3. Case Study: the Free Childcare and Early Education Policy in South Korea
3-1. Policy Background
In South Korea, the childcare support policy began in the early 2000s. The number of eligible children for childcare support has increased 10 times from 200,000 in 2002 to 2 million in 2014, and public expenditure on family in percentage of GDP also increased from 0.1% in 2002 to 1.1% in 2014. In the South Korean context, the 'free childcare policy' refers to a universal support scheme that supports all parents with children less than 6 years regardless of their income level. When the National Assembly reviewed the budget for the fiscal year 2012 in November 2011, the issue about the free childcare became a major issue for the next year’s budget, …show more content…
First, in Hall's model, the public support is the main ingredient of the agenda setting. However, in the case of South Korea, it is unclear that the public support is consistent. According to the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs (2010), more than 75% people responded that the public spending on childcare should increase. However, less than 20% of respondents agreed that all households, regardless of their income level, should receive the same government support. When it comes to Downs' model, the role of mass media was not to actively lead the agenda setting, but to deliver the pros and cons of other actors (Lee, 2015). Therefore, the above two models are not suitable for South Korea’s free childcare and early education case.
On the other hand, Kingdon’s model and Sabatier and Jenkins-Smith’s model emphasised the actors’ behaviours in order for a social problem to get on the government agenda. The most remarkable features of this case study are the strategic behaviours of politicians who want to maximise their votes, and the interaction among actors. Therefore, the following section will explore the South Korean case by applying Kingdon’s approach and Sabatier and Jenkins-Smith’s …show more content…
Analysis by Multi Stream Approach (Kingdon)
3-3-1. Problem Stream
Problem stream is the process where policy entrepreneurs perceive a social problem as the governmental agenda. First, as a key indicator, South Korea's fertility rate is one of the lowest in the world at 1.21 in 2014. If this phenomenon continues, the South Korean population will be expected to decrease to half in 2100 (National Assembly Research Service, 2015). According to the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs (2010), about 80% of respondents pointed the financial burden of childcare and education as the most critical reason for obstructing childbirth.
As for a focusing event, the implementation of free school meals triggered the controversy about free childcare. In the 2009 and 2011 local elections, there were the events that the opposition party won the elections by promoting the free school meals as a main pledge. Recognising that free welfare frame is useful to win the election, the opposition party presented free childcare policy as a promise of the presidential election in 2012, and the controversy surrounding free childcare began to attract the public
3-1. Policy Background
In South Korea, the childcare support policy began in the early 2000s. The number of eligible children for childcare support has increased 10 times from 200,000 in 2002 to 2 million in 2014, and public expenditure on family in percentage of GDP also increased from 0.1% in 2002 to 1.1% in 2014. In the South Korean context, the 'free childcare policy' refers to a universal support scheme that supports all parents with children less than 6 years regardless of their income level. When the National Assembly reviewed the budget for the fiscal year 2012 in November 2011, the issue about the free childcare became a major issue for the next year’s budget, …show more content…
First, in Hall's model, the public support is the main ingredient of the agenda setting. However, in the case of South Korea, it is unclear that the public support is consistent. According to the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs (2010), more than 75% people responded that the public spending on childcare should increase. However, less than 20% of respondents agreed that all households, regardless of their income level, should receive the same government support. When it comes to Downs' model, the role of mass media was not to actively lead the agenda setting, but to deliver the pros and cons of other actors (Lee, 2015). Therefore, the above two models are not suitable for South Korea’s free childcare and early education case.
On the other hand, Kingdon’s model and Sabatier and Jenkins-Smith’s model emphasised the actors’ behaviours in order for a social problem to get on the government agenda. The most remarkable features of this case study are the strategic behaviours of politicians who want to maximise their votes, and the interaction among actors. Therefore, the following section will explore the South Korean case by applying Kingdon’s approach and Sabatier and Jenkins-Smith’s …show more content…
Analysis by Multi Stream Approach (Kingdon)
3-3-1. Problem Stream
Problem stream is the process where policy entrepreneurs perceive a social problem as the governmental agenda. First, as a key indicator, South Korea's fertility rate is one of the lowest in the world at 1.21 in 2014. If this phenomenon continues, the South Korean population will be expected to decrease to half in 2100 (National Assembly Research Service, 2015). According to the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs (2010), about 80% of respondents pointed the financial burden of childcare and education as the most critical reason for obstructing childbirth.
As for a focusing event, the implementation of free school meals triggered the controversy about free childcare. In the 2009 and 2011 local elections, there were the events that the opposition party won the elections by promoting the free school meals as a main pledge. Recognising that free welfare frame is useful to win the election, the opposition party presented free childcare policy as a promise of the presidential election in 2012, and the controversy surrounding free childcare began to attract the public