THE KOREAS IN 2012

2012 ON KOREAN PENINSULA

Lee Chang-sup

The Korea Times, November 25, 2010

2012 will be a critical year for the two Koreas and the surrounding powers. Korea, the United States, and Russia will hold presidential elections. Xi Zinping will take over China’s leadership, while in North Korea, it is the year marking the 100th anniversary of the birth of Kim Il-sung.

It is quite a coincidence for the countries in and around the Korean Peninsula to see simultaneous power transitions. South Korea will hold its presidential election in December 2012 to choose a successor to President Lee Myung-bak. The question is whether a conservative leader will run the country again or whether the liberal opposition party will retake the presidency.

Once the nation revises the Constitution, Korea will see a two-term, four-year presidency, or a parliamentary form of government. Barring a last-minute change of mind from Park Geun-hye and Sohn Hak-kyu, there is the remote possibility of a constitutional amendment.

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