The Korean Public Administration Review (KPAR), which has published quarterly volumes since its establishment in 1967, is the official journal of the Korean Association for Public Administration(KAPA). As a scholarly journal, KPAR not only hold the highest authority in the field of public administration in South Korea, but also in social science. Since the National Research Foundation of Korea began evaluating journals, KPAR has been listed in the Korea Citation Index (KCI) journal index.
The Rise of Trumpism and Its Implications for Public Administration 트럼피즘(Trumpism)의 대두 배경과 행정학적 의미
박순애 ( Park Soon-ae )
DOI:10.18333/KPAR.59.1.1 Vol.59(No.1) 1-37, 2025
Abstract
This study analyzes the rise of Trumpism and its implications for public administration, focusing on its impact on the U.S. administrative system and potential influences on Korea’s policy environment. While previous research has primarily examined Trumpism from a political science perspective―describing it as populism, authoritarian regression, and anti-elitism―this study explores its administrative consequences.
Using literature analysis and a comparative administrative study, the research examines the Trump administration’s structural administrative reforms, bureaucratic restructuring, and policy decision-making mechanisms. The study then compares these findings to Korea’s administrative framework to assess the potential adaptation of Trumpist elements within the Korean context and suggests relevant policy responses.
The key findings are as follows. First, Trumpism is characterized by anti-bureaucratic administrative reforms, protectionist economic policies, and populist decision-making, which often challenge traditional principles of public administration. Second, given the structural differences between the U.S. (decentralized federalism) and Korea (centralized administration), Trumpist elements would likely manifest differently in Korea rather than as direct replications. Third, to mitigate potential Trumpist influences on Korean public administration, it is essential to enhance civil service neutrality, ensure procedural legitimacy in policy decisions, and develop balanced strategies for global economic shifts.
By analyzing Trumpism from an administrative science perspective, this study provides a novel framework for understanding contemporary public administration changes. Furthermore, through a comparative approach, it identifies challenges that Korean governance may face and offers practical policy recommendations for future administrative stability.
Loyalty or Purge: The Bureaucracy of the Second Trump Administration, the Unitary Executive Theory, and Policy Implementation 충성 또는 숙청: 트럼프 2기 행정부의 관료제와 단일행정부이론, 그리고 정책집행
This study examines the politicization of the U.S. federal bureaucracy under the second Trump administration through the lens of the Unitary Executive Theory. Using two cases― the government shutdown and the “Schedule Policy/Career” executive order―it explores how the administration seeks to reshape the federal bureaucracy, the resulting effects on policy implementation and administrative continuity, and the broader implications for the American administrative state. Findings suggest that heightened presidential authority can undermine bureaucratic independence and merit principles, posing risks to policy expertise and democratic checks and balances. The study concludes by offering lessons for other presidential systems, including South Korea.
Key Words
트럼프 2기 행정부, 단일행정부이론, 정부셧다운, second trump administration, unitary executive theory, government shutdown
Politics and administration are the two key driving forces of state governance. In any country that advocates democracy, it is natural that the administration of the parliament directly elected by the people has the upper hand. However, as the demands of the people that the country must handle expand and become more complex, the state services supplied by bureaucrats with administrative expertise become strengthened, and the control and support of politics for this is an essential element that guarantees the fundamentals of democracy. This study proposes an alternative for cooperation between politics and administration, focusing on delegated legislation for administration. This is because harmonious cooperation between politics and administration can secure the ideological legitimacy and administrative effectiveness of a democratic state. Cooperative governance between politics and administration can be applied in various situations, and countless prerequisites are necessary for its success. This study is the first step toward successful cooperative governance between politics and administration.
