• Korean Journal of Legislative Studies
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.5-29
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• 2018

This paper aims at making an assessment about the first year of the Moon Jae-in government. President Moon was elected amid political insecurity over the impeachment of then-president Park Geun-hye. However, the Moon administration settled in fairly smoothly despite no transition period of presidential power. Political and economic stability was soon restored, and the tensions between the US and North Korea over the North's nuclear weapons program were, to some extent, managed along with the agreement of the North-South summit and the US-North Korea summit. Pyeongchang hosted the 2018 winter olympics and paralympics successfully. Moon continued very positive approval ratings of higher than 70%. However, he has something to be desired. His leadership seems to rely heavily on a limited number of close staff in the Blue House, alienating the governing the Minjoo Party of Korea. He should build better relationship with opposition parties particularly given a divided government. Rectification of the lingering negative practices should also produce institutional solutions. Above all, Moon should carefully watch out to prevent scandals over corruption and power abuse around him and his family, which would lead to a precipitous decline of the approval ratings and the abrupt weakening of the leadership.

• Korean Security Journal
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• no.37
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• pp.29-50
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• 2013

With the recent global threats of terrorism as well as religious conflicts, Northeast Asian countries including South Korea, China, and Japan are experiencing particularly serious security crises as demonstrated by North Korea's threats of nuclear weapons testings and long-range missile launching as well as military provocation toward South Korea such as sinking of ROKS Cheonan and bombardment of Yeonpyeong island and the territorial dispute between China and Japan over Senkaku Islands(Diaoyu Islands). As a result, Park Geun Hye Administration of South Korea and the 2nd Abe Shinzo Cabinet of Japan, both recently established, are making efforts to improve their national security and crisis management policies. One of the key elements of such efforts is the strengthening of National Security Council(NSC) or its equivalent organization as the control tower of national security policy, modeled after the NSC of the United States. This paper compares NSC organization of Korea, the U.S., and Japan and draws policy insights focusing on the current political and national security situation South Korea is facing. Although organizational structure, function, and history of NSC of each country differs, it can be inferred from this comparison that NSC-type of organizations can play an important role as a control tower of security and emergency management policies.

• The Korean Journal of Air & Space Law and Policy
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.163-186
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• 2009

The missile technology and its development in south Korea have been restrained to the limit of 180 km by America which instead provided to Korea with security protection. In the same vein, America pressured South Korea to abort its nuclear weapons program so as to prevent another possible military encounter that can easily develop into a war between South and North Korea. This restraint was a bit relaxed when South Korea joined the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) in 2001 whereby the limit was 300 km. The situation of South Korea is in much contrast with its neighbor, North Korea, which has fired Taepo Dong 1 and Taepo Dong 2 to put its alleged satellite respectively into the Earth orbit. The range of this rocket believed to be reaching more than 5,500 km, a range of the intercontinental ballistic missile, without any rein. South Korea that has just geared its full powers for its outer space industry, with the current space projects of putting its satellites into the low Earth orbit, will in future put its satellite into the geostationary orbit, 36,000 km above the Earth. To do so, such restraint had better be resolved. Korean space industry, as it is alike in other countries, started with putting and manufacturing sounding rockets, producing satellites but relying on foreign launching facilities, and learning launching capacities. Experiencing three time launchings of KITSAT, the current satellite projects of Korea are undertaken as follows: - Koreasat - STSAT - Komsat - MBSAT - COMS (Communication, Ocean, and Meteorological Satellite) Koreans waked up to the things of outer space in 2008 with the first Korean astronaut Li So-yeon, a lady bio systems engineer. Although the first Korean made rocket in cooperation with a Russian company to fire last August 2009 was a failure, it should be considered as an inevitable process for future endeavors. There are currently three outer space related laws of Korea: Aerospace Industry Development Promotion Act 1987, Outer Space Development Promotions Act 2005, and Space Damage Compensation Act 2008. The first two stemming from the two different ministries are, however, overlapping in many aspects and have some shortcomings to be improved.