Although policy priority has always been on economic management in
East Asian countries, those countries also developed some notable social
policies. However, explanations for the development of social policies in
those countries have been relatively underdeveloped compared to those of
their economic management policies. This study adds to our understanding
of the social policy development in East Asia by examining two cases
of social policy adoption in South Korea – the Medical Insurance Law and
the Minimum Wage Law. This Korean case study shows a pattern of policy
development primarily driven by particular ‘interests’ (state elites'
perceived political survival needs and their reputation in international
society), with ‘environmental’ factors and ‘policy legacies’
playing a supplementary role. In particular, these policies are interpreted as anticipatory
concessions to moderate members of Korean society by the state
elites who aimed to stabilise their regimes by separating radicals from
moderates. In addition, the medical insurance scheme is understood as a
by-product of the competition between the South and North Korean
regimes. This study also draws our attention to such issues as the similarities
and differences between the East Asian welfare regimes and the
change and continuity in the development of social policies in East Asia.