The Korean Government and Public Policies in a Development Nexus: Sustaining Development and Tackling Policy Changes

147 Pages·2017·1.94 MB·English

by  Jongwon Choi, Huck-ju Kwon, Min Gyo Koo (eds.)

The Political Economy of the Asia Pacific
Jongwon Choi
Huck-ju Kwon
Min Gyo Koo Editors
The Korean
Government and
Public Policies in a
Development Nexus
Sustaining Development and Tackling
Policy Changes
fi
The Political Economy of the Asia Paci c
Series Editor
Vinod K. Aggarwal
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/7840
Jongwon Choi Huck-ju Kwon
(cid:129)
Min Gyo Koo
Editors
The Korean Government
and Public Policies
in a Development Nexus
Sustaining Development and Tackling Policy
Changes
123
Editors
Jongwon Choi Min GyoKoo
Graduate Schoolof Public Administration Graduate Schoolof Public Administration
SeoulNational University SeoulNational University
Seoul Seoul
SouthKorea SouthKorea
Huck-ju Kwon
Graduate Schoolof Public Administration
SeoulNational University
Seoul
SouthKorea
ISSN 1866-6507 ISSN 1866-6515 (electronic)
ThePolitical Economy ofthe Asia Pacific
ISBN978-3-319-52472-6 ISBN978-3-319-52473-3 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-52473-3
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2016963419
©SpringerInternationalPublishingAG2017
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Foreword
Thequestionofhowcountriesescapethemiddle-incometrapisapressingissuefor
many governments throughout the world. For neoliberal economists, with a belief
in the miracle of the unfettered market, the answer is simple: keep the state out of
business, and everything will be fine. But with a backlash against globalization
growing throughout both the developed and developing world, this answer is not
only facile but also a recipe for disaster. Those who understand the political
economyofdevelopment,ratherthanthefantasyofapoliticalgrowth,willapplaud
thepublicationofthisbook.Bysheddinglightonboththesuccessesandfailuresof
state intervention as the Korean government has sought to promote Korea’s rise
towardneweconomicheights,thisvolumemakesanimportantcontributiontoour
understanding of both the Korean economy and important lessons for other
countries.
This book, a companion volume to The Korean Government and Public Policy
in Development Nexus by Huck-ju Kwon and Min Gyo Koo published in 2014,
takes the story of Korea’s development to the present. Its focus on the critical
problems faced by Korea in the wake of the 1997–1998 financial crisis, and the
government’s response and interaction with societal groups sheds light on the
complexityofpromotingdevelopment. Theneedtoaddresstheproblems oflosers
from increasing globalization through the creation of a more significant welfare
state and the difficulties in promoting advanced industries rather than simply
catching up to more developed countries are essential elements in Korea’s devel-
opment story. Given that Korea was also able to consolidate its democratic insti-
tutions after the transformation to civilian rule in the late 1980s, its success
demonstrates the fallacy of the need for an authoritarian government to promote
successful industrial policies. By focusing on the interaction between the civil
society and the state apparatus in the face of critical challenges, this book goes
beyond just a single case study of Korea to deepen our knowledge of transition
political economy.
By systematically showing both the benefits and costs of government inter-
vention, as well as the political coalition building process necessary to sustain
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vi Foreword
development, this book provides a balanced approach to understanding the role
ofthestateineconomicdevelopment.Today,Koreafacesacriticalchallengefrom
anti-globalizationsentimentthatcanendangeritsdevelopmentstrategy.Asahighly
trade-dependent country without the market size of China or India, emphasizing
only the domestic market is simply not tenable. Moreover, unlike most countries
seeking to improve its economic standing, South Korea also faces the relatively
uniqueproblemofanextremelyhostileNorthKorea.Moreover,withapotentialof
