Koret Distinguished Lecture Series: Lecture VI

Facing increasingly daunting challenges at home and abroad, South Korea will hold its next presidential election in December 2017. At home, South Koreans are concerned about a rapidly aging society, imminent population decline, economic slowdown, and an inadequate social welfare net. Abroad, they worry about the strength of their alliance with the United States, confrontation among the countries of Northeast Asia over history and territorial issues, and military buildups in the region, including North Korea’s continuing pursuit of nuclear weapons. Thus, the 19th presidential election may prove to be the most important in Korea’s history. Yet problems with Korea’s current presidential system and candidate selection process are all too apparent. The Honorable Hyong O Kim, a former Speaker of Korea’s National Assembly who has been heavily engaged in many past presidential elections, will analyze the outlook for the 2017 presidential election and recommend ways of dealing with the weighty issues it entails.

 

The Koret Distinguished Lecture Series is made possible through the generous support of the Koret Foundation.