Dr Sung-Hee Lee

About

I began my lectureship at the University of Derby in 2015, after obtaining my PhD in Social Policy from the University of Bath. Prior to that, I completed an MA and MPhil in Social Policy at Chung-Ang University in Seoul, gaining extensive teaching and research experience in various academic and public research institutes in South Korea, including the Seoul Welfare Foundation.

I have accumulated considerable experience in academic leadership across these institutions, successfully delivering innovative teaching and producing high-quality research with both national and international recognition.

My research and teaching have consistently focused on social policy analysis and research methods, with particular emphasis on the comparative analysis of childcare, family policy, social care, and gender inequality. I have developed a strong interest in commissioned and contract research, as well as international collaborations across a broad range of social policy areas.

Research interests

My research focuses on comparative social policy analysis between East Asia and Europe, with a particular emphasis on family policy, the development of childcare policy, and its impact on the care conditions of working women. I am especially committed to influencing—and ultimately transforming—the lived experiences of working women, particularly in contexts where deeply rooted cultural gender ideologies, discriminatory assumptions, and social injustices persist. This includes both informal caregiving practices and conditions within the workplace.

I am drawn to exploring how gender intersects with social class and working cultures. My research applies academic rigour to these issues, especially as many societies today face additional layers of complexity brought about by race and ethnicity, largely due to the increasing number of migrant workers entering the care labour market. My work seeks to highlight how gender ideologies intersect with these dynamics and how gender can be brought to the forefront of political discourse to positively impact women’s experiences in care work.

My international research profile is reflected in a strong record of publications and academic engagement. I have earned international recognition, including invitations to collaborate with governmental research institutes such as the Korea Women’s Development Institute (KWDI) and the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs (KIHSA), as well as universities in South Korea, Japan, and the UK. In May 2019, I was invited to contribute to a governmental research project submitted to the Presidential Committee on Ageing Society under President Moon Jae-in. I have also produced two additional collaborative research projects with KIHSA and the City of Seoul.

Recent publications

Peer-reviewed publications

2025, Comparing the English and Korean marketised childcare systems in the context of promoting maternal employment, Journal of International and Comparative Social Policy, First View, pp. 1-19. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/ics.2025.20 (co-authored)
2025, Effects of parenting attitudes on the suicide risk of adolescents in South Korea and the moderating effect of out-of-school youth status, Cambridge Prisms: Global Mental Health, 12, p. e48. doi: 10.1017/gmh.2025.35. PMID: 40303962; PMCID: PMC12037353 (co-authored)
2023, What Determines Social Service Workers' Wages: A Cross Country Analysis Using a Luxembourg Income Study, Social Policy & Society, First View, pp. 1-14. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1474746423000350 (co-authored)
2022, Ideas, Coalition Magnets and Policy Change: Comparing Variation in Early Childhood Education and Care Policy Expansion in Early Childhood Education and Care Policy Expansion across Four Latecomer Countries, Government & Opposition, First View, pp. 1-20. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/gov.2022.35. (co-authored)
2022, 'Towards optimising children's capability and tackling relative child poverty in high-income countries: the case of Japan, Sweden and the UK since 2000', Global Health Action. 15:1, https://doi.org/10.1080/16549716.2022.2084230 (co-authored)
2021, ‘Why the initiative of free childcare failed to be an effective policy implementation of universal childcare in South Korea’, Journal of Asian Public Policy. https://doi.org/10.1080/17516234.2021.1955644
2019, 'Beyond the Policy Rhetoric: The Limitations of Gender Mainstreaming in South Korea relating to Women and Childcare', Social Policy and Society. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1474746419000484
2017, 'The socialization of childcare and a missed opportunity through path dependence: the case of South Korea', Social Politics, 24(2), pp.132-153. https://doi.org/10.1093/sp/jxx001
2016, 'Has childcare become less of a burden in South Korea? Exploring the nature of pre- and post-reform childcare provision’, Asian Journal of Women’s Studies, 22(4), pp.414-442. https://doi.org/10.1080/12259276.2016.1242941
2013, A Study on the Curricula of Social Welfare in the UK Universities and their Content Analysis, Korean Journal of Social Welfare Education, 24, pp.53-80 (co-authored)
2011, The current coordinates of the Korean care regime. Journal of Comparative Social Welfare, 27(2), pp.143-154 (co-authored). https://doi.org/10.1080/17486831.2011.567019
2008, Comparison of Divergent Response in Welfare State Restructuring focused on Childcare Policy, Journal of Critical Welfare, 26, pp.77-123. (in Korean)

