translated by Nakamura Fukuji, Hosei University Press, 1999.
Post-Cold War and Peace: Experiences, Conditions and Choices (edited), Asiatic Research Center, 2003.
The site containing the full text of the statement of explanation regarding this matter is as follows: http://www.ohmynews.com/nws_web/view/at_pg.aspx?CNTN_CD=A0000047226 Original source: 최장집. 2001.12. "조선일보의 최장집 사상 검증 사건 관련 질문에 대하여". <당대비평>, 통권 제17호, p.304-318. 생각의 나무 (Changed to link to the original Ohmynews article) ↩
Choi Jang-jip (崔章集, born May 24, 1943) is a South Korean political scientist. He has actively researched the realities and prospects of Korean democracy.
He completed his bachelor's and master's degrees in the Department of Political Science and Diplomacy at Korea University, and in August 1983 he received his doctoral degree from the Department of Political Science at the graduate school of the University of Chicago in the United States. In September 1983 he took up a post as assistant professor in the Department of Political Science and Diplomacy at Korea University, was promoted to professor in 1987, and retired with emeritus status in 2007. He has served as a visiting professor at the Jackson School of International Studies at Washington State University and in the Department of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley in the United States, as a visiting researcher at the Institute of Developing Economies in Tokyo, Japan, and as director of the Institute for Asian Studies at Korea University.
Choi Jang-jip ideology controversy
Overview
From April 1998 to April 1999, during the Kim Dae-jung administration's "People's Government" period, while Professor Choi served as chairman of the Presidential Advisory Policy Planning Committee, an ideological verification controversy was triggered by the Monthly Chosun. Known as the "Choi Jang-jip ideology controversy," the affair arose when a November 1998 issue of Monthly Chosun ran an article titled "The Shocking View of the Korean War by Professor Choi Jang-jip, Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Policy Planning Committee," which stated, "In conclusion, it is clearly revealed that Chairman Choi develops his argument in evaluating the June 25 War in a way that is disadvantageous to the Republic of Korea and advantageous to North Korea," and which launched a McCarthy-style ideological attack on Professor Choi. Woo Jong-chang, the reporter who wrote the article, had conducted a two-hour interview with Professor Choi, who had become chairman of the Policy Planning Committee, on the "Second Founding" of the nation. Regarding the situation at the time, Professor Choi stated, "Reporter Woo, rather than asking about the Second Founding as originally agreed, focused his questions on my understanding of modern Korean history and my view of the Korean War, and it felt as though I was being subjected to an ideological test."[1]
Monthly Chosun objected to the wording of a paper on the Korean War included in Professor Choi's 1996 book The Conditions and Prospects of Korean Democracy. It attacked his views on North Korea by pointing to expressions such as "The June 25 War was the historic decision of Kim Il-sung," "The greatest victims of the Korean War were the people of North Korea," and "The early stage of the war was a national liberation war." In response, Professor Choi argued that the magazine had distorted the content of his paper, deliberately quoting words and sentences out of context to make it appear that there was a problem with his ideology, and he took active action by issuing a rebuttal and filing a defamation lawsuit.
