SHIPS, SECURITY, AND SYMBOLS: A CONSTRUCTIVIST EXPLANATION OF SOUTH KOREA’S NAVAL BUILD-UP by SANGYUP LEE A Dissertation submitted to the Graduate School-New Brunswick Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Program in Political Science written under the direction of Dr. Jack S. Levy and approved by ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ New Brunswick, New Jersey January 2013 2013 SANGYUP LEE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION SHIPS, SECURITY, AND SYMBOLS: A CONSTRUCTIVIST EXPLANATION OF SOUTH KOREA’S NAVAL BUILD-UP By SANGYUP LEE Dissertation Director: Dr. Jack S. Levy My project asks what brought about a South Korea’s naval construction drive called the “Blue Water Navy (BWN)” initiative, and how the initiative lasted for an extended period (1995-2010). During the BWN period, South Korea saw an unprecedented growth of the size and capability of the navy. I test plausible explanations that build on different perspectives including the realist model, the bureaucratic/organizational politics model, the domestic politics model, and the sociological institutionalist (SI) model. Relying on the SI model as the main analytic framework, I offer a constructivist explanation of the origin and continuation of the BWN initiative. At the same time, I take an eclectic position in that I understand that there is no single factor that can provide explanations for the phenomena. I employ process tracing, content analysis (of speeches and statements made by political leaders and newspapers), elite interviews (including former top security advisers to presidents, former ministers of government organizations, naval leaders, Professors, and representatives of civic organizations), and a public survey. ii I argue that the BWN initiative came along as the Republic of Korea (ROK) navy was defining the organizational identity and the way it serves the nation. Previously, the ROK navy was considered a ‘fast-boat navy’ whose primary role was to defend South Korea’s coasts from North Korean infiltrations. This view about the role of the navy started to change as the navy defined promoting national interest and international standing as part of the organizational essence in the 1980s. Particularly, naval leaders became vocal about the necessity for the navy to play a leading role in defending and representing national interest in and outside the East Asian region. Concurrently, the South Korean people increasingly viewed their nation as a sovereign, legitimate, and equal member of the international community in the 1990s. This internationally oriented image of South Korea represented a departure from the old national identity that was defined in terms of rivalry with North Korea. I argue that the BWN initiative well resonated among political leaders and the people mainly because people shared the new image or identity of their nation, and they associated it with the meanings of the blue water navy. iii Acknowledgement Most of all, I thank the Republic of Korea navy for giving me this opportunity to pursue a doctoral degree in political science in America. The Department of Personnel Resource Management at the Naval Headquarters provided superb services so that I could concentrate on my academic work. I thank LCDR Jeong Yeongseong, LCDR Lee Gang- geun, and LCDR Kang Sangyong for their sincere support. I am also grateful to Naval Attaches, Rear Admiral Choi Yangseon and Captain Kim Hyojae (at the ROK Embassy in Washington, D.C.) for their concerns and support during my stay in the United States. This piece of work of mine would not have existed without the time and financial support that the ROK navy provided. Particularly, during the period that I stayed in America for study, the members of the ROK navy underwent tragic events involving North Korea’s military provocations such as the sinking of ROKS Cheonan (PCC-772) and the shelling on the Yeonpyeong Island, which made it extremely difficult for me, as a member of the ROK navy, to focus on academic work. I take this opportunity to salute to those who were fallen or injured while defending the nation and their family members. It is very fortunate that I came to Rutgers. The faculty and staff members were always available and eager to provide help. Particularly, it was a blessing that I had Professor Jack S. Levy as my academic advisor and chair of the dissertation committee. In general, I am academically indebted to Dr. Levy for his two seminar courses, including the Causes of War and the Foreign Policy Analysis which taught me the importance of theoretical understanding and empirical rigor in studying International Relations. As an advisor, Dr. iv Levy was tremendously helpful; he was always prompt in responding to my questions and providing useful comments on my chapters. He provided clear guidance from the research design phase until I finish the concluding chapter of my dissertation. I cannot over- emphasize