Kim, Jeong-Oh --- "The normative phenomenon of public sector in Korean society" [2013] ELECD 160; in Yang, Hyunah (ed), "Law and Society in Korea" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2013) 93

Book Title: Law and Society in Korea

Editor(s): Yang, Hyunah

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781848443389

Section: Chapter 5

Section Title: The normative phenomenon of public sector in Korean society

Author(s): Kim, Jeong-Oh

Number of pages: 15

Abstract/Description:

Korean society has tried to establish the rule of law for the last 60 years. Most legal scholars and social scientists have been concerned that Korean people are not sufficiently conscious of their legal rights and are therefore too passive to protect and exercise those rights (Hahm, 1986). But the recent tendency of the general public’s attitude toward its legal rights shows that the situation has been changing radically. Korean people have become active in relying upon the law and legal system for their rights. Today, researchers are rather worried about the exceedingly high level of people’s assertion of their rights. One of the premises of the liberal legal system, which is the most typical one of the rule of law, is that even though the members of a society are primarily concerned with their own self-interest, those behaviors are strictly dependent on the legal system. However, the other side of the rule of law is to respect the other’s right as much as his/her own right. While the private sector is the main area in which right holders exercise their rights, the public sector is the one in which each person respects the other’s right and respects public interests. Then, are the Korean people as active in respecting the other’s right in the public sector as much as in exercising their own rights in the private sector? The major purpose of this article is to analyze the normative phenomenon observed in the public sector of Korean society.