increasingcompetition intrade,finance,andsecuritybetween ChinaandtheUSA,
asamiddlepowercountry,Koreamustcarefullycalibratebothitsforeignpolitical
and economy policy. As the contributors and editors clearly show, “success” can
never be final. There is no “end of history” for Korea—or for other countries for
that matter. By illuminating the interplay of politics and economics, this book
provides a welcome and innovative contribution to both theory and policy about
development. As the series editor, I congratulate the editors on a masterful work.
Vinod K. Aggarwal
Travers Family Senior Faculty Fellow and
Professor, Political Science, Affiliated Professor,
Haas School of Business,
Director, Berkeley APEC Study Center
Berkeley, CA, USA
Contents
1 Introduction.... .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 1
Jongwon Choi, Huck-ju Kwon and Min Gyo Koo
Part I Policy Environment and Governance
2 Changes in the Political, Social and Economic Environment
of Public Policy in South Korea After the 1980s.... .... ..... .... 9
Jongwon Choi and Taehyon Choi
3 Leaving Behind the Developmental State: The Changing
Rationale of Governance in Korean Governments .. .... ..... .... 31
Huck-ju Kwon
4 The State-Civil Society Relationship in Korea.. .... .... ..... .... 47
Yeonho Lee and Chi Hoon Sung
Part II Public Policies Beyond the Developmental State Paradigm
5 The National Innovation System (NIS) for the Catch-Up
and Post-catch-up Stages in South Korea . .... .... .... ..... .... 69
Keun Lee, Buru Im and Junhee Han
6 From the Developmental to the Universal Welfare State:
Lost in Transition? .. .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 83
Huck-ju Kwon
7 South Korea’s Policy Responses to the Changing Trade
Environment in the Post-Uruguay Round Period... .... ..... .... 99
Min Gyo Koo
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viii Contents
8 The Challenges of Foreign Policy and Suggestions
for Future Responses .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 117
Byoung Kwon Sohn
9 Conclusion. .... .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 135
Jongwon Choi, Huck-ju Kwon and Min Gyo Koo
Editors and Contributors
About the Editors
Jongwon Choi is a professor at Graduate School of Public Administration, and
DirectoroftheAsiaDevelopmentInstitute,SeoulNationalUniversity.Hegraduated
fromSeoulNationalUniversity(B.A.inEconomicsin1982andM.P.A.in1984)and
obtainedPh.D.inpublicpolicyfromUniversityofMichiganin1989.Hewasthedean
ofGraduateSchoolofPublicAdministration(2008–2010).Previously,heworkedfor
EconomicPlanningBoard(EPB)andKoreaDevelopmentInstitute(KDI).Hewasa
non-standing commissioner of Korean Fair Trade Commission, Republic of Korea
(2008–2011). He also was the chairman of Korean Public Enterprise Evaluation
Committee (2012–2013). He is the president of the Korean Society of Public
Enterprises since 2009. He was the editor of the Korean Public Administration
Review.Hisresearchinterestisonpolicy-makingandpolicyimplementationtheories
andempiricalstudies.Hispublicationsinclude“JamesG.MarchandPolicyStudies
in Korea” (Korean Policy Studies Journal, 2014), “On ICT Governance and
Regulation” (ICT Forum, 2014), “Institutional Leadership and Perceived
Performance:EvidencefromtheKoreanMinisterSurvey”(KoreanJournalofPolicy
Studies, 2011), Consumers and the Rule of Law (Seoul National University Press,
2008, co-author), Korean National Governance System: Challenges and Strategies
(Seoul:Nanam,2008,co-author).Email:[email protected]
Huck-juKwon isaprofessorattheGraduateSchoolofPublicAdministration,and
DeputyDirectoroftheAsiaDevelopmentInstitute,SeoulNationalUniversity.Heis
alsotheeditoroftheKoreanPublicAdministrationReviewandco-editorofGlobal
Social Policy (Sage). His research interest is on comparative social policy in East
Asia,internationaldevelopmentpolicy,andglobalgovernance.Hewasthedirector
of the Global Research Network on Social Protection in East Asia, funded by the
KoreaResearchCouncil(2010–2013),andvisitingscholarattheHarvardYenching
Institute (2013–2014). Previously, he worked as the research coordinator at the
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