GLOBAL COOPERATION NEWSLETTER
November 2013
In this issue:Evolution of Social Protection in the Republic of Korea: from fighting abject poverty
to universal social security.
International Council on Social Welfare convenes its Board meeting
The post-2015 development agenda: the role of parliaments
Useful resources and links

Featured article: Evolution of Social Protection in the Republic of Korea: from fighting
abject poverty to universal social security - By Dr. Heung Bong Cha

Dr. Cha is Professor Emeritus, Hallym University and former Minister of Health and Welfare, Republic of Korea.
He is President, Korea National Council on Social Welfare and President, ICSW-North East Asia Region

Korea lived through poverty during much of the 20th century. The people’s suffering, which wascaused by wide-spread poverty and disease, was indescribable. Fortunately, rapid economic growth
and the successful realization of bold development plans conceived in the early 1960s led to adramatic transformation of the national economy during the latter part of the 20 th century. The
economic success of the country led to major changes in the living conditions of the population.
Amid the breakdown of the traditional agricultural economy, Korea underwent rapid
industrialization and urbanization; the overall improvement in the living standard was clearly linked
to fast and widely-based economic growth. Along with those rapid social changes, however, such
acute social problems as income inequality and relative poverty became quite visible, spurring
increased demand for social welfare services. Overall, however, reaping the fruits of economic
growth, the country was able to move forward on the social welfare front and to address thegrowing social needs of the population and the increased demand for quality services.
1. Period of Foreign-Assisted Social Welfare: From 1948 to the late 1970s
Immediately after the establishment of the Republic of Korea in 1948, the nation’s economic
conditions were unfavorable, even miserable. The country was ranked as one of the poorest in theworld, with high dependence on agriculture and access to very few resources. Moreover, thecountry went through three years of a tragic civil war from 1950 to 1953, which resulted in a
divided Korea and political turmoil followed by an era of suffering, during which most people
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endured severe hardship. Until the end of the 1950s, the economy of the Republic of Korea grew
little because of the war and subsequent political turmoil. With a per capita income of less than 70
dollars, the country was far from being the economic powerhouse it became later. As long as
political instability and economic deprivation persisted, the provision of social welfare on a national
level could not make any visible strides. The government was overwhelmed with various urgent
tasks, namely, providing emergency relief services for injured military personnel, helping refugees,
and dealing with dispossessed vagrants on the street. The government barely managed to monitor
social welfare facilities such as orphanages, which mushroomed after the Korean War. In theabsence of public welfare provisions, such vulnerable groups as orphans, widows, and vagrants
were housed in relief facilities; the poorest, who faced wide-scale deprivations in the community,
relied primarily on foreign aid supplied by international relief agencies and run by the private
sector. In 1956, South Korea had a national total of 603 social welfare facilities, including 396
orphanages. The foreign aid, such as food, clothing and medical supplies, provided to thosefacilities and the indigent in poor communities amounted to an annual total of $3.3 million in 1955,
a sum larger than the amount of the nation’s total annual exports to foreign countries.
Since the early 1960s and well into mid-1970s, the successful implementations of three consecutive
5-year Economic Development Plans, based on a rapid economic growth that became an integral
part of development, led to higher incomes and improved employment opportunities. Many people
were able to improve their well-being and escape poverty and unemployment. But, despite therapid transformation of the country into an industrial state and the growing need for social welfare
services, the Republic of Korea did not make noticeable progress in the social welfare area duringthat period. In the absence of government-led social welfare programs, social welfare services
financed by foreign relief organization in the private sector continued until the mid-1970s. Social
welfare facilities even decreased in number to a total of 530 as of 1975.
2. First Stage of Social Welfare Development: From Late 1970s to Late 1990s
Since the late 1970s, social welfare fuelled by economic growth began to develop in the Republic ofKorea on a national scale. From the latter part of the 1970s to the mid-1990s, the nation’s
economy continued to grow rapidly, relying on an export-oriented model adopted by several othercountries in the North-East Asia as well. Social structures in the country changed greatly, owing tobroad-based industrialization and urbanization. In response to those social changes and theemergence of new welfare needs, the country began to promote wide-scale social welfare programs
and schemes. The following factors contributed to the development of proactive welfare policies.
