National Competitiveness and the Role of the Government: The Case of Korea

This study discusses the role governments play in strengthening national competitiveness based on Korea’s own experience. Building on national competitiveness policies and past cases involving the Korean Presidential Council on National Competitiveness (PCNC), this study sets forth three crucial elements to explore: policy continuity, social dialogue capabilities, and prohibition from the politicization of the economy. National competitiveness policies are mid-to-long-term policies and entail comprehensive tasks in a socioeconomic context. In addition, highly controversial issues such as labor market flexibility underscore the importance of the government’s ability to facilitate social dialogue to build a social consensus advantageous to strengthening national competitiveness, while refraining from politicizing the economy. National competitiveness policies that can be classified as industrial policies often lead to politicizing the economy, which is why public–private cooperation and checks and balances are crucial to deter potential side effects.