Suchergebnisse

The South Korean intergovernmental environment has undergone drastic changes after the reintroduction of local autonomy in 1995. This study investigates how and why the governance has changed in terms of its structure and processes after devolution using the case of dam politics in South Korea. It also addresses the accountability implications of the changed governance. This study analyses two cases of dam construction initiative, which are the Youngwol dam project (1990-2000) and the Hantangang dam project (1998-2004). The analysis of these cases reveals that the governance structure concerning water resource supply has changed from a form of policy community, which can be characterized by its closed membership and stability in relationships, to a form of issue network, where the membership is enlarged to include various participants. More specifically, there are three important findings. First, the cancellation of the Youngwol dam project served as the moment to establish and empower a network of opposition against dam building, which had long been advocated and led by the policy community comprising the Ministry of Construction and Transportation, Korea Water Resources Corporation, engineering experts, and some private companies related to dam construction. Second, as the central government plans to build 12 more dams including Hantangang dam, the network of opposition tends to be further vitalized with heated participation from local activists, some water resource management experts, and environmental activists. Third, as the pro-dam policy community and the network of opposition initiate dialogue among themselves, they are forming an issue network which works as a governance mechanism in the area of water resource supply management. (Asian J Polit Sci/NIAS)

The South Korean government recently launched 11 major e-government services after a long period of inter- and intra-ministry politics concerning the allocation of jurisdiction over various e-government services. This article analyses the politics of e-government efforts in South Korea. It begins by describing the development of e-government policy in South Korea for the past two decades, and identifies its four major features as comprehensiveness, fragmentation, the orientation toward operational efficiency and citizen services, and the inclination toward new technological solutions. The article concludes that these features can be attributed to the heavy involvement of the macro political system, its high susceptibility to inputs from experts, and the institutional design of the informatisation subsystem. (Asian J Pol Sci/DÜI)