Professor Choi's rebuttal of the distortions
Professor Choi stated that the headline of the Monthly Chosun article, "The June 25 War was the historic decision of Kim Il-sung," described Kim Il-sung's "miscalculation," in which he overconfidently launched the war, and that the phrase "The greatest victims of the Korean War were the people of North Korea" was not meant to stress that the suffering of the South Korean people was smaller, but to emphasize that Kim Il-sung was the greatest beneficiary of the war. He further said that the claim that he had "defended the intervention of the Chinese army" distorted an objective description into his own subjective judgment, and that the claim that "in evaluating the June 25 War, he develops his argument in a way disadvantageous to the Republic of Korea and advantageous to North Korea" completely reversed the overall argument of the paper.1
Legal response
Professor Choi responded legally by petitioning for a provisional injunction to ban distribution of the November 1998 issue of Monthly Chosun, by requesting a correction from the Press Arbitration Commission, and by filing a 500 million won damages suit against the Chosun Ilbo and the reporter on charges of defamation. In response, the court accepted the provisional injunction request to ban distribution and ruled that "the Monthly Chosun November issue must not be published, sold, or distributed without deleting the disputed content."[2]
Regarding the court's ruling, the Chosun Ilbo protested that "this decision prohibits the Chosun Ilbo from further reporting on some points of contention in a situation where social debate is still ongoing, and some parts of the decision are even inaccurate as to the facts." The Chosun Ilbo also objected that the court had not properly reviewed the evidence and had prohibited future debate. In response, the judge handling the case criticized the Chosun Ilbo's distorted arguments in a post on the court's internal computer network.[3]
Afterward, as the Chosun Ilbo faced a growing likelihood of losing not only the provisional injunction but also Professor Choi's 500 million won damages suit and his suit for a right of reply, and as it clashed with the Blue House, then-editor-in-chief Kang Cheon-seok personally met Professor Choi in early 1999 and barely reached an agreement to publish Professor Choi's rebuttal and paper in the Chosun Ilbo and Monthly Chosun.[4]
Withdrawal of lawsuits
After the agreement, Professor Choi withdrew all lawsuits against the Chosun Ilbo, including the suit and the application for a provisional injunction to ban distribution. The Chosun Ilbo subsequently published his rebuttal, titled "Toward an Era of Reconciliation and Mutual Growth (相生) in Unification," as a special contribution in its January 18, 1999 edition. The February 1999 issue of Monthly Chosun, published the same day, carried an article titled "Conditions and Prospects of Unification: Two Choices in the Post-Cold War Era," which was a partially revised version of the paper from his 1996 book The Conditions and Prospects of Korean Democracy. Behind the agreement between the Chosun Ilbo and Professor Choi, a senior official of the Blue House personally stepped in as mediator, and the Chosun Ilbo, after intense internal debate, took personnel measures including replacing its editor-in-chief.[5]
When asked by a student why he had not pursued the lawsuit against the Chosun Ilbo to the end and sought a victory that would hold it accountable, Professor Choi explained his reasons for withdrawing, citing his status as a public official at the time and his obligations to the government, as well as the problem of hegemony, which would be difficult to resolve even with a court victory. He also said that, as a scholar who had pursued critical academic work from the perspective of the many victims of the war and the viewpoint of the people, he felt a different kind of distress from the criticism he received from Korean War veterans and bereaved families than from the attacks of the Chosun Ilbo.2
Other matters
Taking responsibility for the affair, Professor Choi resigned as chairman of the Presidential Advisory Policy Planning Committee in April 1999.
In 2005, the Public Security 1st Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office decided not to indict Professor Choi, who had been reported to the authorities by conservative groups for violating the National Security Act, ending the seven-year investigation.[6]Archived 2011-06-16 - Wayback Machine
In its December 1998 issue, the monthly magazine Mal ran an article pointing out the ideological bias of Woo Jong-chang, the Monthly Chosun reporter who had raised the ideology controversy. In response, Woo filed a lawsuit objecting to the magazine's statement that "a sadistic pathology can be felt in Reporter Woo, and a murderous intent can be felt in his writing." He lost in the first trial and lost again in the retrial he sought on appeal. The court ruled that Mal's criticism of the Chosun Ilbo's ideological bias was recognized as serving the public interest.[7]
The Choi Jang-jip ideology controversy also became an occasion, in early 2000, for an intensification of the anti-Chosun movement among civic groups and netizens, through the campaign "Chosun Ilbo, Sue Me!"[8]
Exploration of democracy
In Democracy After Democratization, he argued that Korean democracy has been declining since democratization, and that the conservative monopoly party system is the cause. In addition, through his book Democratization of Democracy, he pointed to the failure of labor to be integrated into the party system in Korean politics and emphasized the importance of "institutional practice."
