This volume chronicles the policy challenges and adaptations faced and made by the South Korean government during the post-industrialization and democratization period. Following the model set by the first volume in the series, which covered the economic and social development during the developmental period from the 1960s to the 1980s, this volume examines how and to what extent the South Korean government has adapted to a variety of political, economic and social transformations since the 1990s. The book is divided in two parts. Part I reviews the changing policy environments and government policy paradigms in the wake of industrialization and democratization, focusing on the reorganization and coordination of government ministries and agencies. Part II explores key public policy areas, such as economics, social welfare, and foreign relations, where the South Korean government has successfully adapted to new policy challenges and environments. Drawing policy implications for the future actions of the South Korean government as well as for those countries wishing to replicate South Korea’s success and avoid its errors, this book of interest to both scholars and policy-makers concerned with development in the Asia-Pacific.
Jongwon Choi is Professor of the Graduate School of Public Administration and Director of the Asia Development Institute at Seoul National University. He graduated from Seoul National University (B.A. in Economics in 1982 and MPA in 1984) and obtained Ph. D. in public policy from University of Michigan in 1989. He was the Dean of Graduate School of Public Administration (2008-2010). Previously he worked for Economic Planning Board (EPB) and Korea Development Institute (KDI). He was a non-standing commissioner of Korean Fair Trade Commission, the 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. His research interest is on policy-making and policy implementation theories and empirical studies. His publications include: “James G. March and Policy Studies in Korea” (
Korean Policy Studies Journal, 2014), “On ICT Governance and Regulation” (
ICT Forum, 2014), “Institutional Leadership and Perceived Performance: Evidence from the Korean Minister Survey” (
Korean Journal of Policy 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), and the like.
Huck-ju Kwon is Professor of the Graduate School of Public Administration and Deputy Director of the Asia Development Institute at Seoul National University. He is also the Editor of the Korean Public Administration Review and Co-editor of Global Social Policy (Sage). His research interest is on comparative social policy in East Asia, international development policy and global governance. He was Director of the Global Research Network on Social Protection in East Asia, funded by the Korea Research Council(2010-
2013) and Visiting Scholar at the Harvard Yenching Institute (2013-2014). Previously he worked as the Research Coordinator at the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) (2002-2005). His publications include “Poverty Reduction and Good Governance” (
Development and Change, 2014),
Transforming the Developmental Welfare State in East Asia (Palgrave, 2005),
The East Asian Welfare Model: the State and Welfare Orientalism (Routledge, 1998, co-author) and
The Korean State and Social Policy (Oxford University Press, 2011).
Min Gyo Koo is Associate Professor of the Graduate School of Public Administration at Seoul National University. His research interests include East Asian political economy and maritime affairs. Among his many publications is
Island Disputes and Maritime Regime Building in East Asia: Between a Rock and a Hard Place (2010, Springer). Aside from many book chapters, he has published his research in a wide range of journals, including
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific,
The Pacific Review,
Pacific Affairs,
Asian Perspective,
European Journal of East Asia Studies, and
Journal of East Asian Studies. He has also co-edited (with Vinod K. Aggarwal)
Asia’s New Institutional Architecture: Evolving Structures for Managing Trade, Financial, and Security Relations (2008, Springer). From fall 2005 to spring 2007, he served as a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for International Studies and as a full time lecturer in the School of International Relations at the University of Southern California. He also taught at Yonsei University in Korea from fall 2007 to spring 2010. He currently serves as Visiting Scholar at the Harvard Yenching Institute (2015-2016).
