Civil society and local activism in South Korea's local democratization

Bibliographic Data

ID6254522
AuthorsYooil Bae (0009-0000-6563-2410, Singapore Management University), Sunhyuk Kim (0000-0002-3298-3510, Korea University)
Year2013
Volume20
Issue2
Pages260-286
Publication date2013-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueDemocratization (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1351-0347 • E-ISSN: 1743-890X
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13510347.2011.650913
OpenAlexW2076245295
LanguageEN
Citations received10
References cited20

Recent studies on causes of intergovernmental transformation in old and new democracies have found that decentralization is often the outcome of negotiations between national and local political interests. South Korea is commonly believed to be an exception because local elections and institutions introduced in the early 1990s were, by and large, the product of negotiations among political elites at the centre, without significant inclusion of local actors. However, this article attempts to explicate a hitherto ignored aspect of decentralization reform in Korea: the role of civil society and local activism in the politics of decentralization. In the 2000s, several 'triggering events' such as economic instability, democratic consolidation, emergence of civilian leaders, and the growth of civil society provided a strong momentum for the decentralization movement. We demonstrate how civic organizations at both national and local levels have played significant roles in proposing and pushing for decentralization, and argue that the bottom-up movement for decentralization under the Roh Moo-hyun administration was surprisingly well mobilized and institutionalized, especially at the agenda-setting stage. Keywords: civil societydecentralizationlocal democracySouth Koreademocratization Acknowledgements We would like to thank Jefferey Sellers, Apichai Shipper, Paul Chang, David Straub, Se-il Park, John Donaldson, Erik Mobrand, interviewees in South Korea, and anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments and suggestions. Notes Törnquist, 'Assessing Democracy from Below'. Heller, 'The Politics of Democratic Decentralization'. Selee and Tulchin, 'Decentralization and Democratic Governance'. Diamond and Tsalik, 'Size and Democracy', 130. Heller, 'The Politics of Democratic Decentralization', 133. For example, see Eaton, 'Political Obstacles'; Falleti, 'A Sequential Theory'; Garman, Haggard, and Willis, 'Fiscal Decentralization'; O'Neill, 'Decentralization as an Electoral Strategy'. de Tocqueville, Democracy in America. Schmitter, 'Civil Society East and West', 247; Diamond, 'Toward Democratic Consolidation', 7–11. Tarrow, Between Centre and Periphery; Gourevitch, Paris and the Provinces. Selee and Tulchin, 'Decentralization and Democratic Governance', 302. Lee, 'Decentralization in Korea', 64; Seong, 'Delayed Decentralization', 127–48. Kim, Chibang Pun'gwo ̆n, 23. Bae and Sellers, 'Politics of Urban Growth in Korea', 547. Therefore, politicians in the National Assembly and central bureaucrats at powerful ministries were clearly reluctant to cooperate. Kim, Ku, and Yu, 'Ch'amyo ̆cho ̆ngbu', 27–53. Kim, 'Administrative Reform', 169. Since the mid-1990s, a total of 115 divisions and agencies belonging to central ministries were abolished or merged into other ministries, and there were many lay-offs of central bureaucrats. Heller, 'The Politics of Democratic Decentralization'. There are various definitions of 'civil society' in the literature (see, for example, Diamond, 'Toward Democratic Consolidation'; and Schmitter, 'Civil Society East and West'). Combining these definitions, civil society in this article is defined as 'a distinct public sphere of organization, communication and reflective discourse, and governance among individuals and groups that take collective action deploying civil means to influence the state and its policies but not capture state power, and whose activities are not motivated by profit' (Alagappa, 'Introduction', 9). As such, civil society groups that are most relevant to this article's analysis of Korea's decentralization include, for example, Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ), People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD), Citizens' Coalition for a Better Government (CCBG), and Civic Movement for Decentralization (CMD). Choi, Minjuhwa ihuŭi Minjujuŭi, 231; Kim, 'Civil Society and Local Democracy'; Park, 'Local Governance and Community Power'. Putnam, Making Democracy Work, 20–3. Devas and Delay, 'Local Democracy and the Challenges', 678–9. Levy, Tocqueville's Revenge; Turner, Central-Local Relations. Falleti, 'A Sequential Theory', 330–44. Garman, Haggard, and Willis, 'Fiscal Decentralization'; O'Neill, 'Decentralization as an Electoral Strategy'. About the Japanese case, see Levy, Tocqueville's Revenge, 304–14. Kim, 'Civil Society and Local Democracy'. Lee, 'Decentralization in Korea'; Seong, 'Delayed Decentralization'; Kim, Chibang Pun'gwo ̆n, 23. Yu, 'Chibang chach'iŭi', 501. Baiocchi, Heller, and Kunrath Silva, 'Making Space for Civil Society', 913–14. MOGAHA et al., Minso ̆n Chibang Chach'i. MOGAHA, The Current Status. Tiebout, 'A Pure Theory of Local Expenditures'. Grindle, Going Local, 6–7. Choi, Minjuhwa ihuŭi Minjujuŭi, 86–8. Kim, The Politics of Democratization. This does not mean that civil society was the only determinant of Korea's democratization – other variables such as political leadership and international factors also played important roles. Lee, 'Decentralization in Korea', 6. Yu, 'Chibang chach'iŭi', 502. Kim, 'Civil Society and Local