Institutionalization for Improving Transparency in Korea

Abstract

Transparency has been improved significantly in Korea since its democratic transition in 1987. This article analyses four important cases of institutionalization, which can be regarded as contributing toward the enhanced transparency: the Real Name Financial Transaction System, the Official Information Disclosure Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, and the Property Registration System for Public Officials. Ultimately, democratization was the most important macro-level causal factor to contribute to the institutionalizations. With democratization, changes to public values and the pursuit of public and self interests by politicians and civic group members exerted a positive influence on these institutionalizations. Additional important factors were globalization and digitalization, which pressured the Korean Government to conform to global standards in terms of transparency and to incorporate sophisticated new tools emerging from the IT revolution which began in the 1990s.