{"id":2838037,"date":"2022-11-18T06:00:40","date_gmt":"2022-11-18T11:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/articles\/\/"},"modified":"2022-11-17T21:21:56","modified_gmt":"2022-11-18T02:21:56","slug":"think-tank-landscape-scan-2022-korea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/articles\/think-tank-landscape-scan-2022-korea\/","title":{"rendered":"Think tank landscape scan 2022: Korea"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1><b>Top take-aways:<\/b><\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Most think tanks are government-affiliated or are under the influence of large corporations\/<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">chaebols<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Think tanks are prolific and influential in Korea and are a government go-to. However, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">they have been criticised for being too close to government and lacking independence.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The private sector may have a more limited role due to political scandals and scrutiny in recent years.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is a revolving-door culture, and senior-level ministry officials are often appointed to think tanks.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h1><b>Jump to:\u00a0<\/b><\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=https://onthinktanks.org/"#overview-korea\">Overview of Korea\u2019s think tank landscape<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=https://onthinktanks.org/"#country-context\">Country context<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=https://onthinktanks.org/"#think-tanks\">Think tanks characteristics<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h1><b><a id=\"overview-korea\"><\/a>Overview of Korea\u2019s think tank landscape<\/b><\/h1>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Data comes from the <\/span><a href=https://onthinktanks.org/"https:////onthinktanks.org//open-think-tank-directory///"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Open Think Tank Directory<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0 <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span class=\"c-note__icon js-note\" data-note=\". A global collection of think tanks and related organisations. Check to see if your organisation is counted in the Directory. \"><span>+<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Total number of think tanks:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 50<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Average age of think tanks:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 33 years<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Top three cities:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Seoul (38 think tanks), Busan (3 think tanks), Gyeonggi-do Jeju &amp; Seojong \u200b\u200b(2 think tanks each)\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Business models:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Non-profit (54.05%), government (29.73%), university institute\/centre (10.81%) &amp; for-profit (5.41%)\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Top three funding sources:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0 National government (42%), foundations (30%) &amp; private sector (20%)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Date founded:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Most think tanks in South Korea were created between 1980 and 1999<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Staff size:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> About 20% of Think Tanks in South Korea have 46 or more staff members\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Leader\u2019s gender:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Male (75% ), female (22.5%) &amp; both (more than one person) (2.5%)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Average % of female staff:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 1%<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h1><b><a id=\"country-context\"><\/a>Country context<\/b><\/h1>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Presidential elections were held in March 2022 and the People Power Party and its leader, <\/span><a href=https://onthinktanks.org/"https:////en.wikipedia.org//wiki//Yoon_Suk-yeol/"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yoon Suk-yeol<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, came to power to replace the Moon government.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Think tanks are centralised in Korea; many research institutes are under the influence of the government, either directly or indirectly. They have historically lacked autonomy and tend to be influenced by the administration or government they receive funding from and are affiliated with.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As a result of this landscape, researchers need to maintain and strengthen networks with the government and large corporations in order to get research projects commissioned by them. There is criticism that the heads of state-run think tanks, or chairs of the board, are often appointed and align research with the regime\u2019s policy targets. One respondent observed that the \u201cresults from the same research are usually changed as the regimes change\u201d. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Research institutes operated by large corporations, also known as chaebols (the sprawling, family-run conglomerates that dominate South Korea\u2019s economy), also tend to have a strong influence in Korea, particularly those run by large corporations such as Samsung, Hyundai, and Lotte. There are also alliances of voices from large corporations that exert policy influence. However, in comparison to Japan, the private sector may be viewed as less important.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Due to many political scandals and scrutiny, including past presidents serving jail time due to their private-sector affiliations, politicians do not tend to work closely with business leaders. They are careful to keep their distance from the private sector. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h1><b><a id=\"think-tanks\"><\/a>Think tank characteristics<\/b><\/h1>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Think tanks are prolific in the South Korean landscape. Many policy research organisations in Korea focus on economic development and security matters and most research is done in public think tanks. There is a strong emphasis on the knowledge-based economy and, according to one respondent, think tank research is generally considered high quality. However, it is also essential to note the intention of the government to obtain evidence to support public policy planning and back its reforms.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is a revolving-door culture, and senior-level ministry officials are often appointed to think tanks. As two examples, the current president of the Korea National Institute of Health (KNIH) used to be a government official in the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and the former chair of the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHID) is the current Minister of Health and Welfare.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In terms of themes, the global health agenda is not of high interest to Korean decision-makers, so actors such as GR Korea (consultants to the BMGF) are working to raise the importance of this agenda. While Korea is considered a high-income, advanced country it also faces challenges, particularly regional political and security issues related to its borders with North Korea. As a result, many think tanks provide policy recommendations in relation to these concerns.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With regards to funding sources, as many think tanks are registered as affiliates of government ministries (29.73%), respondents noted that \u201cthey follow the agenda and their budget is allocated under the ministry they are overseen by\u201d.\u00a0 The dominant business model is non-profit (54.05%) as illustrated in the following diagram.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2838038\" src=https://onthinktanks.org/"https:////onthinktanks.org//wp-content//uploads//2022//09//OTT_Gates-Mapping_South-Korea-1.png/" alt=\"\" width=\"639\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/OTT_Gates-Mapping_South-Korea-1.png 1437w, https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/OTT_Gates-Mapping_South-Korea-1-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/OTT_Gates-Mapping_South-Korea-1-1024x770.png 1024w, https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/OTT_Gates-Mapping_South-Korea-1-768x577.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 639px) 100vw, 639px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Across all think tank business models, the national government accounts for 42% of all think tank funding in Korea, including budgetary allocations, commissioned research, convening events, etc. The following visual <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">illustrates the diversity of funding sources based on data from the Open Think Tank Directory.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2838039\" src=https://onthinktanks.org/"https:////onthinktanks.org//wp-content//uploads//2022//09//OTT_Gates-Mapping_South-Korea-2.png/" alt=\"\" width=\"639\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/OTT_Gates-Mapping_South-Korea-2.png 1437w, https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/OTT_Gates-Mapping_South-Korea-2-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/OTT_Gates-Mapping_South-Korea-2-1024x770.png 1024w, https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/OTT_Gates-Mapping_South-Korea-2-768x577.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 639px) 100vw, 639px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Top take-aways: Most think tanks are government-affiliated or are under the influence of large corporations\/chaebols. Think tanks are prolific and influential in Korea and are a government go-to. However, they have been criticised for being too close to government and lacking independence.\u00a0 The private sector may have a more limited role due to political scandals [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[1049,200,551,3290,216],"class_list":["post-2838037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tag-evidence-and-policy","tag-funding","tag-south-korea","tag-think-tank-landscape-2022","tag-think-tanks","article-types-research","people-alina-orrico","people-jessica-espey","people-julie-lafrance","people-shannon-sutton","series-think-tank-landscape-2022","theme-funding-and-support-think-tanks","theme-governance-and-management","theme-research","theme-understanding-think-tanks"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2838037","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2838037"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2838037\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2838037"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2838037"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}