This paper examines ‘state brokerage’ in migration infrastructure through South Korea's Employment Permit System (EPS). It introduces the concept of state-led multilevel governance (sMLG)—a synthesis of multilevel governance (MLG) and state transformation (ST)—as a framework for understanding state brokerage, thereby contributing to the greater diversity in migration infrastructure scholarship. By analyzing state archival documents, the paper examines how South Korean state has developed a governance framework that spans multiple political-territorial boundaries through state transformation. The transformation encompasses forging diplomatic relationships with foreign governments and orchestrating cross-border policy collaborations as well as (re)arranging domestic governance by establishing new institutions, enacting and revising laws, and reconfiguring the relationships among these entities. These processes have allowed the EPS to facilitate the migration of less-skilled labor without the involvement of private actors.

中文翻译：

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移民基础设施中的“国家中介”：韩国国家主导的就业许可制度多级治理案例


本文通过韩国就业许可系统 （EPS） 研究了移民基础设施中的“国家经纪”。它引入了国家主导的多级治理 （sMLG） 的概念——多级治理 （MLG） 和国家转型 （ST） 的综合——作为理解国家经纪的框架，从而有助于移民基础设施学术的更大多样性。通过分析国家档案文件，本文研究了韩国国家如何通过国家转型建立跨越多个政治领土边界的治理框架。这种转变包括与外国政府建立外交关系和协调跨境政策合作，以及通过建立新机构、颁布和修订法律以及重新配置这些实体之间的关系来（重新）安排国内治理。这些过程使 EPS 能够在没有私人行为者参与的情况下促进低技能劳动力的迁移。