Social Investment Policy in South Korea

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of the literature on policy learning and transfer and examines social care expansion in Korea since 2000. It focuses on child care and family-work reconciliation policies, highlighting the socio-economic and political factors that have influenced policy changes. The chapter reflects on the process of policy learning and policy change using the case of child care. It shows how policy makers and other political actors in Korea used available social policy models provided by international organizations such as the OECD and UNICEF to make the case for policy change and to develop new policy programs. While the process of policy learning and transfer may be fairly straightforward, the actual process of change is not so simple. As child care policy reform illustrates, policy making remains a highly political process in Korea. The chapter draws out the implications for policy learning offered by the Korean case. Keywords: child care reconciliation policy; family-work reconciliation policy; OECD; policy learning; political factor; social care expansion; socio-economic factor; South Korea; UNICEF