Korea's Presidential Impeachment and East Asia's Crisis

Friday, 25 April 2025 | 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. | Room 280A, Second Floor, York Lanes, Keele Campus, York University and virtually via Zoom

With Lee Young-chae, Keisen University

What are the implications of South Korea's attempted insurrection and presidential impeachment for the broader East Asian context? This talk discusses the connections between South Korea's political crisis and the ongoing military buildup in East Asia, while also reflecting on the role of civil society in light of the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between South Korea and Japan.

Lee Young-chae has been teaching the history of Japanese militarism, Japanese colonialism in East Asia, and peace studies at Keisen University in Japan since the late 1990s. Lee has been closely involved in exchanges between citizen groups in Japan and Korea. He has served as the secretary-general of the East Asian Candlelight Action Against Yasukuni, the representative of the Asia Peace Academy, and is recognized as a media panelist on current issues concerning Korea and Japan.

His publications include From Korean drama ‘First Love’ To the Death of Korea President Roh Moo-hyun (Nashinokisya, 2006); Contemporary History of North Korea (Commons, 2010); and Modern Right-Wing History of Korea and Japan (Changbi, 2020).

Virtual attendees can register at this link.

Presented by Korean Office for Research and Education (KORE) and the Centre for the Study of Korea at the University of Toronto.

For more information: kore@yorku.ca