New wine in old bottles? Korean state actors’ policy engagement with the online gaming industry

Ji-Won Song

doi:10.1177/1024529420918758

Abstract

This article revisits the developmental state literature that stresses the unitary role of the state in steering economic development in East Asia. Focusing on the Korean state actors’ diversity and their agency after the trend of globalization and democratization, this article highlights various state actors as agents and looks into how the role of state actors has changed with industrial development, using the setting of the Korean online gaming industry over the past two decades. By examining government policy measures on the industry, I found that the state actors have actively engaged with the industry, however, this agency has not been uniform due to the different purposes of the actors and sometimes led a detrimental effect against the needs or expectations of the industry. The findings, thus, contribute to the literature by suggesting the potentiality of agent-driven institutional change and the heterogeneity that comes from the state actors’ policy engagement.

Highlights

With the ascendance of East Asian economies, a latecomer, industrialization came to the fore as a feasible option for aspiring developing economies
As the economic environment in East Asian economies changed after the 1997 financial crisis, the debate regarding the fate of the developmental state has gained continuous attention, but the issue of the extent to which the developmental states have been transforming themselves into liberal market economies still remains unresolved (Chu, 2009; Suh and Kwon, 2014; Witt and Redding, 2013)
This study found that the changing political and institutional contexts, the transition from the traditional developmental state to the neo- or post-developmental state and its impact on institutions influence the expansion of state actors and their roles

Summary

Introduction

With the ascendance of East Asian economies, a latecomer, industrialization came to the fore as a feasible option for aspiring developing economies. Such characteristics of the political context and institutions may give a clue for understanding why state actors in Korea have expanded their roles and how they have engaged with the online gaming industry over the past two decades, as well as the impact on the process of gradual institutional change of the Korean economy.

Results

Conclusion