Local Elites, Power Structure, and Legislative Process in Korea

Local Elites, Power Structure, and Legislative Process in Korea YOUNG WHAN KIHL Ine literature on comparative legislative research has focused largely upon the institution of legislatures and those who participate in the legislative process as lawmakers and representatives. Perception of the legislative process by the citizenry and local elites is equally important to study, however, because it is after all, for the benefit and interest of the latter as clients that legislative activities are carried out in modern governments. This paper represents a preliminary analysis of local elites in Korea utilizing data collected in 1973 as part of the threenation comparative legislative research project of the University of Iowa.2 No attempt has been made to develop propositions and test An earlier version of this paper was presented to the Columbia University Seminar on Korea, December 20, 1974. It was subsequently included in the Occasional Paper Series of the Comparative Legislative Research Center of the University of Iowa as Occasional Paper no. 8 (May 1975) but was released for publication in this journal. 1. See, for instance, Heinz Eulau and Katherine Hinckley, "Legislative Institutions and Processes" in Political Science Annual: An International Review, ed., James A. Robinson, vol.1, (Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1966), pp. 85-189. Eulau and Hinckley note that the vast majority of research on legislatures has been what they term "inside" studies and that there have not been enough "outside" studies. The former refers to those studies of legislative behavior and action as revealed in the growth of formal and informal substructures, groups, influence patterns, and so on within the legislature, while the latter examines the consequences of legislatures for the political system as a whole. Their observation on American legislative research is also applicable to the field of comparative (cross-national) legislative research. 2- "Comparative Legislative Research Program at the University of IowaResearch Design," mimeograph, n.d. The three nations selected for study are Turkey , Kenya, and South Korea. 147 148Journal ofKorean Studies hypotheses that may throw some light upon the cross-national comparison of the legislative system; that task remains to be undertaken in the future. LOCAL LEVEL POLITICS IN A CENTRALIZED POLITICAL SYSTEM The role of the legislature in the political development of many third world countries is far from clear and research is needed on its limitation, possibilities, and impact upon the political system. In the face of an increasing tendency for centralization and executive predominance , one cannot exaggerate the contribution—real or potential— that the legislature is presumed to make to the political system in many of these countries. The fact remains, however, that the ruling elite in many authoritarian polities feels compelled to retain the legislative or legislativelike institutions to maintain a semblance of legitimacy. One can therefore argue that the legislature in developing countries continues to play an important role in political development by responding to the demands for political participation by the elite and the citizenry alike. From a developmental perspective, the legislature may be regarded as an institution that accommodates the essential demands placed upon the political system by the citizenry. One consequence of legislative activities, thus, is to generate public support for the political system by lending legitimacy to the actions of the regime. For this reason we may be justified in examining the pattern of the local elite's attitude toward and perception of the legislative process. But first, we need to clarify the role of the local elite in the political process of Korea, which continues to be a highly centralized and authoritarian political system. The Linkage Role ofLocal Elites in Politics In an authoritarian political system the ruling elite tends to maintain the semblance of democratic institutions by allowing periodic elections and representative bodies. But the election turns into an instrument of the ruling group for mobilizing the citizenry to support 3.In this regard see: Robert A. Packenham, Legislatures in Developmental Perspective (Durham, N.C: Duke University Press, 1970); Allan Kornberg, ed., Legislatures in Comparative Perspective, (New York: McKay, 1973); and Alan P. Balutis, "Legislatures and Political Development: An Overview," mimeograph. Prepared for delivery at the 1974 annual meetings of the Midwest Political Science Association (The Pick-Congress Hotel, Chicago: April 26, 1974...