The Ideology of Economic Development And Its Impact on Policy Process

Abstract

As one of a series of studies on dominant political ideologies and their impact on Korean policy process, this paper deals with the ideology of economic development which has overwhelmingly dominated Korean policy process in the 1960's and 1970's. The paper identifies some impacts of the ideology on non-economic policies such as environmental, welfare and labor policies. The government tried very hard to contain any anti-developmental movement in these policies. Slightly different impacts are discerned in the case of economic policy process. Technocratic, secretive and speedy decision making, coercive implementation and overemphasis on visible and quantifiable performance criteria are all due, at least partly, to this ideology. All these impacts intensified the already-prevalent phenomenon of "Government-Leads-People-Follow", resulting in the exclusion of people from the policy process. Moreover, they also strengthened the centralization of the already over-centralized Korean political system. They intensified the concentration of power in the executive branch vis-a-vis its legislative counterpart. This paper indicates the necessity for similar studies which will deal with the brighter side of the economic development ideology and its interaction with the ideology of national security. The destiny of these two ideologies will largely determine the future of democratic policy process in Korea: An important theme for another study.