Democratic Consolidation and Parliamentary Institutionalisation: The Case of South Korea, 1988-2005, with Special Reference to Implications for Urban Policy

Preface The main reason for publishing my PhD dissertation (University of Manchester, 2006) is that there is not much literature on the institutionalisation of the Korean National Assembly (NA) and its role in policymaking. During my two years working as a visiting fellow at the RAND Corporation, I have met and collaborated with many researchers who are interested in these issues. This book compares the NA with national parliaments in the United States and Europe (e.g. the British House of Commons, the German Bundestag and the French National Assembly) as well as the European Parliament. It also attempts to answer the question of which of these parliaments the NA is closer to in terms of the features of parliamentary committees and parties. Chapter 2 of this book considers these issues within a theoretical framework by reviewing the comparative literature on legislatures in the US and Europe, the theory of legislative institutionalisation as well as the rational choice-based theories of legislative organization. An appreciation of the historical background to the NA is vital to understand the overall context in which the NA operates. Chapter 3 addresses the evolution of the NA and also examines important institutional factors influencing the operation and workings of the NA. These factors include: (1) political culture; (2) electoral system; (3) party system; and (4) governmental structure. Chapters 4 and 5 explore the institutionalisation of the NA's committees and parties, respectively. Chapter 6 examines the implications that the institutionalisation of the NA has had for urban policy-making by comparing trends relating to the urban policy committees with those of 17 standing committees as a whole. It is now 7 years since I submitted this dissertation for my PhD degree. The years have brought many changes to the operations and the environment of the NA. In order to explain some elements of these changes, I recommend my paper titled "Fiscal Consolidation and Budget Reform in Korea: The Role of the National Assembly", published at the RAND Corporation. This paper is available for download from the RAND Corporation's web site (rand.org/pubs/occasional_papers/OP348). It is my hope that this book will contribute to a better appreciation of the fundamental factors affecting the NA and to a deeper insight into the direction in which the NA is moving. Kun-oh Kim June 2012 The Author Kun-oh Kim is a director of the National Assembly Secretariat of the Republic of Korea and a visiting fellow at the RAND Corporation. Previously he was a director of the National Assembly Budget and Audit Committee. He received his Ph.D. in Government from the University of Manchester, his M.A. in Public Administration from Seoul National University, and his B.A. in Urban Administration from the University of Seoul.