First, the nation’s economic power was growing, with rapid accumulation of wealth linked tocontinued economic growth. Second, it became vital to facilitate social integration through theprovision of social welfare and to achieve a balance in the interaction of economic and social
policies. Thus, in the early 1980s, the development of social welfare became one of the key goals of
the national policies supported by several successive governments. The first social welfare schemeon the national level sought to ensure medical care and promote people’s health. In 1977, as aform of social insurance, the National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme first covered large-scale
establishments that hired 500 or more people, which was followed by the coverage of smaller units
in the early 1980s. The NHI coverage gradually expanded to include all people in rural areas andcities by 1989, thus completing the national health insurance within 12 years of its first
introduction. A medical care policy aimed at the provision of services for the poor also began in
1977 to support those with precarious livelihoods.
Income security policies and programs for dealing with economic insecurity were also establishedduring that period. In 1988, the National Pension Service (NPS) began to address such social risks
as old age, disability and death. Beginning with employers who hired 100 or more people, the NPS
gradually expanded the scope of the program coverage. Public assistance programs for ensuring
the income security of the indigent began to develop around 1980, including the provision of grain,food assistance, assistance for education and so on for the beneficiaries of the Livelihood Protection
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Law. Social welfare service programs and facilities targeting children, older persons and people withdisabilities also began to develop around that time. Since the 1980s, community-centered facilities,
such as comprehensive social welfare centers and community centers for older people and people
with disabilities, began to increase. Nursery care facilities have also increased greatly since 1991,
when the Nursery Care Law was adopted. Professional education in the field also grew, as
certification through licenses was set as an important qualification threshold. In 1985, 2,500 social
workers were licensed as professional social workers. Licensed social workers began to fill thegovernment’s social service positions and jobs at the comprehensive community welfare centers.
The number of public servants specializing in social services increased to 7,000 by the late 1990s-after such a professional service position in the public sector was fist established in 1987.
3. Second Stage of Social Welfare Development: From the end of the 1990s to theearly 2010s.
Based on a strengthened productive sector, social protection services provided by the national
public schemes, along with the social services provided by the private sector, ensured positivesocio-economic outcomes across the board. During the period, the national economy continued its
fast growth, and the Republic of Korea developed into the world’s 10 th largest economic power interms of GDP. With a per capita national income of over $20,000 as of 2010, the country hasentered the ranks of the advanced industrialized countries. Political democratization was also
pursued along with economic transformation. The labor movement became much stronger duringlate 1980s, prompting the demands of workers for higher incomes and for a higher quality of life.
Social welfare has been firmly established as a crucial objective on the national political agenda.
The basic structure of the social welfare reform, which was geared at transforming the country intoa modern welfare state, was nearly completed by the late 1990s. During the period, five social
insurance programs aimed at building resilience and addressing risks of poverty were established aspart of the social protection system. The NPS was expanded to include work places with a single
employee and, in 1995 it covered farmers and fisherman in rural communities. By 1999, the NPS
became universal, covering all people in the nation, including the urban self-employed. Income
security schemes included such NPS social insurance programs as the Industrial Accident Insurance
scheme and the Unemployment Insurance scheme; they were completed either just before or justafter 2000 and the target population has been expanded to cover all people in the nation inaccordance with the principle of universal social services.