Views on the Roh Moo-hyun administration
Choi argued that the failure of the Roh Moo-hyun administration was largely due to the fact that the democratic government did not fulfill its role, including in its policy ideals and direction as well as in the process and results of actual policy implementation, and that it failed to firmly maintain the critical awareness of what values and ideas it would use to run democracy. He criticized it on these grounds, and these views also generated controversy during the 17th presidential election.
Views on the candlelight protests
He evaluated the candlelight protests as showing the passion of citizens for democracy in that they voiced opposition to the government's authoritarian decision-making style. At the same time, however, he actively criticized opposition politicians for joining the demonstrations in the streets rather than seeking an institutional solution through representative democracy. This can be said to reflect his view that while politics relying on movements was effective in toppling military regimes, what matters today, when institutional democracy has been achieved, is for capable political parties to take root in society and develop concrete alternatives.
Education
.Graduated from Kyungdong High School
February 1965: Bachelor's degree, Department of Political Science and Diplomacy, College of Political Science and Economics, Korea University
February 1969: Master's degree, Department of Political Science and Diplomacy, Graduate School, Korea University
August 1983: Doctoral degree (Ph.D. in Political Science), Department of Political Science, University of Chicago, United States
Career
1971–1973: Administrative official, Public Information Secretariat, Presidential Secretariat
September 1983–August 2008: Joined the Department of Political Science and Diplomacy, College of Political Science and Economics, Korea University, serving as assistant professor, associate professor, and then professor, for 25 years
1986–1988: President, Korea Industrial Society Research Association
1988–1992: Co-chairman, Council of Academic Societies
March 1988–December 1990: Member of the Korea committee, Social Science Research Council, United States
1989: Visiting professor, Jackson School, Washington State University, United States (taught Korean politics)
1990–1991: President, Korean Political Studies Association
August 1995–December 1995: Visiting professor, University of California, Berkeley campus, United States
January 1996–August 1996: Researcher, Institute of Developing Economies, Tokyo, Japan
January 1997–June 1999: President, Labor Academy
April 1998–April 1999: Chairman, Presidential Advisory Policy Planning Committee
August 1999–December 1999: Visiting professor, Department of Political Science, Cornell University, United States (taught Korean politics)
April 2000–August 2006: Korean representative, Korea-Japan Joint Research Forum
April 2000–August 2008: Director, Institute for Asian Studies, Korea University
September 2008–: Professor emeritus, Korea University
March 2009–June 2009: Visiting professor, Department of Sociology, Stanford University, United States
May 2013–August 2013: Chairman of the board, Policy Network Tomorrow
November 2018–: Advisor, Special Committee on Political Reform, National Assembly
Major Works
(* Bold type indicates major works)
Dissertation
Interest Conflict and Political Control in South Korea: A Study of the Labor Unions in Manufacturing Industries 1961-1980, Ph.D. dissertation in Political Science, University of Chicago, 1983.
Articles and Presentations in Korean
"Gramsci's Concept of Hegemony," Korean Political Science Review 18, 1984.
"Liberal Democracy or Bureaucratic Authoritarianism?," Minjok Chisŏng 16, 1987.
"The Nature and Structure of the Formation of the Early South Korean State, 1945-1948: Focusing on the Emergence, Change, and Disappearance of Political and Social Groups," Korea University Social Science Review 14, 1988.
"The Meaning and Direction of Peace and Unification on the Korean Peninsula," Minjok T'ongil 1, 2, 1989.
"An Analysis of the Line of the Italian Communist Party: A Search for an Alternative to Socialism," Economy and Society 2, 1989.
"Toward a New Search for Democratic Transformation of Korean Society," Society and Thought 26, 1991.
"Korean Democracy and the Press," Eŏnlon kwa Sahoe, 1994.
"Democratic Reform and the Press," Nara ŭi Kil, 1994.
"Possibilities for East Asia after the Second World War: From the Perspective of South Korea," Sinhak Sasang, 1994.