Book sections

2025, 'Why do we need to socialise care work and how can it be done? Lessons from the experiences of childcare policy development in Japan and South Korea', in Ramia, G. (eds) Research Handbook of Social Policy and Employment. Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd (Chapter 23) forthcoming
2025, 'Towards socialising childcare in South Korea: the historical legacy of marketised childcare provision', in Sung, S. (ed) Gender, Family and Policy: International Perspectives. Edward Elgar online (Chapter 11). DOI: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781802205558.00020
2021, 'Work-family policy expansion and the ideas of social investment: the cases of Germany, England, South Korea and Japan', in Choi, Y-J. (eds) Welfare Reform and Social Investment Policy in Europe and East Asia: International Lessons and Policy Implications. Policy Press: Great Britain (Chapter 2, co-authored)
2018, Family Allowances in the UK. In: Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, ed. Social Security Systems in the UK, KIHSA and Nanam, Sejong: South Korea (in Korean)
2014, The Curricula of Social Welfare in UK Universities and the Implications for Korean Social Welfare Education. In: Hyun, Y-S., ed. Globalisation and Social Work Education, Korean Council of Social Welfare Education, Seoul: South Korea (in Korean)

Policy Briefing and/or Issue Analysis

2024, 'Background to the UK(England) Government's Recent Expansion of Free Childcare and Issues Surrounding the Reform', International Social Security Review (국제사회보장리뷰, 28, pp. 108-119. https://dx.doi.org/10.23063/2024.03.8 (in Korean)
2022, 'Why are childcare costs expensive in the UK?', International Social Security Review (국제사회보장리뷰), 23, pp. 53-62. https://doi.org/10.23063/2022.12.5 (in Korean)

Membership of professional bodies

Treasurer of the East Asian Social Policy (EASP) Research Network
Editorial Board Member of Social Policy and Society (SPS)
Member of the Social Policy Association (SPA)
Member of the SPA Family Policy Group
International Committee Member of the Korean Academy of Family and Social Work (KAFSW)
International Information Contributor to the Global Social Security, published by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs (KIHSA)
Fellow of Higher Education Academy (FHEA)

Professional interests

Currently, I am heading a British Academy/Leverhulme-funded research project (SRG2324\241671) that investigates the extent to which current Work-Family Balance policies have affected women's reproductive decisions. This research considers various circumstances, including income level, employment status, marital status, regional location, and immigration status.

Previously, I served as a Principal Investigator (PI) for an ESRC UKRI-funded research project (ES/W010712/1), which aimed to establish and develop a sustainable collaboration among researchers focusing on family-related social policy in the UK and South Korea (See more details: https://www.ukskfamilypolicy.org/). During this project, I have established international partnerships with more than 20 institutions, including UNICEF, the Korean Presidential Committee on Ageing Society and Population Policy, the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs (KIHSA), the Korean Institute of Criminology and Justice (KICJ), Seoul Theological University, and Chung-Ang University

Additionally, the Academy of Korean Studies (AKS-2021-R018) awarded me the opportunity, as PI, to examine the recent childcare policy reform in South Korea—specifically the universal free childcare initiative known as Moo-sang Boyuck. This project assessed the impact of the reform on the socialisation of childcare among working mothers in South Korea.

I am also currently involved as a Co-Investigator in an NHS-funded community engagement project (PSL232400208), which aims to tackle mental health inequalities through the promotion of cultural competence in Derby and Derbyshire, England.