how critical his guidance and tips were to my completing the program successfully within a limited time. I was also lucky that I had the great committee members such as Dr. Roy Licklikder, Dr. Jan Kubik, and Dr. Edward Rhodes. Dr. Licklider provided me with insightful and practical thoughts about not only based on IR theories but also from the perspective of military policy. Particularly, I thank Dr. Licklider for his comments on my research design with regard to the areas that I should look deeper. I am so grateful to Dr. Kubik because I developed my idea about how to integrate cultural factors into my project while I took his seminar course about political culture. At the beginning stage of my research, Dr. Kubik provided encouragement by welcoming my idea about studying a security-related IR topic through a cultural perspective. I also learned from him how we should go about studying culture, which would be an invaluable intellectual asset to my research in the future, too. In fact, this project was born as a result of my independent study with Dr. Edward Rhodes before he went to George Mason University as Dean of the School of Public Policy. Dr. Rhodes provided a lot of useful comments particularly when I was developing different hypotheses related to this project. In spite of the best efforts by the chair and members of my committee, my project may contain errors and I am fully responsible for the faults. I thank Dr. Eric Davis, Graduate Vice Chair, for all the support and encouragement that he provided while I studied at Rutgers. Particularly, I am much indebted to the v Department and Dr. Davis for the dissertation research grant that I received during the research. The grant was invaluable to my research. I am also grateful to professors at Columbia University. While I was studying there for Masters in International Affairs (MIA) between 2005 and 2007, I learned different perspectives and important international security policy issues from courses and conversations with great professors at that time, which served as a primer and stimulant for further graduate study in International Relations. The professors are Dr. Kenneth N. Waltz, Dr. Richard Betts, Dr. Gerald Curtis, Dr. Michael Levi, Dr. John L. Hirsch, Dr. Samuel S. Kim, and Dr. Stephen Biddle. Additionally, I thank Dr. Michael O’Hanlon at the Brookings. I learned practical insights in military affairs from his course that I took at Princeton University. Very special thanks are owed to those who allowed my interviewing them personally. While they were in important positions with extremely busy schedules, they were kindly willing to meet me and talk about their first-hand experiences. The interviewees include Minister Yu Jongha, Ambassador Lim Seongjun, Minister Lee Jongseok, Minister Yu Samnam, Minister Yun Gwang-ung, Admiral An Byeongtae, Admiral Song Yeongmu, Admiral Kim Seongchan, Commodore Kim Hiyeol, Jeong Gwangwon, Dr. Han Yongseop, Dr. Kim Hyeonsu, Dr. Lee Chun-geun, Yu Yongwon, and Shin Yingyun. I appreciate them for sharing their experiences with me for this project. I thank Shin Yingyun, the representative of the Korea Defense Network (KDN), and the KDN members who were willing to provide help with the survey. I also deeply thank Kim Ilbeom (the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade), Dr. Lee Sangpil (the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information), and LCDR Lee Limgyeong (the ROK navy) who provided vi invaluable help in arranging some of the interviews mentioned above. Additionally, I thank Park Seong-hun (the National Assembly), Lee Sangmu (Daewoo Shipbuilding and Maritime Engineering), LCDR Jeong Dong-u (the ROK navy), and LT Gweon Taekjong (the ROK navy) for the help they provided during my research. I must thank those who helped me to continue to challenge before I decided to start this adventure by providing me with visions and encouragement. I take this opportunity to express my gratitude to Vice Admiral Kim Jeongdu, Vice Admiral Jeong Hoseop, Dr. Kim Hyeonsu, Rear Admiral Kim Gwangseok, Commodore Lee Yong-gwon, Rear Admiral Kim Pan-gyu, Commodore (ret.) Lee Jinhan, Rear Admiral Jeong Wuseong, Commodore Kim Seongshik, Commodore Choi Il, Commodore Park Nocheon, Commodore Kim Eulsu, Commodore Park Sangman, Captain Lee Yong-un, Captain Choi Jaeho, Captain Jeong Ilshik, Captain Lee Sang-gap, Captain Kim Sang-gil, Captain Jeong Seung-gyun, Captain Kwon Jeongsu, Commander Park Seong-u, Commander Choi Yongseok, Commander Kim Janghyeon, Commander Lee Changhun, Commander Jeong Yeonsu. Commander Jeon Yong-gyu, Commander Wi Jinuk, Commander Jeong Myeong-ho, Commander Kwon Seok-hyeon, Commander Kim Jihun, Commander Yu Jaejun, Commander Kim Taehun, and Commander Lee Sang-geun. I cannot overemphasize how much I learned and received support from my colleagues at Rutgers. I benefitted a lot from different thoughts and fun that we shared through various academic and social activities.