"Transformationism and Korean Democracy," Sahoe Pyŏngnon 13, 1995.
"Contemporary Korea-Japan Relations and Korean Nationalism," Segye ŭi Munhak, 1996.
"Democracy and the Reform of Labor-Management Relations," Reform of Labor-Management Relations and Social Development, Fall Conference of the Korean Association of Industrial Sociology, 1996.
"Japan's Constitutional Revision and the New Regime of the US-Japan Security Treaty," Sekai, No. 641, 1997.
"Korean Conditions and Implications of Democratic Market Economy," Tangdae Pyŏngnon 3 (Spring issue), Samin Publishing, 1998.
"The 1997 Presidential Election and the Reform Tasks of the New Government," Sahoe Pyŏngnon 18, 1998.
"A Model of New Leadership for a New Era: For Democratic Reform and National Unification," Church and World 160, 1997.
"Crisis and Alternatives in South Korean Political Economy: Focusing on Democratic Market Economy," Sasang Vol. 37, 1998.
"Crisis and Alternatives in South Korean Political Economy: Focusing on Democratic Market Economy," Special Academic Conference on Korean Politics II: Crisis and Response in South Korean Political Economy: Evaluation of the Kim Young Sam Government and Tasks of the Kim Dae Jung Government, Korean Political Science Association, 1998.
"Crisis and Alternatives in South Korean Political Economy: Focusing on Democratic Market Economy," Graduate School of Labor, Korea University, 1998.
Articles and Presentations in Foreign Languages
"A Comparative Control of the Labor Union in South Korea," Korea Social Science Journal 11, 1984.
"The Strong State and Weak Labor Relations in South Korea: Their Historical Determinants and Bureaucratic Structure," The Institute of Seoul Sciences, Seoul National University, conference on The Dependency Issue in Korean Development: Comparative Perspectives, 1985.
"The State and Political Regime in South Korea," Workshop on Political Economy of the Asian NICs under the auspices of the United Nations University, Japan, 1986.
"Kim Young Sam's Reforms and the Conditions for the Consolidation of Democracy in South Korea," The American University (Washington D.C.), 1994.
South Korean Labor Unions under the New Democracy, Georgetown Conference on Korean Society, Capitalism and Corporatism in Korea: Comparative Perspectives, 1994.
"The Characteristic Feature of Korea's Social Movements in a Comparison with Japan's," Rikkyo University (Japan), 1996.
"A Comparative Study of Civil Society and Democracy in Japan and Korea," Visiting Research Fellow Monograph Series, No. 295, Institute of Developing Economies (Ajia Keizai Kenkyujo), 1997.
"Power Transfer and Reforms in Korea: On the Advent of the Kim Dae Jung Government," Japan, 1997.
"Power Transfer and Reforms in Korea: On the Advent of the Kim Dae Jung Government," Kyushu University, Japan, 1997.
"The Political and Economic Reforms under the Kim Dae Jung Government," The Institute for East Asian Studies, Columbia University (New York), 1999.
"Constraints and Dilemma in the Kim Dae Jung Government's Reforms," sponsored by East Asian Program, 1999.
"Democratization, Civil Society, and the Civil Social Movement: The Significance of the Citizens' Alliance for the 2000 General Elections," Korea Journal Vol. 40, No. 3, 2000.
"Fighting Globalization, Using Globalization," Seoul International Forum for Literature: Writing across Boundaries: Literature on the Multicultural World, Daesan Foundation, 2000.
"South Korean Democracy and the Kim Dae Jung Administration," Journal of Asian-Pacific Studies No. 4, 2001.
"Is Korea's Path to Democracy with Labor Possible?," IPSA, Japan, 2004.
"At the Crossroads... Korean Labor Movement (Part 1)," Saenghwal Kyŏngje Chŏngch'aek No. 126, 2007.
"How Have Korea's Democratic Governments Adopted Neo-Liberal Globalization in So Drastic a Way?," The Asiatic Research Center's 50th Anniversary International Conference, "Labor, the Welfare State, and Democracy," Korea University, 2007.
