This study is on conflict and coordination arising from the formative process of communication policy. Also, the paper is aimed at seeking and describing the policy-making process of the merger policy in more in-depth degree by finding out what coordi...
This study is on conflict and coordination arising from the formative process of communication policy. Also, the paper is aimed at seeking and describing the policy-making process of the merger policy in more in-depth degree by finding out what coordination process to settle the policy dispute among ministries and offices as a unitary process of policy-making is made and how the participants' retroactive interactivity is going on during the coordination process as well as what factors are related with this, based on close examining why the conflict in policy-making has happened frequently and why the intensity of such conflict has been so high among ministries and offices in the formative process of broadcasting communication merger policy ever since 1999, as well as what aspects the inter-ministries and offices conflict in policy-making has assumed,
In addition, the paper lays its purpose on trying to find a reasonable coordination plan to put out conflicts among ministries and offices in the forthcoming merger policy-making process by getting to the bottom of factors and aspects of conflict multilateral.
This study made an analysis of the communication policy formative process accessing concrete data "The Act on Establishment and Manage- ment of Broadcasting Communication Committee"
The merger policy has been developed and it can be divided into the three stages as follows; the beginning stage-the year 2002, when the con- flicts were arisen to the surface beginning the full dress debates among ministries and offices for reorganizing the control agency; the second stage was the transition period-from year 2003 to year 2005, when the conflicts and coordination process were in a repetitious cycle and law-making period -from 2006 to January 2007-when the systematic frame was prepared by the passage of a bill, drafted with a positive intervention of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, at a Cabinet council and along with the establishment of the broadcasting communication merger arrangement com- mittee.
This study is distinct from other existing ones in that its analysis of the formative process of policy was made on the basis of "Dilemma Theory" by applying policy conflict and coordination theory; also, this study is based on tracing conflicts factor by understanding concept through verifiable survey on the performer who involved in actual policy making.
1. What would be the factors in policy conflict inter-ministries and offices in the formative process of the broadcasting communication merger policy and into what aspects the factors are developed?
The conditions of policy conflict inter-ministries and offices in the formative process of merger policy are normally the overlapping jurisdiction among ministries and offices, and under this circumstance, the policy conflict usually caused from discrepant motives of each ministries and offices such as their own viewpoints, reciprocal or conflictory situations among them.
The aspect of policy conflict during the beginning period was a mutual coordination process among performers for ironing out causal uncertainty. The conflict came on the surface at formulating and searching position level on a new policy, it was particular situation that the conflict came out from the interaction progress each ministries and offices ironing out uncertainty about a new policy.
During the transition period, the will of organization to increase the power in a new policy area was occurred in same period, the interest of each ministry and office for their jurisdiction were appeared shapely. As it was hardly find a solution to be satisfied in each organization, the Administration proceeded with law-maker's bill in solidarity with the National Assembly, and thus the aspects of policy conflict sparked another conflict between the Administration and the National Assembly.
Each ministry and office proceeded with their own armed theory up to individual concern in the merger and suggested a concrete alternative through the study to rationalize their argument to their advantage, ulti- mately submitting an extra bill.
It can be assumed that a traditional pursuit phenomenon that "superiors exist due to the existence of subjects to be ruled"-regulatory organs' ground for existence is up to the existence of a target organ under regulation-stirred up such a conflict.
During the law making period, interests pursuing policy and jurisdiction are shown up acutely, which is related to the issue of Communication Commission establishment. To control effectively, the intervention of the National Assembly and political parties besides the Administration [the Office for Government Policy Coordination] were intervened in progress of coordination. Thus, the aspect of conflict development was expanded into the contradictory relations between the Administration, Legislature, and political parties, resulting in a phase of great amplitude of conflict.
As a result of researching consideration of policy makers who faced on agony of decision-making, it was confirmed that they agreed the goal in general idea of the formation policy, but they have different opinions as well as priorities. In this manner, regarding to realistic basis, different opinion was caused the main factor of the conflict in policy-making process.
2. Through what development process is the policy conflict created in the process of the merger policy formative process coordinated?
A conflict during the beginning period, it specialized to be coordinated by horizontal analytical approaching. The final result of conflict coordination was result in failure an enactment and it caused delay or fail on solving a policy conflict.
The coordination of policy conflict during the transition period was developed to more complex aspects. The critically issuing point of interests among the ministries and offices, such as the merger policy coordination was seemed to be coordinated in a political, directive way such as the coordination of the Office for Government Policy Coordination or the intervention of the National Assembly and political parties; on the other hand, the mainstream of aspects of coordination on this period was still horizontal & analytical regarding the policies over the merger media service. The result of the policy conflict ended up without enactment like the beginning period.
