Abstract
Public policy decisions can be better understood by considering the political, social, and economic changes in the policy environment. The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of policy environment changes in South Korea after the 1980s, focusing particularly on the consequences of two historical events: the 6/29 declaration in 1987 and the financial crisis in 1997. Taking a historical perspective to analyze the institutional setting of the Korean state, we first review the two events, then analyze the political, social, and economic changes in the policy environment, and finally discuss challenges caused by the changes for the president, legislature, and state bureaucracy. We argue that the democratic and neo-liberal changes in the policy environment have affected the relationship among the policy actors and their policy capacities. We conclude with a discussion on the future of the Korean developmental state.
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Notes
- 1.
The English quotes from the 6/29 declaration in this chapter are based on Bedeski’s work (1994).
- 2.
“… it is necessary also to revise the Presidential Election Law so that freedom of candidacy and fair competition are guaranteed … A revised election law should ensure maximum fairness and justness in election management, from the campaigns to the casting, opening and counting of ballots.”
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- 4.
- 5.
It should be noted that the financial crisis not only drove economic globalization but also social globalization. As Rosendorf (2000) claimed that globalization is ultimately a social and cultural phenomenon, globalization was a process of global standardization and isomorphism.
- 6.
- 7.
The origin of the term imperial presidency is not clear (Choi 2002). At the least, we need to distinguish its meaning when the term is used in the United States and South Korea. In the former, it usually refers to the president’s exclusive power with regard to foreign policy. In the latter, it usually refers to the president’s unconstrained power in both domestic and foreign affairs (Choi 2002), mainly emphasizing the president’s control over the legislature and the court.
- 8.
Until the 2000s, the presidents were also the chief of the ruling party.
- 9.
Revisions and delay of bills occurred frequently, as shown in the Labor Reform Act by the Kim Young-sam administration in 1996 and procrastinated reforms during the Kim Dae-jung administration due to chaebol resistance.
- 10.
Even the United States has been warned against increasingly polarization (Pew Research Center 2014).
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Choi, J., Choi, T. (2017). Changes in the Political, Social and Economic Environment of Public Policy in South Korea After the 1980s. In: Choi, J., Kwon, Hj., Koo, M. (eds) The Korean Government and Public Policies in a Development Nexus. The Political Economy of the Asia Pacific. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52473-3_2
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