PAGE 1 OF 17 REWRITING HISTORY, UNDERMINING DEMOCRACY: THE ROLE OF THE NEW RIGHT IN SOUTH KOREAN MEMORY POLITICS Introduction Memory politics is concerned with “who wants whom to remember what”, why, and how (Confino 1997). Accordingly, it involves recurring contestations of history by actors in the present for a particular projection into the future. Given South Korea’s particular history and the lingering legacies of its past, it is not surprising that more than three decades aſter the transition to formal democracy in 1987, memory politics is at the centre of the conflict between the country’s liberals and conservatives. South Korea’s two main political camps can be distinguished by their views on domestic and foreign policy. Typically, the liberal camp, historically associated with the Democratic Party (Deobureo Minjundang), advocates for social justice, government intervention, and labour rights. Meanwhile, conservatives are associated with the People Power Party (Gungminui Him) and stand for free market policies, limited government intervention, and national security. Concerning foreign policy, the former seeks a more conciliatory stance towards North Korea (and a de-risking approach towards China), favouring dialogue, engagement, and peaceful reunification. The latter maintains a hardline stance on North Korea, emphasising military strength and deterrence, and strongly supporting the U.S.-South Korea alliance as well as security cooperation with Japan to counter North Korea, while favouring de-coupling from China (cf. Lee et al. 2017). The underlying roots of the antagonistic positions of South Korea’s political camps, however, can be found in their opposing interpretations of the past. The liberal camp identifies itself with the anti-imperialist independence movement at the end of the 19th century and during the Japanese occupation (1910-1945), and sees itself as the torchbearer of the anti-authoritarian democratisation movement under the subsequent developmental (military) dictatorships (1948 – 1987). Rewriting history, undermining democracy The role of the New Right in South Korean memory politics HANNES B. MOSLER HANNES B. MOSLER Professor at the Institute of East Asian Studies and Institute of Political Science, University of Duisburg-Essen (Germany)