한국 사회의 공공성 강화 요구 탐색 : 신문 사설 분석을 중심으로

Abstract

-The purpose of this study is to explore how Korean society has understood the notion of publicness and on what grounds and through what mechanisms demands for its enhancement have been articulated. To this end, the study conducts a content analysis of newspaper editorials published over approximately thirty years, spanning from the Kim Young-sam administration to the Moon Jae-in administration. The analysis identifies thirty recurring agenda items related to the enhancement of publicness. Discourses on publicness were found to be persistently present in the fields of education and childcare, media and telecommunications, transportation, real estate, and economic and financial affairs. The domains in which publicness discourse emerged varied clearly across administrations, with publicness demands becoming especially salient in policy areas prioritized by each government. Moreover, demands for enhancing publicness typically developed into calls for government responsibility, particularly regarding the expansion of public service provision and fiscal support, the strengthening of regulations over the private sector, government-led ownership and management, and the safeguarding of independence and fairness. The rationales invoked to justify publicness enhancement include the need for universal, consistent, and stable access to essential services; the protection of socially vulnerable groups; obligations of neutrality and fairness; the significant impact on large populations; and the necessity of managing and allocating scarce resources. Overall, the study suggests that contemporary Korean discourses on publicness operate through narratives that counterbalance market expansion, endorse government-led welfare expansion, and call for depoliticization or strengthened governmental accountability.