This article analyzes Korea`s central agencies, which have been organized and reorganized to support presidential executive leadership since the foundation of the Republic. Each central agency has carried out the standardization of a core administrative function which is essential to the operation of administrative apparatuses, including policy planning and coordination, budgeting, organizing, staffing, legislation, public relations, central-local relations, control and performance evaluation, etc. The six decades of institutionalization can be characterized, based on the central agencies` proportion of the total administrative apparatus, into three phases: high (more than 35 percent, 1948-1961), middle (around 20 percent, 1962-2007), and low (about 10 percent, 2008-present). Regardless of the changing size and organizational configuration of the central agencies, however, their roles and influence as core executive apparatuses have remained largely unchanged, especially since the early 1960s. More than 67 percent, on average, of the heads and deputy heads of CAs have been former public servants, less than 18 percent have been former politicians, and about 15 percent have been former outside experts. This strong bureaucratic background has oriented Korea`s core executive policy direction significantly toward long-term, consistent, and plan rationality rather than short-term, flexible, and democratic responsiveness.

This article analyzes the institutionalization of the presidential secretariat(PS) in Korea from 1948 to the present. The PS was poorly institutionalizedfrom the 1940s to the 1960s, but it has rapidly expanded and differentiated since1968. Although presidents since the democratic transition in 1987 have effectivelycontrolled any expansion of the number of senior secretaries, the PS`s total sizehas continued to increase, especially during the latter part of each administration.It has undergone institutional experiments responding to changing environmentalchallenges. The PS has become a core institution for executive and economicpolicy functions since 1968, at which time its expenditures began to increasesteadily, enhancing its autonomy. And, socio-cultural, welfare, and educationaffairs have been a particular focus of institutionalization since 1987. The PS hasbeen highly professionalized, staffed mainly with public servants and expertsrather than politicians. This has caused it to be oriented toward the long term andconsistency rather than the short term and flexibility.

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