Measuring Bureaucratic Power: Focusing on the Central Ministries of the Moon Jae-in Administration

This study presents the results of measuring the relative size and ranking of bureaucratic power among 44 central administrative agencies during the Moon Jae-in administration to analyze the phenomenon of bureaucratic power. The results of the Bureaucratic Power Index (BPI) measurement indicate that the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport, and Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy ranked high in relative bureaucratic power, in that order, while the Rural Development Administration, Statistics Korea, Defense Acquisition Program Administration, Public Procurement Service, and Military Manpower Administration ranked low in that order. When compared with the results of previous studies measuring the administrations of Roh Moo-hyun, Lee Myung-bak, and Park Geun-hye, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Supreme Prosecutors' Office, Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport, Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy, Ministry of Education, National Intelligence Service, and Ministry of the Interior and Safety consistently ranked high in relative standing across all four administrations. Conversely, the Ministry of Government Legislation, Military Manpower Administration, Rural Development Administration, National Human Rights Commission, Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, Public Procurement Service, and Cultural Heritage Administration consistently ranked low in relative standing. Notably, the so-called “power agencies,” such as the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Supreme Prosecutors' Office, National Police Agency, and National Intelligence Service, exhibited higher BPI scores and relative rankings under the conservative administrations of Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye compared to the progressive administrations of Roh Moo-hyun and Moon Jae-in. The theoretical and practical contribution of this study lies in emphasizing the necessity of checks and democratic control over bureaucratic power institutions.