Weak federalism and a powerful presidency make South Korean too much like an elected monarchy

South Korea's Coronavirus Strategy Won't Work In America
Different countries require different responses.

by Robert E. Kelly

1. South Korea is much smaller:

2. South Korea is centralized:

South Korea is one of the most centralized and presidentialized democracies in the world. There is much debate in South Korean political science about the merits of this. There is concern that weak federalism and a powerful presidency make South Korean too much like an elected monarchy. But the upside of this, of course, is that the weak checks-and-balances here make swift executive branch action possible.

3. National Health Insurance:


4. More Cohesiveness:

Many Americans would see the government’s role in South Korea as too overbearing, such as its intrusions on privacy or the sanctity of faith communities. For example, once it was established that a South Korean church in Daegu was spreading the virus because it refused to follow protocols, the South Korean government moved rapidly to track down its hundreds of thousands of members to test them all. There would have been a backlash to this in the U.S., whereas in South Korea, people have called for the church to be prosecuted for spreading the virus.
More generally, South Koreans have a pretty strong sense of community which the government has been able to mobilize to achieve collective action which I honestly doubt Americans could muster

5. Better leadership:

インタビュー中に子供が飛び出してきたあのケリーさんの論文

アメリカが韓国のようにできない理由として、韓国はアメリカと違って、小国、韓国は、アメリカと違って、三権分立が弱く大統領が一種の君主のようになって、わりかし、やりたい放題できる、アメリカと違って、健康保険制度が整備されている、プライバシー侵害しても、宗教団体追い込んでも、国民が文句言わず、むしろ、村意識が強くて、それを君主＝大統領が利用して一致団結して行動できる、韓国と違って、アメリカの大統領は馬鹿すぎる、みたい（？ｗｗ）な・・・


大量検査云々言っていないところにも注目。