Dealing with COVID-19 in South Korea: reflections on state theories

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we reflect on South Korea’s relative success in dealing with COVID-19 from the perspective of state theories. Korea’s success was due to the legacies of the developmental state, combined with the elements of the regulatory state and the network state, and facilitated by IT development. We also argue that we are witnessing a new state type that no longer features the existing state types’ obsession with economic development. The emerging state type is concerned with human security and actively utilizes IT and collaborative governance to predict and prepare for future contingencies. We label this a ‘provident state’.

KEYWORDS:

• COVID-19
• south korea
• state theories
• developmental state
• regulatory state
• network state
• provident state

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

Jiho Jang’s research was supported by a Hankuk University of Foreign Studies Grant(2021). Sunhyuk Kim’s research was supported by a Korea University Grant(K2109341). Chonghee Han did not receive support from any organization for the submitted work.

Notes on contributors

Jiho Jang

Jiho Jang is currently Professor in the Department of Public Administration at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Seoul, Korea. He is also Chief Administration Officer at the same university. He has been Visiting Professor at the Center of Asian and Pacific Studies at the University of Oregon, supported by a Fulbright Visiting Scholar Research Award. His most recently published articles include “Conflict and Crisis Management in Challenges to New Participatory Process” (2019), “Technology Innovation Small Business Policy in South Korea” (2017), “Testing the Consequences of Situational Factors and Emotional Dissonance” (2014), and “NIMBY or NIABY? Who Defines a Policy Problem and Why” (2013). His research focuses on Korean politics, the policy process, and institutional change.

Chonghee Han

Chonghee Han is currently Professor in the Department of Public Administration at Kwangwoon University, Seoul Korea. He has been Professor in the Department of Public Administration at Kongju National University and has also served as researcher at the Korea Institute of Public Administration. His most recently published articles include “Administrative Reform: State and Democracy Revisited” (2018), “Trump Administration’s Initiatives in Resolving North Korea’s Nuclear Program” (2018), “Reconciliation Between Punctuation and Gradualism: A Study on Labor Policy Changes in Korea” (2018), and “The Changing Modes of Administrative Reform in South Korea” (2017). His research focuses on Korean politics, the labor movement, and administrative reform.

Sunhyuk Kim

Sunhyuk Kim is currently Professor in the Department of Public Administration at Korea University, Seoul, Korea. He has been Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Southern California, Visiting Professor at the Center for European Studies at Harvard University, and Research Fellow at the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University. In 2015-19, he was the Vice President for International Affairs of Korea University. He is currently a member of the Presidential Commission on Policy Planning of the Korean government. He is the author of The Politics of Democratization in Korea (2000), Economic Crisis and Dual Transition in Korea (2004), and numerous scholarly journal articles and book chapters. His most recently published articles include “The Making of Presidential Agendas in Korea: A Comparison of Four Governments” (2020), “Historical Development of Civil Society in Korea since 1987” (2017), “The Changing Modes of Administrative Reform in South Korea” (2017), and “Administrative Reform in South Korea” (2015). His research focuses on Korean politics, comparative democratization, and civil society and social movements.