Parsing South Korea’s Presidential Inauguration

Yoon Suk-yeol was inaugurated as the 20th president of the Republic of Korea on May 10, 2022. The inauguration ceremony not only formally swears in the new president, but also serves as a celebration of the peaceful transfer of power, a hallmark of a democracy. Instead of directly proceeding to the stage like their predecessors, Yoon and his wife walked about a tenth of a mile toward the stage while fist-bumping crowds lined up to celebrate the inauguration. Experts interpreted this choreographed break with tradition as a sign that Yoon will seek to communicate more directly with the public during his term.

The inaugural speech is another highlight of every ceremony, as it reveals the new president’s goals and principles for the next five years. The most frequently used word in Yoon's inauguration speech was “freedom,” which appeared more than 30 times during the 16-minute long address.

In 1998, the keywords in President Kim Dae-jung’s inauguration speech were “economy,” “corporate,” and “Chaebol reform,” reflecting the devastating consequences of the then-ongoing financial crisis that South Korea had yet to tackle. During his 2003 inauguration ceremony, President Roh Moo-hyun emphasized “peace in Northeast Asia” in response to the escalating North Korean nuclear crisis at that time. He also stressed “balanced development of national land,” hinting at his plan to relocate the administrative capital from Seoul to Sejong City.

Meeting the demands of the South Korean people, who eagerly wanted dignity restored to the presidency after former President Park Geun-hye’s impeachment, “[new] president” appeared 34 times in President Moon Jae-in’s 11-minute long speech in 2017. Moon also emphasized “national integration” in a wish to overcome the deep social division that was exposed in the process of Park’s impeachment.

Some observers say Yoon’s inauguration displayed the president’s pro-business stance. The heads of the top five conglomerates – Samsung, SK, Hyundai Motors, LG, and Lotte – attended the ceremony, along with the heads of economic groups and executives of famous venture companies. The presence of so many business leaders was notable when compared to previous presidential inaugurations. The business leaders were likely especially pleased that their seats were not only on the main stage, but also in the front rows close to the podium.

An inauguration ceremony reflects at once the enduring character of a country and the temporary state of its politics. It is a composite of a country's history, culture, values, political zeitgeist, and the president-elect’s governing philosophy.

Inauguration day for the South Korean president is long and exhausting. It begins with a briefing from the Joint Chiefs of Staff at 00:00 a.m. – by which point the new president has already assumed office, even through the ceremony will come later. In South Korea, the timing of the president’s official transfer of power comes from the Public Official Election Act. Article 14 of the act stipulates that the new presidential term will begin at midnight of the day when the outgoing president’s term expires, thus explaining the timing of the first security briefing for the new president.

Past presidents, including Kim Young-sam, Kim Dae-jung, and Moon Jae-in, left the Blue House at around 6:00 p.m., which is the official close of business for central government employees, meaning the president’s office would be empty from 6:00 p.m. until the new president arrives after the inauguration ceremony the next day. The South Korean presidential inauguration ceremony is normally held at 10:00 a.m. or 11:00 a.m., and presidents proceed to the ceremony from their private residence. The gap between South Korea’s transfer of power and the inauguration ceremony has sparked some concerns about a potential “power vacuum” during the time between the start of the new president’s term and the official swearing-in.

South Korean presidents always attend the inauguration ceremony as the president, not the president-elect – unlike in the United States, where the president-elect becomes the president during the ceremony. In the United States, the inauguration day program schedules the swearing-in for as close as possible to noon to avoid a constitutional power vacuum. Moreover, by tradition, U.S. presidents-elect have spent the night before their swearing-in at Blair House, the official residence for guests of the president. On the day of inauguration, the president-elect and the outgoing president proceed together to the Capitol for the ceremony. Even though former President Donald Trump broke this tradition – which has endured since 1837 with few exceptions – the schedules of the outgoing president and the president-elect are arranged to minimize the possibility of a power vacuum during the inauguration day.

Both the South Korean and U.S. Constitutions mandate a presidential oath of office with the language of the oath stipulated in Article 69 in the Korean Constitution and in Article II, Section 1, Clause 8 in the U.S. Constitution. When taking the oath of office, the South Korean president raises their right hand and recites the words stated in the constitution, with no one administering the oath. However, in the United States, the chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court usually administers the presidential inaugural oath. While the constitution does not mandate that anyone in particular should administer the presidential oath of office, it has been administered by the chief justice beginning with the inauguration of John Adams in 1797, except following the death of a sitting president.

In the United States, a presidential inauguration, a ceremonial induction into office, symbolically brings together all three branches of the U.S. government by having the chief justice (judicial branch) administer the oath of office to the president-elect (executive branch), while Congress (legislative branch) leads the planning of the ceremonies.

A U.S. president’s inauguration is planned by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (JCCIC). Since 1901, and in accordance with the 20th Amendment of the United States Constitution, JCCIC has been responsible for the planning and execution of the inaugural ceremonies of the president-elect and vice president-elect of the United States at the Capitol. In many cases, a signing ceremony, the first official actions by the newly sworn in president of the United States, is held at the Capitol after the ceremonies. Surrounded by the leaders of Congress and presidential aides, the president signs proclamations and cabinet nominations to formally submit to Congress. Although this tradition only began in 1981, it shows a spirit of respect for Congress. The president spends a significant amount of time at the Capitol on inauguration day, attending additional events like the inaugural lunch hosted by JCCIC at Statuary Hall, and reviewing military troops at the East Front steps.

On the contrary, in South Korea, the presidential transition committee and Ministry of the Interior and Safety are responsible for the inauguration ceremonies. The Korean National Assembly (legislative branch) does not have a role on the day except providing the venue (normally in front of the National Assembly building) and its members attend the event as guests. This fact may reflect the dominance of the South Korean executive branch and the president, which stems from constitutional structure and historical precedent.

South Korean presidents enjoy enormous legislative powers through the presidential veto and the budget process. By Article 54(2) and Article 57, only the government led by the president has the power to make the fiscal budget. The National Assembly reviews the budget but cannot make any major changes. It was only after the 16th National Assembly (2000-2004) that the total number of bills proposed by assembly members outnumbered the ones proposed by the executive branch. Members of the National Assembly can serve as cabinet members without resigning, and the president has a strong influence in the selection process of the ruling party candidates for seats at the National Assembly.

There is another stark difference between the South Korean presidential inauguration and the one for the U.S. president. In many cases, the spouse of the U.S. president participates in the swearing-in ceremony by holding the Bible during the oath. All family members, including spouses of their children, stand around the president and the first lady to congratulate them. However, in South Korea, the spouse of the president has no role in the ceremony, and no other family members are seen on the main stage. We can also see this contrast at confirmation hearings in each country. In the United States, the Cabinet nominees often take their family members to the Capitol and introduce them to the committee members during the hearing. However, this would be unimaginable in South Korea.

The principle of work and family balance and the division between the personal and official parts of life are equally important in both countries. So what explains this political difference? It may come from the South Korean people’s heightened sensitivity toward nepotism and corruption – numerous South Korean presidents have had their family members implicated in corruption scandals, with Yoon himself facing questions about his wife’s alleged abuses of power. More research will be needed to find better answers.