A Comparative Analysis of Korean Administrations' Public Relations Policies and the Implications for Democratic Governance

Abstract

This study compares each Korean administration's purposes of public relations, the communication flow of government PR, Press policies, and relationships between the press and the government, in order to examine characteristics and changes in the Korean governments' approaches to government PR. The findings of the analysis show that most of the early administrations purported to provide propaganda against communism and their political rivals. Later administrations conducted PR activities for diverse purposes such as propaganda, the dissemination of public information, persuading the public, and sometimes even promoting mutual understanding. Communication flow of the government PR activities was consistently unilateral across the administrations, from the government toward the public, and mainly through the press. Although President Roh Moo Hyun attempted interactive communication between the government and the public, his idealism did not materialize in reality, and resulted in aggressive and intrusive unilateral PR activities directly toward the public. Based on the findings of the analysis, the study suggests that future government PR activities should focus on two-way communication, especially on listening to the public, probably by organizing local policy meeting and discussion groups, setting up call centers and internet sites that are easy to use and are interactive, and by planning and executing deliberative polling for policy issues.