One of the election pledges of President Lee Myung-bak, the korea grand canal project, was hot issue in his candidate's times. After he was elected a president, it was a much discussed issue in korean society. Due to holding many candlelight vigils ag...
One of the election pledges of President Lee Myung-bak, the korea grand canal project, was hot issue in his candidate's times. After he was elected a president, it was a much discussed issue in korean society. Due to holding many candlelight vigils against the negotiations on Korean beef Market opening, President Lee decided to abandon these projects. However, the political environment in korea was stable and got better, Lee Myung-bak’s administration changed his direction into the Four-River Restoration Project insead of discarding the Korea Grand Canal. Moreover, Lee's administration has been pushing the Four-River Restoration Project in spite of the heated debates.
Therefore, the policy is not fixed but always changeable and there is a change of process in the specific policy. For example, the policy was decided the Korea Grand Canal by Lee Myung-bak’s administration and then, there was a change of policy into the Four-River Restoration Project from the Korea Grand Canal project, but its project is under the change of policy.
The purpose of this study is that first, the study considers what are factors of the change in policy about the Four-River Restoration Project and the dynamic processes for this change. Second, The study intends to find characters concerning the change of policy about the Korea Grand Canal Project and the Four-River Restoration Project. Third, This study gets desirable settlements for the Four-River Restoration Project.
To study and consider the change and process of policy about the Korea Grand Canal Project and the Four-River Restoration Project, the study settled Punctuated-Equilibrium Theory.
The writer investigated the frequency of use about specific key words from articles in newspapers from October, 2006 to March, 2010. Through investigating this frequency of use, the writer chose the issue of policy to become a Punctuated period instead of Equilibrium. This chosen period is eight stages and the writer analyzed the change of policy on the basis of eight stages. In order to analyze the cause of occurring punctuated and equilibrium in policy, this study designates system, public opinion, contexts, actors and the exterior environments as it's standards.
After analyzing, the Korea Grand Canal Project and the Four-River Restoration Project show eight stages : the equilibrium period (The primary stage of policy agenda) → the weak equilibrium period after punctuated period(the pushing stage of policy) → the strong punctuated period(the abandonment stage of policy) → equilibrium period (the transition stage of policy)→ the punctuated period(the restarting stage of policy) → the equilibrium period(the formation stage of policy amendments) → the weak equilibrium period(the settlement stage of policy amendments) → the weakest equilibrium period(the stage of policy implementation).
Especially, three stages for punctuated period(the change of policy) are the pushing stage of policy, the abandonment stage of policy and the restarting stage of policy. In this first pushing stage of policy, the punctuated period appears because of condition of changes in government in 2002 through the president election, President Lee Myung-bak and his surroundings, and the policy level of context. In second punctuated period, the cause is the disputable level of context, the level of policy, public opinion and Interactions of actors against leading actor. Furthermore, the big cause is the exterior environment factor such as many candlelight vigils against the negotiations on Korean beef Market opening. Third is the restarting stage of policy and the cause is the political level of context, the policy level, system level, and President Lee Myung-bak and his surroundings after abandoning the Korea Grand Canal.
Through results of analysis, at first, Punctuated-Equilibrium Theory shows the change of policy as well as the normative theory as an useful frame addressing the Korea Grand Canal Project and the Four-River Restoration Project. The biggest meaning is that the study classifies stages according to the punctuated periods in issue of policy and analyzes totally the change of process in policy by studying causes of equilibrium and punctuated periods on stages. Hence, the study analyzes whether these factors are equilibrium factors or punctuated factors and shows effects on equilibrium and punctuated through changes of process in policy.