Regulatory Reform at a Critical Time: the Case of the Republic of Korea

This paper examines the Korean case of regulatory reform in pursuit of a drastic transformation from an economy with a high degree of government intervention into a market-driven economy at a critical time of economic crisis. The Regulatory Reform Committee (RRC) is a main vehicle for conducting regulatory reform; it consists of a civilian majority under the co-chairmanship of the Prime Minister and a civilian chair, which is effective in linking the administrative authority with civilian experts for collaborative reform work. Successful reform depends on reform leadership to overwhelm opposition and resistance from interest groups.