Projects and Lecture Collections
Labor, Welfare, and Democracy (principal researcher), policy planning research report, Policy Planning Committee, 2006.
Research on Alternative Industrial Policy for Shared Growth (chief supervisor), Korea Industrial Technology Foundation, 2007.
From the People to the Citizens, "Humanities Lecture Series with Scholars 04," Academic Promotion Foundation, 2008.
Korean Democracy and the Coordinates of the Judiciary, research service report "Public Perception of the Judiciary and Future Tasks of the Judiciary," Office of Court Administration, Supreme Court, 2008.
Books in Korean
Korean Modern History 1945-1948 (edited), Yeoleumsa, 1985.
The Labor Movement and the State in Korea, Yeoleumsa, 1988.
Structure and Change of Korean Modern Politics, Kachi, 1989.
Study of the Korean War (edited), Taeam, 1990.
Marx (edited), Korea University Press, 1990.
Lectures on Peace (edited), Hangilsa, 1990.
Study of Regional Sentiment (co-authored), Hakminsa, 1991.
The Theory of Korean Democracy, Hangilsa, 1993.
The Challenge of Civil Society (co-authored), Nanam, 1993.
Conditions and Prospects of Korean Democracy, Nanam, 1996.
Democracy and Labor Politics in Europe (edited), Beopmunsa, 1997.
The Labor Movement and the State in Korea (revised edition), Nanam, 1997.
Korean Society and Democracy (co-authored), Nanam, 1997.
Democracy after Democratization: The Conservative Origins and Crisis of Korean Democracy, Humanitas, 2002.
Labor in Crisis (edited), Humanitas, 2005.
Democracy after Democratization (revised edition), Humanitas, 2005.
Democratization of Democracy, Humanitas, 2006.
What Kind of Democracy? (co-authored), Humanitas, 2007.
Seeking Transformation: Where We Are and What We Should Do (co-authored), Saenggakui Namu, 2008.
What Is the Problem with Korean Democracy?, Saenggakui Namu, 2008.
Human Wounds of Democracy without Labor, Politeia, 2012.
Books in Foreign Languages
Sustainable Democracy (co-authored with Przeworski et al.), Cambridge University Press, 1995.
Contemporary Korean Political Change: Historical Conditions of Modernization and Democracy, translated by Nakamura Fukuji, Bokutakusha, 1997.
Conditions of Contemporary Korean Politics, translated by Nakamura Fukuji, Hosei University Press, 1999.
Post-Cold War and Peace: Experiences, Conditions and Choices (edited), Asiatic Research Center, 2003.
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"A Brief Note on the Reform Direction and Strategy of the Kim Dae Jung Government," International Academic Conference, Asia Problems Research Institute, Korea University, 1998.
"An Evaluation of the Park Chung Hee Regime," Dialogue (quarterly), No. 5, 1999.
"Citizenship and a Participatory Welfare Society: Can Market Economy and Social Policy Be Compatible in Korean Society?," Labor Academy Academic Seminar, 1999.
"Democratization, Civil Society, and Civic Movements in Korea: The Significance of the Civic Alliance's Civic Movement for the 2000 General Elections," Planned Academic Conference of the Korean Political Science Association, Issues and Prospects of Political Science in the 21st Century: Korean Civil Society and Democracy, 2000.
"Globalization, Democratization, and Civil Society: The State-Civil Society Parallel Model as a Search for New Social Values and Principles of Social Organization," Spring Symposium of the Professional Intellectuals' Conference for Reform and Alternatives, 2000.
"The Tradition of Movements and the Model of Democracy," Korean Political Science Association, Planned Academic Conference on Political Change and Democracy in Korea, 2000.
"The Tradition of Movements and the Model of Democracy," Asia Research Vol. 43, No. 1, 2000.
