Rethinking Korea's ODA Policies within the Developmental State Thesis

Abstract

Since 2010, South Korea (hereafter Korea) has been a full-fledged member of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Developments (OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC) with which it has made the successful transition from an aid recipient to an aid-donor country. Measured by its volume, Korea is counted as a substantial contributor of Official Development Assistance (ODA) among OECD DAC members and has promised to make continuous efforts to improve its ODA policies so as to adhere to the OECD DAC standards. Nevertheless, although Koreas ODA in terms of quantity has been on a constant increase and Korea has made continuous efforts to improve its aid effectiveness, it has been criticized for its low quality and policy decisions have often not translated into actual implementation. Koreas ODA agenda not only suggests a strong economic interest in giving aid, but also contains elements that strongly reflect Koreas own experience as a developmental state. Based upon a historical analysis of Koreas ODA decision-making process and through the lens of the developmental state thesis, particularly with regards to the state-society relations, this research explores why Korea has continuously struggled to implement a more effective and coherent ODA policy framework vis-à-vis its ambitious claims. This research shows that Koreas developmentalist mindset, which originated during its heyday as a developmental state, is still closely embedded in Koreas ODA policy decision-making process which determines much of Koreas behaviour as a donor of foreign aid.