Key Words
정치-행정, 협치, 행정입법, 입법통제, politics-administration, governance, administrative legislation, legislative control
Given that political capitalism (not by Milanovich, but Holcombe’s sense) is spreading through the political economy environment, classical “rent-seeking” theories can be re-examined. This paper excavated Holcombe’s points to challenge to classical rent-seeking theory. Then, some differences between Holcombe’s and Tullock’s theories were summarized, according to 7 criteria. Holcombe’s new perspective also exposed some caveats, which were analyzed as 9 points. Nonetheless, Holcombe’s approach contributed to refining the classical public choice theory of rent-seeking by looking to the new trend of political capitalism. His creative theory also can be reviewed and refined, leading to more valid and relevant intellectual devices to explain rent-seeking, which is one of the most important research agendas of public choice.
Key Words
정치적 자본주의, 지대추구, 지대소진, political capitalism, rent-seeking, rent-dissipation
From Stability and Control to Flexibility and Discretion: A Meta-Analysis of the Association Between Organizational Culture and Organizational Effectiveness 통제와 안정에서 유연과 재량으로: 조직문화와 조직효과성의 관계에 관한 메타분석 연구
Despite extensive research on the impact of organizational culture on organizational effectiveness over the past few decades, a comprehensive conclusion on how organizational culture affects organizational effectiveness remains undetermined. This study conducted a meta-analysis on the relationship between organizational culture and organizational effectiveness to synthesize the results of existing studies and elucidate this relationship. Analyzing 46 papers published in the field of public administration in Korea since 2000, the study found that the influence of four types of organizational culture (group, developmental, rational, and hierarchical culture) based on the Competing Values Framework on organizational effectiveness showed changing patterns over time. First, the effect sizes of organizational culture on organizational effectiveness were larger for group culture (0.239) and developmental culture (0.224), which emphasize flexibility and discretion, compared to rational culture (0.164) and hierarchical culture (0.080), which emphasize control and stability. Additionally, more recent studies showed a decreased influence of organizational culture on organizational effectiveness, with the impact of rational and hierarchical cultures almost disappearing in the 2020s. Furthermore, publication year, administrative environment, and measurement methods of organizational effectiveness partially moderated the relationship between organizational culture and effectiveness. The impact of organizational culture was also found to be stronger in public enterprises compared to civil servant organizations. This study contributes by providing a comprehensive conclusion on the relationship between organizational culture and organizational effectiveness and by presenting practical implications for improving organizational effectiveness in the public sector.
Exploring the Role of Organizational Socialization in Enhancing Organizational Citizenship Behavior: Focusing on the Perceptions of Low-Seniority Government Employees 조직사회화 인식이 조직시민행동에 미치는 영향: 재직기간 5년 이하 저연차 공무원을 대상으로
This study empirically investigates the influence of organizational socialization perceptions on organizational citizenship behaviors among public managers with five or fewer years of service. Organizational socialization refers to the process by which new members transition from outsiders to fully integrated insiders, enabling them to learn and adapt to the organization’s expected attitudes and behaviors. The research focused on three key dimensions of organizational socialization: perceived training, perceived organizational goals, and perceived supervisor support, and their effects on organizational citizenship behavior through the mediating role of organizational commitment. The findings indicate that all aspects of organizational socialization positively impact organizational commitment, which, in turn, enhances organizational citizenship behavior. Notably, perceived training demonstrated both direct and indirect effects on organizational citizenship behavior. The study underscores the critical role of organizational socialization in public sector organizations and recommends policy implications, aimed at improving organizational fit and promoting extra-role behaviors among low-seniority public employees.
Work-Life Balance Policies as a Human Resource Strategy: Improving Job Attitudes and Reducing Turnover Intention 일-생활 균형 제도의 인적자원 관리 효과 분석: 직무태도 및 이직의도 개선 효과를 중심으로
While work-life balance has traditionally been considered an outcome of job attitudes (organizational commitment, job satisfaction) that strongly predict turnover intention, it has recently gained attention as a direct predictor of turnover intention. This study explores the comprehensive value of work-life balance policies as a human resource management strategy in the context of increasing turnover among public servants. Specifically, it analyzes both the direct effects of work-life balance policies on turnover intention and their indirect effects through improved job attitudes among public servants with children, for whom maintaining work-life balance is particularly important due to childcare responsibilities. Path analysis using data from the 2021 Public Employee Perception Survey revealed that satisfaction with work-life balance policies directly reduced turnover intention among public servants with children. Additionally, these policies indirectly reduced turnover intention through partial mediation of organizational commitment and job satisfaction. Based on these findings, this study suggests the need for raising awareness of work-life balance policies in public organizations, their effective implementation, and the establishment of a legal foundation to support them.
