Transition from the Developmental State: The Deliberative Policy Process of Civil Service Pension Reform in Korea*

This paper examines three recent efforts to reform Korea’s Civil Service Pension Program, in order to trace the changing policy process in Korea, where the policy regime of the developmental state used to be predominant. It has been argued that the government no longer has overwhelming influence over the policy-making process, while social actors are not able to compromise on social issues. This paper aims to test the hypotheses of the decline of government influence and the inability to reach social compromise, focusing on stakeholders’ interactions at the micro level. It argues that a new deliberative policy process has emerged that engages a range of stakeholders, such as trade unions and policy experts, and in which different government ministries compete against each other. The paradox of the new policy process is that despite its deliberative nature, the government’s strategic influence continues to be strong.