The Entrepreneurial Developmental State: What is the Perceived Impact of South Korea’s Creative Economy Action Plan on Entrepreneurial Activity?

ABSTRACT

State support for start-ups and entrepreneurship is increasingly common, with governments worldwide experimenting with different initiatives to support innovative businesses. In this article, we conceptualise and assess the South Korean government’s turn towards supporting entrepreneurship as a manifestation of what we label the entrepreneurial developmental state. Using the case of the Park Geun-hye government’s Creative Economy Action Plan, we assess the effectiveness of South Korea’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, and find that the Plan has contributed to an increase in both the quantity and quality of entrepreneurial activity. We then analyse the perceived effects of the Plan on the evolution of South Korea’s ecosystem, which the private sector consider to be mostly positive. This way, we provide new empirical evidence about the performance of the contemporary developmental state, showing that industrial policy can effectively promote small firms and entrepreneurial ecosystems.

摘要：本研究通过检视新近毕业的内地班藏族大学生由学校向工作过渡的经历，展示生活政治（吉登斯，1991）在这些毕业生中的兴起，以及由此引发的他们更加复杂、矛盾并且微妙的身份危机和身份重构。基于田野数据，本研究讨论了这些毕业生对他们的学习和工作所具有的反思性认知和期望，从而揭示出他们在内地班的教育经历如何导致其生命历程的断裂或接续。最后，本文采用了巴里（2012）所提出的文化可持续教育学概念来总结本案例对内地班教育的启示。

KEYWORDS:

• Creative Economy Action Plan
• developmental state
• entrepreneurship
• ICT
• Park Geun-hye
• South Korea
• start-up
• venture capital

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments as well as the King’s College London Department of International Development “Political Economy and Institutions” Research Group for constructive suggestions on an earlier version. Further thanks to participants in the International Studies Association “Finance and Development” panel in February 2016 in Baltimore, MD and attendees at the Smart Cities, Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Asia symposium hosted by Lingnan University in Hong Kong on 20 April 2017 for their feedback on evolving drafts.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. It should be noted that these interviews were conducted as the scandal of the alleged influence of Choi Soon-sil, the daughter of a cult leader, over Park Geun-hye was starting to unfold. Based on the replies from our interviewees, it seems that the scandal had little bearing on their perceptions of the Creative Economy Action Plan.

2. Interview with the Head of the Korean branch of an international facilitator, 23 August 2016, Seoul.

3. Interview with the General Partner of a Korean accelerator, 23 August 2016, Seoul.

4. Online interview with Korean entrepreneur, 22 November 2016.

5. Online interview with Korean entrepreneur, 18 November 2016.

6. Interview with the Head of the Korean branch of an international facilitator, 23 August 2016, Seoul.

7. Interview with the Program Manager of a Korean connector, 9 September 2016, Seoul.

8. Interview with the Director of a Korean facilitator, 9 September 2016, Seoul.

9. Interview with the General Partner of a Korean accelerator, 23 August 2016, Seoul.

10. Interview with the Head of the Korean branch of an international facilitator, 23 August 2016, Seoul.

11. Interview with the General Partner of a Korean accelerator, 23 August 2016, Seoul.

12. Online interview with Korean entrepreneur, 19 November 2016.

13. Online interview with Korean entrepreneur, 22 November 2016.

14. Interview with the Head of the Korean branch of an international facilitator, 23 August 2016, Seoul.

15. Interview with the Program Manager of a Korean connector, 9 September 2016, Seoul.

16. Interview with the Director of a Korean facilitator, 9 September 2016, Seoul.

17. Online interview with Korean entrepreneur, 22 November 2016.

18. Online interview with Korean entrepreneur, 23 November 2016.

19. Previous governments did not have a focus on developing a holistic entrepreneurial ecosystem, but rather focused on the launch of more SMEs including start-ups. Interview with Korean government official, 23 August 2017, Seoul.

20. Thurbon (2016) notes, however, that post-EAFC successive governments have consistently supported SMEs, including venture firms, even as the name of their policy has changed.

21. It should be noted that newly-elected president Moon Jae-in has already pledged to continue to support entrepreneurship.

22. Interview with the Director of a Korean facilitator, 9 September 2016, Seoul.

23. Interview with the Program Manager of a Korean connector, 9 September 2016, Seoul.

Additional information

Funding

This research has been supported through grants provided by the Department of European & International Studies and the Department of International Development at King’s College London.