Democratizing Economic Policymaking in South Korea: Painfully Slow Progress Toward an Executive-Legislative Balance of Power

Jiho Jang and Doh C. Shin

International Review of Public Administration, 2008, vol. 13, issue 1, 59-70

Abstract: In this study, we proceed on the assumption that where the rule of law prevails, parliament becomes the key institution of democratic governance. To transform delegative or limited democracy into a truly representative democracy, it is necessary to ensure not only vertical but also horizontal accountability. This study considers the horizontal dimensions of accountability in order to provide a fuller picture of the part that the Korean legislature has played during the course of democratic regime change. It examines the current process of economic policymaking under democratic rule, using evaluative data from the lawmakers who serve on the National Assembly Committee on Finance and Economy. The authoritarian “sunflower” model presented an extreme version of technocracy, featuring efficient decision – making mostly by technocrats with little or no consultation with other governmental and nongovernmental institutions, including the National Assembly. The current model has, on the other hand, moderated technocratic control such that technocrats formulate policies in consultation with other, more diverse interests. Obviously, this model falls far short of manifesting a fully democratic model of economic policymaking in which the president and elected lawmakers formulate policy jointly in the context of extensive consultation with civic groups and all other relevant governmental and non-governmental organizations and interests.

Date: 2008
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DOI: 10.1080/12294659.2008.10805112

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