Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the paradoxical pattern in which South Korean presidents enjoy imperial power early in their term, but became fragile and impotent as their term comes to an end. Design/methodology/approach Based on the previous literature on Korean presidentialism, this paper introduces and critically compares several competing theories on the Korean presidency and its defects. Findings This paper finds that for Korean presidents, imperial governance and fragility represent two sides of the same coin, like a Janus face. These two seemingly competing descriptions of the Korean presidency are not actually contradictory. Originality/value This paper investigates how Korean presidents are imperial with regard to constitutional design as well as political behavior, and presents a logic of transformation from an imperial president to a fragile one, focusing on party politics and election cycles.

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