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The warning from Seoul, democracy at risk in an age of authoritarian power. South Korean President Yun Sukyo, whose declaration of a state of emergency yesterday shocked

the world, has often been referred to both within and outside of his country as South

Korea's Donald Trump.

A political outsider, he came to power with anti-establishment and often

outrageously inflammatory rhetoric, trash-talking women's rights, reforming their health care

system, and pushing hard for a neoliberal agenda that included raising the workweek from 52 to 69

hours. In that, he reflects a growing trend among advanced democracies around the world,

as decades of neoliberalism have weakened multiple nations' ability to sustain middle-class

lifestyles while enriching an oligarch class that's now reaching out worldwide to seize control

of democratic governments to their own financial benefit.

Of all the events in world news over the past weeks, even more than the escalation of Putin's

murderous crimes against Ukraine, Trump and his authoritarian colleagues down at Maralago are

probably carefully watching what's happening to Yun and gaming out how a similar emergency action here in America might be recalibrated to have

ultimate success. Yun has now backed down in the face of opposition from the South Korean

Parliament. He couldn't get one single vote from his own party in Parliament and is now

facing demands that he resign or be

impeached. The challenges Yun faced included a 17% approval rating, the legislature having been

captured by the opposition party, and most importantly that he had never forced the members of his

...