Authoritarian neoliberalism in South Korea: origins and historical conjunctures

This article examines the authoritarian transformation of neoliberalism in South Korea. Tracing the origins and making of President Yoon’s attempted coup in December 2024, it argues that the event marked the consolidation of a hybrid developmental regime that fuses neoliberal economic policies with authoritarian governance. Drawing on critical political economy and debates on authoritarian neoliberalism, this article challenges conventional dichotomies such as developmentalism versus neoliberalism and authoritarianism versus democracy. It situates South Korea’s trajectory within the broader global decline of neoliberal hegemony, demonstrating how authoritarianism survived democratic transition and re-emerged through populist mobilization amid social polarization – serving as a means for political elites to sustain neoliberal order in the absence of neoliberal hegemony. This article concludes by reflecting on the implications of South Korea’s experience for understanding the authoritarian turn in global capitalism and the prospects for democracy in a post-neoliberal era.