Sociopolitical Approach to the Launch History of the KBO League: Application of Complex System Paradigm

The Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) League is a sports culture that Koreans love and enjoy most. However, the launch of the KBO League is related to political issues in Korea. The purpose of this study is to explain the launch history of the KBO league through a sociopolitical approach. The history of the KBO league was explained by applying a complex paradigm that explains sociocultural phenomena from a new perspective. This study used historical analysis, a qualitative study approach. Literature related to Korean professional baseball, complex system theory, sports, and politics were reviewed. This study introduces the characteristics and theory of the complex system paradigm and analyzes the history of the KBO League based on this theory. The edge of chaos, bifurcation point, positive feedback, emergence of the theory of complex system are used as elements of an overall theoretical framework to analyze the history and development of the KBO league. The study results are explained in four frameworks. First, the KBO was launched on the edge of chaos, or in the midst of social chaos provoked by Chun Doo-Hwan, who seized power through a military coup. Second, the Chun Doo-Hwan regime launched the professional baseball league to divert the public’s attention from politics to sports and provided support to construct baseball fields as venues for the national pastime. The Chun Doo-Hwan regime’s appeasement policy became a bifurcation point, which promoted the launch of the professional baseball league. Third, from the viewpoint of the complex system paradigm, the launch of the Korean baseball league was enabled by the positive feedback of the Korea professional baseball promotion committee, established in 1975 under the initiative of Korean American businessman Hong Yoon-Hee. Fourth, the Korean professional baseball league led to the emergence of the consumption culture of professional sports, and it became a national leisure and a crucial part of Korea’s sports culture. In terms of sociopolitical, the KBO League started in the dark of Korean society, but it is becoming a vitality for Korean sports culture and health.

Transition I

Due to many problems resulting from the heavy chemical industry (HCI) drive in the 1970s, including excessive input-oriented overinvestments, heavy-handed and highly detailed state control and imbalanced development, Korean capitalism in the 1980s underwent significant changes in the direction of liberalization, including open trade, privatization of banks, reduction of policy loans, and emphasis on private initiatives in the free market. Yet these liberalization measures do not mean an entire transformation of the developmental state to a neoliberal free market system. On the contrary, they initiated the transformation of the classical developmental state (DS) to a new version of state-led developmentalism. This chapter explores first to what extent Korea capitalism in the Chun Doo-hwan administration (1980–7) changed compared with the former DS. Second, we explore why Korea continued its state-led developmentalism by focusing mainly on bureaucratic contests inside the state.

South Korea: The Journey Toward Civilian and Democratic Control Over the Military

Many have seen the establishment of civilian and democratic control over the military as a necessary, although not sufficient, condition for the consolidation of a nascent democracy. The establishment of civilian and democratic control over the military in South Korea was a long and, some would argue, uncompleted process. A coup in 1961 led by Park Chung-hee, a major-general, led to the establishment of an authoritarian regime that, while going civilian, was based on the control of the military and the intelligence services. Park was assassinated by the head of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency in October 1979; however, the hopes of moving in the direction of democracy were soon squashed when Chun Doo-hwan, and his comrades in arms from the secret Hanahoe (One Mind) club of Korean Military Academy graduates, first took power over the military through an internal coup, and then took control over the government. Under significant internal, and external, pressure Chun Doo-hwan agreed to step down from the presidency in 1987 and allow the writing of a new constitution that led to free elections to the presidency in December 1987. The opposition lost the 1987 election due to its inability to agree upon a united candidate. The winner was Roh Tae-woo, a participant in the 1979–1990 coup, who would during his presidency take important steps when it came to establishing civilian control over the military. However, it was first with the inauguration of the Kim Young-sam in 1993 that the establishment of firm civilian control was achieved. He engaged in a significant reorganization of, and moved against the power of the secret societies within, the army. He also promoted the idea of a politically neutral military. This most likely played a significant role when Kim Dae-jung, the first opposition candidate, won the presidency in December 1997, as the military remained neutral and accepted the outcome of the electoral process. There has since been a strengthening of civilian control over the military in South Korea. However, there are a number of important issues that need to be dealt with in order to ensure full democratic control over the military and the intelligence services. While the military, as an institution, has stayed neutral in politics, military and intelligence resources have been used in attempts at influencing public opinion in the lead-up to elections. In addition, comprehensive oversight by the legislature continues to be weak and the National Security Law remains on the books.