韓國電信自由化的政治經濟分析

The Political Economy of Telecom Liberalization in South Korea

隨著資訊科技的進步，人類社會走向數位化的結果，社會科學也面臨研究議題上的挑戰。如何透過社會科學的分析架構去解釋資訊科技對人類社會所產生的衝擊？是本文撰寫的主要動機。韓國主要的電信改革從一九九０年代才開始，尤其在金泳三和金大中政府的經濟自由化政策之下，電信自由化相關施受到政府部門的強力主導下快速進行，其中有關電信市場開放和法規的鬆綁更超越其他部門自由化的進度。究其背後因素，除了到全球電信自由化建制的影響外，由國主導的組織和法規調整；透過漸進式開放政策、單一投資上限、「管理競爭」（managed competition）政策進行的市場重整；以及全力壓制電信工會等方式，維持了電信主管事權的統一性和政策的一貫性是重要的原因。本文分別從全球電信自由化建制、電信改革的制度調整、政府與企業問的制度性聯結（institutional linkage）和電信工會角色等層面探討韓電信改革的決策背景與過程。

Thanks to the revolution in communications technology, state-owned or pubic telecommunication enterprises are now part of a competitive industry for information infrastructure. In the process, liberalization has become the new trend. Moving alone the path toward telecom liberalization, East Asian governments have played a pivotal role in managing institutional adjustments. The South Korean government has managed to balance international pressure and domestic reform, helping lead to competitiveness in the telecommunication industry.This paper touches upon international and domestic institutional adjustment. The emerging international telecom liberalization regime led by the United Sates throught bilateral and multilateral trade negotiations serves as a guiding force in domestic reform, while the roles of the state, business sector, and trade unions as well as their institutional linkages have structured the pace and process of South Korean telecom liberaliztion.