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This study analyzes securitization of democracy in South Korea. While “North Korean threat” has dominated security discourse in South Korea, democracy has been securitized in the country. This study examines how democracy has been securitized in the political processes in South Korea. Therefore, the aims of this study are twofold. One is to examine the utility of securitization as a theoretical framework for empirical analysis, while the other is to explore the issue of securitization of democracy in the South Korean political context where threat from North Korea has always been a significant factor. This study finds that the authoritarian leaders of South Korea before its democratic transition in 1987 like Rhee Syngman, Park Chung-hee, and Chun Doo-hwan were all engaged in the activities of securitizing democracy to justify their authoritarian rules. In other words, democracy was securitized by the authoritarian leaders who needed to justify their lack of legitimacy and to oppress the opposition party. Their assertion that facing the threat from the North, South Korea needed to be united around the authoritarian leaders effectively convinced the people to abandon the prospect for democracy. In other words, securitization of democracy is one of the best ways to understand and describe the politics of South Korea before its democratic reform in 1987.
