Date of Award

4-2005

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

Political Science

First Advisor

Dr. J. Kevin Corder

Second Advisor

Dr. Priscilla Lambert

Third Advisor

Dr. Alan C. Isaak

Access Setting

Masters Thesis-Open Access

Abstract

In mid-March 2004, the impeachment of President Roh Moo-Hyun was one of the hottest issues in South Korea. He was the first president to have been impeached by the National Assembly since the South Korean government was established in July 1948. The impeachment reveals a deep political disruption. The purpose of this paper is to scientifically determine to what extent the impeachment of the president may have undermined or developed the democracy in South Korea.

To answer these questions, this study examined the relationship between democratization and factors such as level of education, region, individual income, religion, age, attitude toward the impeachment, and voter participation using an Internet survey. Re-Poll, a public opinion census agency in South Korea, was used to collect and survey Koreans (n= 1 ,076) 20 years of age and older, beginning in 2005, based on sampling at the individual level with selection by categories of age and sex.

This study demonstrates that gender, voting tum-out, and attitude toward President Roh's impeachment affects individual attitudes toward democratization of South Korea, and that disagreement with President Roh's impeachment negatively affects individual attitudes toward the democratization of South Korea.

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