This study conducts a comparative analysis of the key success factors of Spending Review (SR) in OECD countries and provides policy implications based on an evaluation of the institutional maturity of SR within Korea's Public Financial Management (PFM) system. Korea has introduced and developed various public financial management tools by benchmarking practices from other OECD countries, such as the medium-term expenditure framework and top-down budgeting. In the case of performance budgeting, Korea has established its PFM framework by implementing, adapting, and integrating various performance evaluation systems, beginning with performance target management. In OECD countries, SR has evolved into an effective policy tool for achieving spending reduction and enhancing allocative efficiency through structural reforms in program frameworks. The analysis indicates that while Korea’s PFM system provides extensive performance information for various projects, it falls short of achieving the high level of institutional maturity in SR observed in OECD counterparts.
The study proposes the development of an overarching public financial management framework that consolidates Korea's fragmented performance management systems through SR strategies tailored to its specific context. Such a framework could serve as a mechanism for addressing growing expenditure pressures and fundamentally restructuring the public expenditure system.
Key Words
공공재정관리, 전략적 지출검토, 지출구조조정, public financial management, spending review, budget reallocation
This study analyzes the Korean government's response to the low birthrate and aging society, an important and pressing social issue in Korea, through conceptual blending. Conceptual blending is a theory developed in cognitive linguistics that refers to the blending of concepts used in different contexts or not closely related to each other to create a new concept. It is a way of using existing language to create new concepts. The Korean government also uses conceptual blending when it implements policies to solve social problems through the words of bureaucrats or the text of official documents. In response to the low birthrate and aging society, the South Korean government has used conceptual blending with “population cliff,” “birthrate trap,” “inverted population pyramid,” and “double-cropping life.” This study shows that the South Korean government uses conceptual blending to effectively communicate its message. It also suggests that the South Korean government views low fertility and an aging society as a population problem rather than a human problem.
Key Words
저출산고령사회, 개념적 블렌딩, 정부의 언어, conceptual blending, low birth rate and aging society, language of government
The Increase of Local Public Institutions: Institutional Perspective on the Expansion of Local Government-Funded Organizations 제도주의 조직론 관점에서 본 지방정부 공공기관 증가에 관한 연구: 광역지방정부 및 기초지방정부 비교분석을 중심으로
This study analyzes the factors driving the increase in the foundings of local government-funded organizations (LGFOs) from the perspective of organizational institutionalism. Since the first establishment in 1993, the number has grown by 10% annually, reaching 850 by 2022. While the previous studies have primarily focused on how to secure the operational efficiency of the organizations, this study considers local governments as empowered actors responding to institutional environments and examines the factors influencing the growth of LGFOs, such as institutional pressure, institutional diffusion, and the level of institutionalization. The analysis, conducted using fixed effects panel regression, targets metropolitan and basic local governments. LGFOs are more likely to be founded when institutional pressure is high due to the presence of nonprofit organizations acting as normative agents and when institutional diffusion accelerates as similar organizations are established in adjacent regions. Furthermore, institutionalization, reinforced by the Act on the Operation of Local Government-Invested or -Funded Institutions, facilitates this growth. Metropolitan local governments are more influenced by institutional pressure and horizontal diffusion, whereas basic local governments are more affected by institutionalization and vertical diffusion. As social issues for which the local governments are responsible become more complex, LGFOs are more likely to be founded. This study explores the key casual factors and offers insights for relevant policy implication.
Key Words
제도주의 조직론, 역능적 행위자성, 지방 공공기관, organizational institutionalism, empowered actorhood, local public organization
