• Journal of Science and Technology Studies
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• v.3 no.1 s.5
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• pp.105-156
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• 2003

This paper aims to explore the cause and aspect of inter-ministerial policy conflict and its coordination in science and technology policy-making with the case of science and technology basic law-making process in Korea. This law-making processes are analysed through the three periods for the last 10 years starting 1992, such as law-formulation(1st) period, interim law-making (2nd) period, and final law-making(3rd) period. Based on these steps, it tries to concretely describe the phenomenon of policy conflict and the coordination mechanism among government departments and analyses the characteristics of dynamic interaction and mutual adjustment among the related agencies. The analysis is mainly focussed on the underlying causes and determinants of policy conflict, the development and coordination process of the conflict, the strategies and logics of the conflict participants, and eliciting some policy implications for effective policy coordination among government departments. Research results are summarized as follows. First, in science and technology policy-making the main causes of policy conflict among government departments are attributed to the difference of policy-orientation and jurisdiction-orientation of each agency. During the first period, the main aspect of policy conflict was policy-oriented, during the second, the main aspects of policy conflict were both policy-oriented and jurisdiction-oriented, and during the third, policy-oriented conflict was dominant. Second, the dominant typology and strategies of policy coordination which the participants used were vertical-political and horizontal-analytic approach. During the first period, horizontal and analytical approach were used, during the second, horizontal and political approach are mixedly used, and during the third, vertical and political approach were dominantly used. Third, The Korean National Assembly and the ruling party played a pivotal role in science and technology policy-making process(the basic law-making process) in particular during the final period.