The coordination of policy conflict during the law-making period was made noticeably which was developed in a vertical, political way. The third party named the Office for Government Policy Coordination made a great contribution to coordination. In which hints at the fact that a political, vertical way of coordination was more effective than analytical, horizontal way of coordination under the circumstance in which the conflict inter ministries and offices was sharply exposed due to their jurisdiction-oriented inclination to maintain and expand it after the installation of the broadcasting communication committee subsequent to the merger of regulatory organs. The result of the policy conflict coordination provided a clue for iron out conflict by announcing lawmaking of the bill for establishment of the broadcasting communication committee in advance, but it had an aspect of sowing the seeds of another conflict.
As for the characteristics of policy-makers, they could not play their role as competent Ministries -‘the Ministry of Information and Communication’ and ‘the Ministry of Culture and Tourism’- giving guideline to resolve the conflict development process in a well-timed manner, but in most cases, they took the lead in forming policies as the party in conflict and also a source of policy conflict. The related ministry and office broke the regulation occasionally, the opposite party was confronted by delaying making-decision or setting their veto.
In addition, each ministry and office exercised their strategy to effectively overcome their opponent's objection through the specialty security strategy and mobilization strategy of political support, also exercised the strategy to gradually expand their jurisdiction and resources. Political parties and the National Assembly became a supporting power for each ministry and office, and they initiate a bill in the form of a member's lawmaking or taking the lead in drafting a bill in person.
However, policy environment and the attribute of a policy had an effect on overlapping jurisdiction and the gap in motive of interactivity among the ministries and offices, and it was operating as a mechanism to deepen the policy conflict among them.
The created policy conflict among the organizations, an incomplete policy system makes it difficult to coordinate.
Among these factors, such systematic variables as pluralistic policy system or inadequate policy coordination system are possible to control, whereas other factors such as policy environment factor and motive of interactivity among the ministries and offices are hard to control. It suggests that the restructuring of the merger policy-making system and policy coordination mechanism is urgently needed.
According to the survey on consciousness of the policy-makers during the law-making period, they are aware and commonly agree to the fact that the conflicting factor of the merger policy lies in the conflict among the ministries and offices; thus because of such nature, they point out the simultaneous necessity of the coordination among the interested parties and the government-led coordinating function. Therefore, to solve conflict from the merger policy, the coordination is needed in horizontal /analytical and vertical / political approaches at the same time.
3. From now, what will be a proposal for the reduction of the policy conflict between the ministries and offices and for the properly functional policy conflict in the merger policy sector?
In the media policy process, the conflict arises from the mutual difference in the related participants' policy objective. Therefore, it is necessary to clarify the denotative meaning of the merger policy principle and to share a junction for making a consensus as to the principle and objective of the merger policy among the ministries and offices.
For this, it is necessary to clarify the denotative meaning of the merger policy principle and also necessary to have a formational process of a social consensus to convert from the existing principle. In an epoch-making conversion from the existing principle, the makeshift approach focusing on a short-term effect, with the social debate process on contradictory issues among principles left behind, is feared to foster unnecessary conflict, trial and error. Besides, the broadcasting communication merger could incur contradictory situation among different principles, so a proposal to coordinate it should be preceded.
Traditionally, the broadcasting circle tends to value of public good and political neutrality, and the communication circle tends to value marketability and universal service however, both sides tend to take a neutral posture on contents.
The integration of organs, in reality, will assume the form of integration of the authorities in charge, so a big disorder could be incurred if a mechanical integration should be pursued while overlooking differences in policy principle and tradition by media. The integration of organs will produce proximity attribute and reflections of policy principles by broadcasting and communication policy, so the validity subsequent to abrupt conversion of principle must be secured.
The communication policy is produced by interactivity among performers retroactively interacting, what is called, policy network.
Therefore, in the discussion of broadcasting communication policy and integration of organs, it's necessary to make an approach understanding the formerly existing policy regulating organ as an interactive system related to the regulatory policy of the broadcasting and communication than a governmental office in a narrow sense.
As for the considerations of individual performers, it is necessary to concern about not only their official staff organization and function but also the informal aspects such as the attribute, organizational culture, collective sentiment, hope and anxiety of each constituent performer.
This study renders a significant meaning academically and strategically in that this study managed to tide over the limit of the existing policy - making theory by objectifying the nature of the policy conflict more substantially with an actual confirmation of their consciousness of the reason for conflict and its coordination as well as its settlement plan in the merger policy formation process through the channel of in-depth interviews conducted on the performers involved in the merger policy formational process of the broadcasting communication - and so it does in that this paper managed to overcome the limit of the schematic clearness which the policy conflict and its coordination theory commonly have.
Every time the newly merged media service appears, there exists high possibility of reappearance of disorderly situation which appeared in the formational process of the merger policy. In other words, this means that there exists high possibility that the government might face with the policy dilemma and conflictory situation in the execution process of the newly-made media policy continuously.
Therefore, I would say that the results of this study serve to offer a clue to an effective decision making of the merger policy by understanding dilemmatic situation, namely, the coherence of conflict, happening in the policy formational process at an integrated viewpoint, and also give a vital lesson for minimizing the social, strategical conflict occurring in social adoption of the newly incoming media service hence after.