Qualifications

PhD in Social Policy, University of Bath, UK
PG Cert Higher Education, University of Derby, UK
MPhil and MA in Social Policy, Chung-Ang University, South Korea
BA in Social Welfare (Social Work and Social Policy), Hoseo University, South Korea

Recent conferences

Selected

2025, Exploring Key Trends of Lower Fertility Rates Among Women in England, Italy, South Korea and Taiwan, The 5th ISA Forum of Sociology, Université Mohammed V de Rabat, 6-11 July, Rabat, Morocco (co-presenting)
2025, To what extent do work-family balance policies sustain fertility rates and women's reproduction? Focused on the cases of the UK, Italy, South Korea and Taiwan, Joint Annual Conference - Social Policy Association and East Asian Social Policy Research Network, University of York, 2-7 July, York, UK (co-presenting)
2024, Declining fertility rates and stratified reproduction among women in East Asia: What can we learn from the cases of China, Japan and South Korea, The Annual Social Policy Association Conference, University of Strathclyde Technology and Innovation Centre, Glasgow, 3-5 July, Glasgow, UK
2023, Comparing recent childcare policy development in England and South Korea, The Annual Social Policy Association Conference, University of Nottingham, 5-7 July, Nottingham, UK (co-presenting)
2022, Social policy support for working families: To what extent policies and institutions support families to balance work and family responsibilities in the UK and South Korea, ESRC-funded UK-South Korea Research Networking Conference, 28-29 October 2022, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, South Korea (co-presenting)
2021, Why the initiative of free childcare failed to be an effective policy implementation of universal childcare in South Korea, 2021 Joint Conference of Korean Academy of Social Welfare, 22-23 October, Seoul National University (서울대학교), South Korea
2021, Why Do We Need a New Socialisation of Childcare, BK21 International Colloquium at JeonBuk National University (전북대학교), 29 July 2021, Jeonju, South Korea (With Invitation)
2019, Beyond the Policy Rhetoric of Gender Mainstreaming and Towards Inclusive States: Focused on Women and Childcare in South Korea, International Comparative Social Security, National Health Insurance Service, 7-8 September 2019, Wonju, South Korea
2019, 'Not too much and not too little', The SPA Annual Conference 2019, Durham University, 8-10 July 2019, Durham, UK
2019, 'The policy discourse of social investment and the impact on socialising childcare in South Korea and Taiwan', The 16th East Asian Social Policy (EASP) Research Network Annual Conference, National Taiwan University, 2-3 July, Taipei, Taiwan
2018, ‘The impact of gender politics on socialised childcare in Taiwan’, The 14th International Conference on Social Security, Dongbei University of Finance and Economics (东北财经大学), 14-17 September. Dalian. China (With Invitation)
2018, ‘The socio and political conundrum around the policy initiative of free childcare in South Korea’, The 15th East Asian Social Policy (EASP) Research Network Annual Conference, University of Bristol, 5-6 July 2018. Bristol. UK
2018, ECEC discourse in England, Germany, Japan and Korea: framing the departure from the male-breadwinner ideology, XIX ISA World Congress of Sociology. Metro Convention Centre. 15-21 July 2018. Toronto. Canada (co-presenting)
2017, Socialisation of care and gender politics, The 8th Expert Round Table Discussion 9 August at Korean Women's Development Institute (한국여성정책연구원), Seoul: South Korea (With Invitation)
2017, A comparative study of the impact of gender politics on the socialisation of care: South Korea and Japan, The 14th East Asian Social Policy Annual Conference 2-3 August at Nagoya University (名古屋大学), Nagoya: Japan
2017 The Socialisation of care in South Korea and Japan: Social Investment and Gender Politics, Workshop on Social Investment Policies in Europe and East Asia, 6-7 July at University of Leeds, Leeds: UK (With Invitation)
2016, The socialisation of childcare and a missed opportunity through gender politics: the case of South Korea, Post-graduate research seminar, 28th May at Meiji Gakuin University (明治学院大学), Tokyo: Japan (With Invitation)
2016, The impact of gender politics on the socialisation of childcare in Japan, 13th East Asian Social Policy Annual Conference 1-2 July at Ewha Woman's University (이화여자대학교), Seoul: South Korea
2015, The Socialisation of care and gender politics in East Asian countries. 11^th Social Security International Academy Conference, 12-13 September 2015 at SUNGKYUNGWAN University (성균관대학교), Seoul: South Korea
2014, Has Childcare Become Less of a Burden in South Korea? Exploring the nature of pre and post-reform childcare provision, In: Seminar 3 of the ESRC International Research Seminar Series: Child Maintenance: International Perspectives & Policy Challenges, 27 June 2014, University of York, York: UK (With Invitation)
2013, The UK University Curriculum Content and Development on the Education of Social Work and Social Policy, Korean Council on Social Welfare Education, 27 September 2013, Seoul: South Korea (With Invitation)
2012, The Analytical Framework of Socializing Care: Through the Lens of Gender Politics, East Asian Social Policy and Social Policy Association Joint Conference, 16-18 July 2012, University of York, York: UK (With Invitation)

