A Case Study of the Budgetary Politics of the Prime Minister during the Coalition Government of South Korea

Abstract

The budgetary process is a political process; therefore, budgeting ought to reflect changes in the political terrain. The coalition government in South Korea, which held power from March 3, 1998, to July 10, 2002, provides a good example of this. A prime minister doesn°Øt have as much political power as a president. The prime ministers of the coalition government, however, had their own legitimacy because the coalition played a decisive role in the presidential election of 1997. According to various budget theories, such as incrementalism, etc., greater power means greater budget share. Thus, the budget share of the Korean prime minister increased during the coalition government. In addition, interactions between guardians and advocates reflected the influence of the coalition government in Korea. On the other hand, after the end of the coalition government, some budget items that had been added during the coalition government were retained. For generalizability, two comparable cases might be added: French cohabitation and Putin in Russia.

Key Words:

• budgetary politics
• prime minister of a coalition government
• interactions between guardians and advocates

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Dong-Ho Han

Dong-Ho Han is a part-time instructor at Sejong University, Kwangwoon University, the Catholic University of Korea, and Ewha Womans University. His research interests include comparative public administration and policy, budgetary politics, government reorganization.