"The Philosophy of Peace and Coexistence in the Era of the Dissolution of the Cold War," Hwanghae Munhwa, No. 29 (Winter issue), 2000.
"Reflection and Tasks of Korean Democracy," co-authored with Choi Jang-jip et al., Retrospect and Prospect of Korean Democracy, Hanaram, 2000.
"Democracy and Political Reform: Focusing on the Kim Dae Jung Government," edited by Min Ki-gi, Korean Politics in the 21st Century, Parkyoung Publishing, 2001.
"The Choices of the Kim Dae Jung Government and Korean Democracy," Ssial ŭi Sori, May-June issue, No. 160, 2001.
"Democracy after Democratization: Directions and Tasks for the Development of Korean Democracy," edited by the Institute for Democratic Society, Democracy, Baeksan Seodang, Vol. 1, 2002.
"On the Conditions of Korean Democracy and Good Government," Citizens and the World, Tangdae No. 3, 2003.
"The Future of Korea-US Relations: Reflections on Anti-American Sentiment," Asia Research Vol. 46, No. 1, 2003.
"Renaissance Italian City-States' International Relations and Machiavelli: A Research Note," edited by the Woo-am Peace Research Institute, History and Theory of Political Realism, Hwapyeongsa, 2003.
"A Preliminary Study on the Institutional Design of Korean Democracy," Asia Research Vol. 46, No. 4, 2003.
"Democracy without Labor: An Interpretation of the Failure of the Japan Socialist Party," Comparative Politics of Korea and Japan in a Period of Change, Ayon Publishing, 2003.
"Korean Democracy and the Roh Moo-hyun Government: Can the Vicious Cycle of Hope and Disappointment Be Broken?," The Participatory Government: 100 Days, Present and Future, Presidential Advisory Committee on Policy Planning, 2003.
"General Discussion: The Fragile Socioeconomic Foundations of Korean Democracy," Asia Research Vol. 47, No. 3, September 2004.
"Preface to the Korean Edition, Democracy and Constitutionalism: The United States and Korea," translated by Park Sang-hoon and Park Soo-hyung, Robert Dahl, American Constitution and Democracy, Humanitas, 2004.
"Ideological Foundations of East Asian Community: A Common Horizon of Meaning for Coexistence and Peace," Asia Research Vol. 47, No. 4, 2004.
"Toward Overcoming the 1987 System: A Critical Reflection on the Constitution and Social Structure," Changbi and Citizen Action, 2005.
"Conditions for Peace on the Korean Peninsula: From the Perspective of Kant's Perpetual Peace Theory," 2nd Seoul International Literature Forum, "Writing for Peace," 2005.
"Democracy and Korean Labor," Korea Labor and Society Institute Symposium, Korean Labor: Past, Present, Future, 2005.
"Korean Democracy without Social Citizenship," edited by Choi Jang-jip, Labor in Crisis, Humanitas, 2005.
"An Interpretation of 60 Years since Liberation: From the Perspective of a Democrat," Citizens and the World No. 8, 2006.
"The Transition to Democracy without Labor: An Interpretation of the Failure of the Japan Socialist Party," Asia Research Vol. 49, No. 2, 2006.
"(Book Review) Democratic Development Is Difficult without Labor," Asia Research Vol. 49, No. 3, 2006.
"Democracy as Institutional Practice," Memory and Vision No. 15 (Fall issue), 2006.
"Political Democratization: What Is the Problem with Korean Democracy?," Pyŏngbi No. 14, 2007.
"Characteristics of Korean Nationalism," co-authored with Choi Sang-yong et al., Nationalism, Peace, and Moderation, Kachi, 2007.
"Three Meanings of Korean Democracy and the Gwangju Uprising," Asia Research No. 128, 2007.
"Two Different Ways of Understanding Democracy: The People and the Citizens," Hwanghae Munhwa No. 58 (Spring issue), 2008.
"What Should We Think about the Lee Myung-bak Government?," Pyŏngbi No. 19 (Summer issue), 2008.