The Origins and Characteristics of Social Security Systems in Korea and Taiwan after Democratic Transition (2018.03)
2018.03.01
- Authors : Hyeok Yong Kwon, Eunju Chi
- Journal : Korean Political Science Review
- Publisher : The Korean Political Science Association
- Volume : 52(1)
- Publication Date : March, 2018
- Abstract : This paper examines the characteristics of social security systems and identifies institutional origins in South Korea and Taiwan during the post-democratization period. In both Korea and Taiwan the productivist welfare system was formed during the authoritarian developmental state era. As the growth policy of their developmental states reached its limits and the market opening progressed, the inequality of the two countries began to increase rapidly. The democratic transition in 1987 expanded the demand for redistribution to protect the socially unstable and economically insecure groups and social strata. Korea and Taiwan, where the market opening and democratization have co-evolved, tried to protect the social weak by expanding the national health insurance, improving public pension system and establishing various social security systems. However, except for national health insurance and the national pension, most of the social security systems were underdeveloped, mainly due to the preferences and norms for growth-oriented economic policies formed during the developmental state period. This study explains the social security systems of both countries after democratic transition by evoking the notion of path-dependency, which focuses on the norms of growth and distribution formed during the developmental state era.