Recently, in the environmental sector a governance structure where the various stakeholders such as the government, the markets and the civil society are participating and cooperating has been expanded to tackle the climate change internationally. In ...
Recently, in the environmental sector a governance structure where the various stakeholders such as the government, the markets and the civil society are participating and cooperating has been expanded to tackle the climate change internationally. In line with this trend, Korea's marine environment policies and governance have been also rapidly changing. In the case of Korea, the ocean has been utilized as a key resource for developing related industries and transportation to leap forward into advanced country. But nowadays, as the importance of sustainable development in the ocean expands, it is necessary to overcome the problems of the industry-centered marine policies of the past. Now, the Korean government is promoting institutional improvement in order to develop and implement more efficient policies for sustainable development of the ocean and management of marine environment and marine resources.
Accordingly, this study aims to explore the current state of citizen participation in governance and desirable development methods, which are presented as alternatives to the role of traditional government in the rapidly changing marine environment administration and policy areas. To this end, empirical research results are drawn on the roles and functions of the government committee established in accordance with laws and systems where the three agents such as the government, market(corporation) and the citizens are cooperating together, which plays a very important role in the government's marine environment policy.
This research uses literature research and empirical data analysis and statistical analysis methods. First, prior research on the historical background and trend of governance theory is analyzed for research trends and theoretical discussions on governance. In addition, rather than only studying the marine environment, it will focus on the recent global trends such as climate change and international agreements on the prevention of marine pollution, and the process of changes in domestic marine environment policies, including the establishment of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries in 1996. Based on this theoretical foundation, a specific analysis is conducted on the Marine Environment Government Committee, a representative example of the governance of the marine environment.
To this end, all related laws and regulations were studied and data related to the Marine Environment government committee of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries were collected. A survey was conducted to investigate empirical data on the establishment status of the government committee in the field of marine environment, the status of policy establishment, including basic plans through the government committee, the status and trend of civic participation, and the status of the opening, and also interviews with related government officials and private experts.
In particular, to analyze the public's awareness of the formation and operation of the government committee in the field of marine environment, surveys and statistical analysis were conducted for private experts, including civilian experts participating in the maritime environment government committee, based on existing research on governance indicators and others.
The analysis of these empirical data, the interviews of civil servants and civilian experts, and the questionnaires of civic groups participating in the government committee, will present the problems of the marine environment committee and suggest ways to improve them.