ABSTRACT
The concept of leadership is frequently invoked to help explain the successful use of information and communication technologies in the service of national development. As Wilson put it, “Without local political leadership the information revolution cannot move forward. Leaders must be willing to press changes in the face of institutional rigidity, technological backwardness and political resistance. ... Without politics and political leadership, the information revolution simply does not occur.” 1
South Korea is now widely acknowledged to be a model case of governmentled telecommunications development. 2 The World Bank’s extensive study of Korea as a knowledge economy stated that “... the Korean government assumed the very necessary proactive leadership role of supporting the market and providing an environment that would foster and sustain the transformation.” 3
Korean government leadership under Park Chung Hee and through the HCI reforms in the late 1970s resembled the developmental state that had propelled development in Japan and in other newly industrializing East Asian economies. However, beginning in 1980 under the leadership of individuals such as Kim Jae-ik, Korea took a decisive turn toward economic liberalization, including liberalization of the telecommunications and electronics sectors as a development strategy. That government-sanctioned liberalization is what propelled Korea, within a decade or two, from being a follower in the world telecommunication market to one of the global leaders. 4
Other chapters describe major projects through which the Korean government built new digital networks, used its purchasing power to encourage new ICT products and services, and coordinated vast public education efforts. In this chapter we look at changes in government institutions, restructuring policies and laws. To put a human face on leadership processes, we introduce several infl uential leaders of the 1980s telecommunications revolution. Our goal is to describe more fully the key aspects of leadership in the Korean case.
