The Political Economy of E-Government Innovation and Success in Korea

Abstract

Over the past two decades, Korea has established and maintained itself as one of the world’s leaders in e-government. This study explains why this has happened by using a political economy analysis. Qualitative case study methods have been utilized to enable sensemaking of Korea’s successful e-government development trajectory. Five complementary factors have been identified to account for this success. They are the legacy of the developmental state in defining government’s role in economic development; the impact of democratization on the nature of e-government services and provision; the shock impact of the Asian Financial Crisis that led to accelerated e-government development; the creation and maintenance of an effective policy process; an effective system of public administration. These factors have provided both the drivers and context for sustained successful e-government development. While the Korean experience supplies lessons for other countries’ e-government development, the whole model is not replicable as it is based on the particularities of Korean development.