Why is northern Italy relatively wealthy while the south remains comparatively underdeveloped? Robert Putnam, a Harvard University professor, studied Italy's local self-governance and concluded that regional performance varies greatly depending on the level of "social capital," which consists of trust, cooperation among citizens, and community participation. The north, with its strong tradition of medieval city-republics, guilds, and cooperatives, achieved high administrative efficiency, while the south, heavily influenced by monarchy and feudal ruling culture, struggled with distrust of public institutions and low participation. This is the backdrop against which voices are calling for solutions to today's various crises to be found in building social capital.
"The key to overcoming domestic and international crises—including climate change, polarization, deepening conspiracy theories, American nationalism, and the spread of war—lies in building social capital," Lee In-jae, head of the Korea Social Capital Institute, said emphatically in an interview held Monday at the institute in Apgujeong, Seoul. "In the age of artificial intelligence (AI), individuals who accumulate social capital can seize more opportunities," he added, stressing the values of diligence, honesty, humility, empathy, and consideration.
Lee graduated from Seoul National University's Department of English Education, earned a master's degree in public administration, and obtained a Ph.D. in public administration from the University of Southern California (USC). He subsequently served as director general of investment attraction for North Jeolla Province, as director general for local administration policy, e-government, and planning and coordination at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, as head of the Local Government Officials Development Institute, and as chairman of the Korea Local Finance Association. He is currently a visiting professor for specialized personnel utilization at Jeonbuk National University, where he lectures foreign international students on "Understanding Hallyu Content."
Lee first became interested in social capital more than 30 years ago while researching the so-called "tragedy of the commons" as he prepared his doctoral dissertation at USC. After returning to Korea in 1997, he experienced the management of public green spaces in apartment complexes, the government's fiscal execution, and the process of overcoming the foreign exchange crisis, coming to keenly realize how important intangible social capital such as civic consciousness, mutual consideration, and trust is. Since then, he has stressed the importance of "social capital and self-trust" through his writing and special lectures, and has also sought solutions to the problems of regional extinction and population decline from the perspective of social capital. "Through the COVID-19 pandemic and the spread of American nationalism, social capital has significantly weakened in both our society and the international community," he said. "The fundamental solution to conflicts among generations, regions, classes, and income levels lies in accumulating social capital," he advised.
His diagnosis is that when social capital weakens, it can negatively affect not only the government's policymaking, fiscal execution, and administrative efficiency but also corporate competitiveness. He cited the ballot shortage caused by the poor and incompetent administration of the National Election Commission—which some expanded into allegations of election fraud—as an example of the collapse of social trust. "When norms of reciprocity function, a culture of cooperation takes root, and civic and volunteer organizations become active, we can reduce social costs such as moral hazard and achieve greater effects with the same budget," he said. "In the international community as well, responses to climate change have loosened and the capacity to manage wars has weakened," he noted. "To resolve conflicts among nations and improve inter-Korean relations, we must also work to build social capital."
He advised young people and office workers that the more the AI era advances, the more they must accumulate social capital through good attitudes. As knowledge, technology, and capabilities become leveled upward in the AI era, the importance of attitudes such as diligence, honesty, humility, empathy, and consideration grows even greater, he said. "If you work diligently with all your heart, report even bad news in advance, and maintain self-discipline even when the organization is in crisis, you can earn trust and seize more opportunities," he explained. "If humility, empathy, and consideration become second nature, cooperation and problem-solving also become much easier."
Earlier this year, Lee published "Promoted by Attitude," and recently released an English edition, "K-Attitude," with supplemented content on Amazon. "Being diligent does not mean staying at your desk until late at night no matter what, but rather devoting special care to important tasks and becoming a predictable person," he said. "If you steadily hone your attitude, you can be recognized as someone others want to work with." He added: "Take Jo Gwang-jo, the reformer known as Jeongam, as an example. He was a diligent and honest figure, but he was somewhat lacking in humility, empathy, and consideration, which is one reason he was unable to complete his reforms. If one combines an innovative mindset with good attitudes, that would be even better."
He also emphasized to organizational leaders the need to create a culture and ecosystem that fosters social capital. In particular, he advised that the more a leader comes from a high-performer background, the more important it is to make members solve problems with a sense of ownership rather than trying to solve every problem themselves. He said leaders must avoid falling into the traps of the "control-type leader," the "hands-on leader," and the "externally disconnected leader." "Leaders who are selfish, dishonest, or arrogant cannot earn trust and find it difficult to grasp the core of problems," he pointed out. "We need leadership that sets the stage so that people with good attitudes can demonstrate their capabilities, and that encourages the courage to put problems on the table without hiding them, even in difficult situations."
