An Exploratory Study on the Relationship between Class-Based Policy Preferences and Policy Changes in South Korea

A democratic model in which the preferences of all citizens are equally reflected in government policies, rather than the preferences of any particular group, is widely held to be ideal. However, a comprehensive study examining the extent to which South Korean government policies reflect the preferences of all citizens has yet to be conducted. This study investigates the differences in policy preferences according to economic class and explores how these preferences are reflected in government policies. The study estimated the policy preferences of different economic groups based on public opinion polls conducted by the Korean government from 1995 to 2021 and the Gallup Korea from 2013 to 2021. The study then analyzed how these preferences have influenced policy changes. The results show that the preferences of the upper class are more reflected in policy outcomes than the preferences of other classes. However, due to the limitations of the data, additional analysis to rigorously verify this was limited, and a clear conclusion remains a task for follow-up research. The study also found that the policy preferences of different economic groups varied significantly across different policy areas and revealed inconsistencies.