Civil Participation in the Making of a New Regulatory State in Korea: 1998-2008

Civil society's participation in state affairs helped the Korean government strengthen its capacity to reform big businesses, the economic bureaucracy, and the legislature. The KDJ and RMH governments reformed the central bureaucracy and market by mobilizing the whistle-blowing activities of civil organizations. This study shows how a new pattern of regulatory state was formed under a participatory democratic political environment in Korea, while the government was forced by the IMF to implement neoliberal economic reform. The regulatory state in Korea shared core axioms with its Anglo-European counterparts in many respects. Nevertheless, the differences between them are substantial and noteworthy. In particular, with regard to the Korean case, the social movement-like participation of civic organizations in the regulatory state is the most notable feature.