Changing aspects of government-society relations in South Korea: evidence from the evolution of environmental policy governance

Abstract

In South Korea, the development of environmental policy did not garner much attention from either the government or society before the mid-1980s, although policy-making in this sphere had a long history prior to this time, as with other traditional policy areas. Moreover, it is significant that mid-1980s in Korea was a period characterised by a new political-economic landscape that induced changes in the aims and roles of the government and society in policy-making. Thus, specific developments of Korea's government-society relationship may be reflected in the evolution of its environmental policy. This paper aims to analyse the changing aspects of this relationship in the area of environmental policy by examining environmental policy governance since 1971. The research results show that the government-society relationship in this policy area has been gradually transformed - from a stage of confrontation to that of complex interactions. Per the findings, this paper argues that the relationship needs to be further enhanced to a stage of institutionalisation, and explores ways of achieving this goal.