Revisiting the welfare state system in the Republic of Korea

The Republic of Korea's welfare system has undergone radical institutional expansion since the 1990s, largely as a consequence of the financial crisis of 1997. In spite of these changes, public social expenditure remains extremely low — particularly with regard to all other OECD countries — with the result that the overall social insurance system and social welfare service sector remain underdeveloped. Thus, the current welfare system can best be characterized as a residual model, in that state intervention as a provider of welfare remains highly limited and the family and the private market economy play the central roles in offering a social safety net. This situation is largely the legacy of the so‐called ‘growth‐first’ ideology, which has remained the dominant approach favoured by the majority of the country's political and economic decision‐makers since the period of authoritarian rule (1961‐1993). The adoption of Western European‐style neo‐liberal restructuring, implemented following the 1997 financial crisis, has also played a role.