The health care component of the NHI program was reformed in 2000; as a result, a single insurer
system operated by the National Health Insurance Corporation was established to finance healthservices for the people, based on the principle of solidarity and embracing all classes of people. In
2008, the Long-Term Care Insurance scheme for older persons was introduced to provide long-termcare services for older people unable to live independently because of chronic illnesses, particularly
dementia. In 2000, upon the arrival of the new millennium, a social guarantee aimed at providing
for the basic needs of all people who fell below the minimum living standard was establishedthrough the historic legislation of the National Basic Livelihood Security Law. That program showedthat the nation had begun to address the root causes of poverty, helping the poor to escape theyoke of miserable poverty that had oppressed them for the past hundreds and thousands of yearsof Korean history. That development indicated the completion of the construction of the basic
infrastructure of the welfare state, ensuring human dignity as a key principle in society. During theperiod, social welfare service programs developed further in terms of quantity and quality. Not only
has the number of social welfare facilities for children, older persons and people with disability
increased greatly, but also the types of facilities and professional programs have become morediversified.
Along with the increase in social welfare facilities, the number of professional social workers
working in the field of social welfare has grown as well, with a total number of 600,000 social
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workers as of 2012. Social workers employed in government offices nationwide amount toapproximately 12,000 in number, and an additional 7,000 social workers are to be hired in the
public sector in the near future. Reflecting the progress in the social service field, social welfare
expenditures have also increased considerably. Since 1980, the national spending on social welfare
grew steadily from 1.0% of GDP in 1980, 3.1% GDP in 1990 to 5.5% in 2000, and 9.4% in 2010.
Assuming that that trend of growth in social welfare spending will continue in the future, it isprojected that Korea will reach the average level of social welfare expenditure of the OECD
countries (i.e. 20% of the GDP) within the next 15 years. The country has become a prosperous,
modern state closely integrated into the world economy and maintaining a well-developed
productive sector and an effective social protection system.
Opinions expressed in the article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect views of the ICSWManagement Committee.

 International Council on Social Welfare convenes its Board meeting
The annual Board meeting of the ICSW was convened in Leiden, the Netherlands, on 18-19
November 2014. The agenda covered a range of pressing issues before the Council: an update of
the mandate and proposed changes in the Constitution, consistency in core messages on social
policy in statements to intergovernmental bodies, the state of strategic partnerships andmembership in various coalitions, and the preparation of the forthcoming Joint World Conference onsocial work and social development in 2014 in Melbourne. In his statement to the Board, Michael
Cichon, the President of ICSW, stressed the urgent nature of the challenges before theorganization, as well as some important opportunities for ICSW activities that are unfolding in theworld of today. The discussion that followed reflected re-appraisal of the regional priorities of ICSWaffiliated organizations and highlighted the need to address some major emerging issues that the
ICSW faces in its day-to-day work.
The Board reiterated that the Social Protection Floor initiative is one of the key priorities in theactivities of the ICSW globally and locally. It was noted during the discussions that ICSW enjoys
observer status with a number of international organizations (such as the UN, the ILO, UNICEF,UNESCO and WHO) and hence has access to first-hand information about policy developments inthe organizations that have a major influence on global social policy. Meetings of the UN and UN
agencies provide us with the opportunity to build a network of supporters among national
governments, which we could not easily reach out to otherwise. That is a pivotal avenue for
influencing the ongoing global debate on post-2015 development goals and making our collective
voice heard.
ICSW participates actively in the Social Protection Inter-Agency Cooperation Board, which was
created at the behest of the G-20. It is chaired by the ILO and the World Bank and is composed of
20 UN agencies, bilateral donors and a number of selected NGOs. While it is in its early days and it
is difficult to predict how powerful that mechanism will be one day, it is now the only inter-agency
mechanism for coordination where all of the social protection activities of the international agencies
are presented and discussed. We are striving to make our participation in the Board moremeaningful and effective.
ICSW is a founding and active member of the Global Coalition for the Social Protection Floors, whichlinks us to more than 60 organizations that work on social policy issues. The Coalition seeks topromote and monitor the implementation of Social Protection Floors, which is at the heart of ourglobal policy objectives, in as many countries as possible.
The ICSW shares a Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development with our traditional
partners - the International Association of the Schools of Social Work (IASSW) and theInternational Federation of Social Workers (IFSW), which also creates the opportunity to organize a
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major global conference bi-annually. ICSW has been working together with other partners on
implementing the commitments set in the Global Agenda by establishing the joint Global
Observatory. The third joint Global Conference will take place in Melbourne, Australia, in July 2014.
