08.07.2026 - 10:35:54

Hannes Mosler’s Symposium Lecture in Kyosu Shinmun

The Symposium of the Seoul National University “Korea-Europe Cooperation in a Rapidly Changing International Order” (including a lecture by Hannes Mosler). – Report by Kim Jae-ho in Kyosu Shinmun, June 11, 2026

Excerpt from the article:
“Hannes Mosler, Professor for Social Sciences of East Asia – Korea at the University of Duisburg-Essen, presented a paper titled South Korea’s Far Right and Democratic Backsliding in South Korea, drawing attention to the structural vulnerabilities underlying democracy’s resilience. He described the spread of far-right politics within South Korea’s conservative camp as a three-stage process—‘mainstreaming,’ ‘normalization,’ and ‘radicalization’—and expressed concern over the phenomenon of extremist discourse gradually seeping into the political sphere and society at large.
He warned that a crisis of democracy does not occur suddenly one day but emerges when society becomes accustomed to danger through a repetitive process of normalization. He pointed out, ‘Each time normalization occurred, the cost of mainstreaming decreased, and each time mainstreaming occurred, the threshold for radicalization lowered,’ emphasizing the need for vigilance to ensure the long-term health of democracy.”
[translated from Korean with the help of DeepL]

Link to the IN-EAST News about the symposium:
https://www.uni-due.de/in-east/news.php?id=1690