Experience in industry

2019, A cross-sectional study on social service sector workers’ working conditions with the data of Luxembourg Income Study, Korean Institute for Health and Social Affairs: Prime Minister’s Office for Government Policy Coordination (Accessed 18 February 2021, Co-authored and in Korean)
2019, The discourse of caring society in Europe and South Korea, in Korean Women’s Development Institute, in: Study on Social Policy Implementation for Caring Centred Society, Seoul: Presidential Committee on Ageing Society and Population Policy (Accessed 18 February 2021, Co-authored and in Korean)
2017, A feasible model for social care service institute in Seoul, Chung-Ang University and City of Seoul, Seoul: South Korea (Accessed 18 February 2021, Co-authored and in Korean)
2008, The Institutionalisation of family daycare in South Korea, Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family, Seoul: South Korea (Co-authored and in Korean)
2006, The development of accreditation system indices in elderly care services, Seoul Welfare Foundation. Seoul: South Korea (Co-authored and in Korean)

In the media

Interview with BRAVO My Life regarding grandparents' childcare in the UK (Published online 25 November 2022)
Interview with BBC World Service News Hour regarding South Korea having the lowest birth rate in the world. The clip starts at 34:30 (published online 30 July 2019)
Interview with South China Morning Post regarding childcare provision in South Korea and the reliance on informal care arrangements (published online 12 January 2019)
Interview with The index on censorship regarding free childcare in South Korea (published 17 December 2018)
Interview with The Atlantic regarding the low fertility rate in South Korea and the critical review on childcare policy in Korea (published online 3 August 2018)

Teaching responsibilities

Teaching modules

Introduction to Research Methods (Level 7)
Advanced Research Methods (Level 7)
Research and the Skilled Practitioner (Level 7)
Researching Society 2: Qualitative Approaches (Level 5)
Patterns of Inequality (Level 4)

Additional interests and activities

Referee for Journals

Journal of Social Policy (Since March 2020)
Korean Journal of Social Policy (Since January 2020)
Social Policy and Administration (Since February 2020)
Women’s Studies International Forum (Since January 2020)
International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy (Since September 2019)
Gender, Work and Organization (Since July 2018)
Asian Journal of Women’s Studies (Since January 2016)
Journal of Family Studies (Since July 2015)

Committee and/or Editorial Board Membership

Social Policy & Society (Since January 2025)
Korean Academy of Social Welfare (Since January 2023)
Korean Academy of Family and Social Work (KAFSW) (Since January 2022)
International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy (IJCCEP) (Since August 2018)
The Incheon Institute’s IDI Urban Research (Since March 2020)

External Examiner

Postgraduate Social Policy and Public Policy Programme, University of York, UK
BA Applied Social Science (Full-Time)-single honours degree, University of Hull, UK
BA Applied Social Science (Part-Time)-single honours variant, University of Hull, UK