An update on the progress of the preparations for and modalities of participation has been provided
to the Board.
Pursuing its mandate ICSW has been striving to improve the visibility of its activities worldwide,
promote strategic partnerships and strengthen advocacy efforts. The Global Cooperation Newsletter
published by the ICSW is being revamped, aiming at providing a better reflection of national,
regional and international activities of interest to members. Further training for member
organizations on global policy issues, notably on the Social Protection Floor, is planned.
The Board took specific decisions on the new strategic orientation of the Council, key financial
matters, research activities, the website, and some other matters.
 The post-2015 development agenda: the role of parliaments
A parliamentary contribution to the on-going debate at the United Nations and in capitals aroundthe world on the development agenda after 2015, when leading development commitments are set
to expire, was the topic of the Annual Parliamentary Hearing organized jointly in mid-November by
the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the United Nations at UN Headquarters in New York. Entitled Rethinking sustainable development: the quest for a "transformational" global agenda in2015, the Parliamentary Hearing aimed at channeling the views of parliamentarians directly into
the UN’s deliberative process, which is currently led by the General Assembly’s Open Working
Group on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The meeting considered the role of parliaments in the implementation of the new commitments forsustainable development as a universal agenda for both developed and developing countries. Fourmain sessions of the meeting focused on such issues as a new economic model for sustainable
development; gender as a linchpin of development and the framing of a new policy goal; the placeof “democratic governance” for sustainable development among the new goals; and the central rolethat parliaments can play in the implementation of the new development agenda after 2015.
In the course of the meeting the speakers underlined the need for a strategy focused on poverty
eradication, gender equality, democratic governance and a stronger legislative role in the decisionmaking process. They supported a new development model grounded in human well-being and theneed to consolidate gender equality as a dimension underpinning every single goal of a future
development agenda. In his message to the participants, the UN Secretary-General underscoredthe critical role that parliaments are playing in efforts to reach the MDGs. For more details:
http://www.ipu.org/splz-e/unga13.htm
Useful resources and links.
The 2013 World Social Science Report entitled “Changing Global Environments” waslaunched on 15 November 2013 at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. Co-published by UNESCO, theOrganization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the International Social
Science Council (ISSC), the Report includes 100 articles written by 150 authors from 41 countries
all over the world, in an attempt to deal with the complexity and urgency of global environmental
change and social transformation. Appraising social science capacity in global environmental change
research and the consequences of global environmental change for society, the authors articulateconditions and visions for change and sense-making in a rapidly changing world. The
responsibilities and ethical challenges in tackling global environmental change are addressed alongwith some new approaches to governance and decision-making. The authors find that the impactsof climate change cannot be grasped without understanding the human context in which they arePage 5 of 6

unfolding. The social sciences must therefore reframe climate change and global environmental
change as fundamentally social rather than physical problems.
See more at:
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/social-and-human-sciences/resources/reports/world-social-sciencereport-2013/
In a recently released report entitled Economic Outlook for Southeast Asia, China andIndia 2014. Beyond the Middle-Income trap, the OECD projects that growth in the region willremain robust over the medium term, anchored by a steady rise in domestic demand. As a whole,the developing economies in the region are expected to grow by 6.9 per cent per annum in the
period 2014-18 -- a robust pace, albeit less than the 8.6 per cent registered before the global
financial crisis. The special thematic focus of the 2014 edition is dedicated to policy priorities
for growing beyond the “middle-income trap” in Emerging Asia.
For more details: http://www.oecd.org/site/seao/
The content of this Global Newsletter may be freely reproduced or cited provided the source isacknowledged. Views do not necessarily represent policies of ICSW.
Newsletter Editor: Sergei Zelenev, Executive Director
Address: ICSW, P.O. Box 28957, Plot 4, Berkeley Lane, Off Lugard Avenue,
Entebbe, Uganda
Phone +1 718 796 7417, E-mail: szelenev@icsw.org, icsw@icsw.org
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