Democracy'. OECD, Territorial Review. Theoretically, it is true that local residents and civic organizations are not motivated to participate in local politics without an appropriate level of governmental accountability. Posner, 'Local Democracy and Popular Participation', 42. MOGAHA et al., Minso ̆n Chibang Chach'i. Bae and Sellers, 'Politics of Urban Growth in Korea', 546–7. Ki-u Yi (former CCBG and PCGID member), interviewed by author on 28 October 2005, Incheon, Korea. Even the sceptics admit this development. See Park, 'Local Governance and Community Power', 13. The aim of this reorganization was improving governmental efficiency and democratic governance. The Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Government Administration were merged into MOGAHA, which took responsibility for improvement of local administration and the self-governance system. The committee became the first permanent organization for the pursuit of devolution (January 1999). Members mainly came from scholarly groups, ministers, bureaucrats, local executives, civic activists, and businesses. Seong, 'Delayed Decentralization', 145. A KIPA survey (KIPA, A 2002 Survey, 27) showed that about 60% of central bureaucrats questioned the competence and morality of local political leaders in making local decisions. Yet, the reluctance of central agencies mainly originated from the consideration of their organizational survival in the period of central government restructuring. In fact, there were several organized resistances among street and managerial-level bureaucrats of central ministries who were supposed to be sent off to local governments and other agencies after decentralization (The Korea Economic Daily, 6 August 2003). Yong-Shik Park (former leader of the National Public Workers' Union), interviewed by the author on 18 October 2005, Seoul, Korea. President Roh, since the early 1990s, had expressed his great interest in decentralization, deconcentration, and balanced development policies, and had even established a private research institute by himself, namely, the Centre for Local Autonomy (Chibang Chach'i Silmu Yoˇn'guso) in 1993. Roh's 'Taegu Declaration on Balanced National Development' (12 June 2003), available at http://www.president.co.kr/cwd/president/speech.html. Byung-Joon Kim (former Vice-Minister of Education and Science), interviewed by the author on 23 July 2009, Seoul, Korea. MOGAHA, The Current Status. So ̆ng-sig Yun (former Chairman of PCGID), interviewed by the author on 19 October 2005, Seoul, Korea. PCGID, The Promotion of Decentralization Sourcebook 2004. Inhwan Cho ̆ng (an officer at MOGAHA), interviewed by the author on 12 October 2005, Seoul, Korea. Also see Dong-A Ilbo, 'Chibangbun'gwo ̆n Cho ̆ngch'aegŭi Hyo ̆nchuso'. For example, MOGAHA could maintain the size of the organization by gaining new functions, such as e-government, immigrant policy, and government innovation, in place of what they delegated in local government-related affairs. The Korea Economic Daily (6 August 2003). PCGID, The Promotion of Decentralization Sourcebook 2004. Lee and Arrington, 'The Politics of NGOs', 81–2. The committee was established under CCEJ as a specialized policy community and has been very active in providing knowledge and policy alternatives on local autonomy and decentralization since the Kim Dae Jung administration. Namgung, 'Haengjo ̆nghakchaŭi', 45–66. Ik-sik Kim (former Chairman of Local Autonomy at CCEJ), interviewed by the author on 26 October 2005, Seoul, Korea. Ki-u Lee, interview. For example, Park, 'Local Governance and Community Power'. Hyo ̆ngi Kim (Chairman of CMD), interviewed by the author on 22 July 2009, Taegu, Korea. Yonhap News, 3 September 2001. Hyo ̆ngi Kim, interview. Yun, interview. Ibid. Kim, Ku, and Yu, 'Ch'amyo ̆cho ̆ngbu'. Im, Chibangjojingnon, 200. Korea Institute of Public Administration, A 2002 Survey. Sungho Kim (A Specialist at National Governors' Association), interviewed by the author on 25 October 2005, Seoul, Korea. Ik-sik Kim, interview. For example, in Japan, demands for social services in areas such as the environment, education, elders' care, and welfare became important bases of support for decentralization. Lam, 'Local Governance'. Namgung, 'Haengjo ̆nghakchaŭi'. Yun and Byung-Joon Kim, interviews. In PCGID, about 50% of members came from the scholarly world, while 29% were former and incumbent government officials. Byung-Joon Kim, interview. For example, see Wo ̆lganjungang, 'Ch'amyo ̆ Cho ̆ngbu Ch'oedae Injaepul Chiptan'. In addition, the former chairman of PCGID (So ̆ng-sig Yun), the Chief Presidential Secretary (Usik Kim), and the former chairman of Presidential Committee on National Balanced Development (Kyo ̆ng-Ryung So ̆ng) came from the academic world. Cho ̆ng, interview. Wo ̆lganjungang, 'Ch'amyo ̆ Cho ̆ngbu Ch'oedae Injaepul Chiptan'. In fact, the reverse trend of decentralization (re-centralization) is frequently observed in many developing countries. See Eaton, 'Political Obstacles'. Furukawa, 'Decentralization in Japan'. Indeed, Japanese civic organizations are locality-oriented and led by local residents rather than highly educated professionals. Pekkanen, Japan's Dual Civil Society. In the context of economic recession, Japanese business society was very interested in state liberalization and restructuring. Nishio, Mikan no Jihobunken. See Grindle, Going Local, 12

Civil society · Democracy · Democratization · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · China's Socioeconomic Reforms and Governance · Global Educational Reforms and Inequalities · Japanese History and Culture · Law

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub