In the latest report released on Thursday by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), a think tank affiliated with the U.K. magazine, the country's democracy index ranked 39th among 167 countries in the world, down ten spots from a year ago.
Since 2006, the EIU has evaluated countries in five categories – electoral process and pluralism, functioning of government, political participation, political culture, and civil liberties – to classify them into four types of statuses, "full democracies," "flawed democracies," "hybrid regimes," and "authoritarian regimes."
South Korea scored an average of 7.75 points out of 10, down from 8.09 the previous year, when it ranked 22nd.
The country's lowest ranking has relegated it to the status of a "flawed democracy" from its previous status as a "full democracy," which it had maintained since 2020.
"Although South Korea's parliament and the general public demonstrated widespread respect for democratic institutions in the country, the episode (the Dec. 3 declaration of martial law) served as a reminder of the comparatively short track record (37 years) and relative fragility of democracy in South Korea," the report wrote.
It also predicted continuous political tensions "in the form of heightened polarization" between opponents, adding that "public dissatisfaction with South Korea's democracy could increase."
Meanwhile, Norway was accessed as the most democratic country with 9.81 points on average, followed by New Zealand (9.61), Sweden (9.39), Iceland (9.38) and Switzerland (9.32). Nort Korea was placed near the bottom of the list at 165th ad classified as an "authoritarian regime," a level where any form of democracy is impossible to expect.
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