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This article draws upon documentary research and in-depth interviews with individuals associated with the information technology sectors of South Korea and Taiwan to examine the impact of globalization and democratization on the developmental states of these two societies. Among other things, the article argues that discussions of the present-day developmental state must examine changes and continuities in hard and soft developmental institutions as well as political-structural factors and policy instruments.In regards to South Korea and Taiwan, I argue that these governments’ commitment to economic leadership has persisted, with policy coherence sustained despite democratization, regime transition and even formal and informal reorganization of developmental institutions. In both cases, the provision of financial support has gradually been replaced by the provision of institutional support. However, while South Korea has continued to provide targeted support to a few industrial sectors, Taiwan has carried on with its longstanding practice of lending support to a variety of sectors. In South Korea, strategic plans and telecommunication standards have been used to help the chaebol attain leapfrogging or even first-mover advantage, though R&D support has increasingly been extended to SMEs as a means to inject new dynamism into the sector. In turn, government officials and researchers in Taiwan have coordinated R&D efforts among groups of potentially competing enterprises, thereby enabling them to move up the global value chain.