한국의 시민운동과 복지국가로의 우회: 국민기초생활보장법 제정 사례를 중심으로

This study analyses the role of civic movements in the development of Korea’s post-democratization welfare state. In the case of Korea, labor unions and employers were indifferent to social welfare, and leftist parties had minimal power in the parliament. In such circumstances, civic groups hailing from the country’s democratization movements contributed to the development of Korea’s welfare state in lieu of the traditional champions of welfare state-building. The civic groups created policy alternatives for advancing public interests and assisting the socially vulnerable based on their expertise and formed coalitions to overcome their organizational weaknesses and mobilize public opinions to pressure the government to adopt progressive social policies. In this way, civic organizations achieved remarkable results using soft power resources in a diverse range of policy areas, including the enactment of the National Basic Livelihood Security System. This study provides a balanced understanding of Korea’s evolutionary path to the welfare state by highlighting the contributions and limitations of such civil movements in this process, while also illuminating on how developments in welfare can occur in late welfare states through alternative forces outside the traditional power resources.