South Korea has been one of the great success stories of postwar economic development, rising from one of the poorest nations on earth in the 1960s to become the world's eleventh-largest economy by 1996. But Korea's model of economic development began to unravel in 1987. When the authoritarian rule that helped propel economic performance gave way to increasing public pressure for democracy, the Korean economy was confronted with fundamental transformations. With democracy came increasing consumption, labor activism, and rising wages. Yet many of the old policies of the export-oriented, pro-business authoritarian rule remained in place. The complex and multifaceted economic effects brought about by democratic change have defied analysis—until now. Democracy and the Korean Economy is an authoritative study of the new model of Korean political economy and the first book to analyze the economic impact of democratic change in South Korea. In addition to analyzing patterns of change in major policy areas, authors Jongryn Mo and Chung-in Moon closely examine specific industries—such as automobiles—and the family-controlled industrial conglomerates known as chaebols to analyze their market positions and political influence under both the authoritarian and democratic regimes. They show how conflicts in key policy areas have evolved, identify the political and economic factors that have been important to resolving those conflicts, and reveal the wide range of effects, both subtle and significant, of democratization on the Korean economy and on its economic policy.

The 'trial of the century'

A review of the dilemmas, tensions and contradictions arising from democratic consolidation in South Korea. It explores the turbulent features of Korean democracy in its first decade, assesses the progress that has been made, and identifies the key obstacles to effective democratic governance.

Over the past fifteen years, South Korea has transformed itself from an authoritarian government into a new democracy with a vibrant capitalist economy. Modernization, democratization, and globalization have played important roles in this transformation, and have greatly influenced the programs and policies of Korea's Sixth Republic. Covering developments through the 2003 elections, this book shows how the South Korean government and society have been shaped not only by the dynamics of these forces, but also by their interaction with the cultural norms of a post-Confucian society. The author provides a conceptual framework and baseline for examining political developments in Korea, and offers an analysis of the factors that are transforming Korean institutions, society, and politics. He discusses the forces shaping Korea's political economy and the performance of successive ROK governments, and also highlights the challenges faced by the newly elected administration of Roh Moo Huan, the North Korean issue, and more.

This book analyses democratization and democracy in South Korea since 1960. The book starts with an analysis of the distinctive characteristics of bureaucratic authoritarianism and how democratic transition had been possible after inconclusive and protracted “tug of war” between authoritarian regime and democratic opposition. It then goes on to explore what the opportunities and constraints to the new democracy are to be a consolidated democracy, how new democracy had changed the industrial relations in the post-transition period, how premodern political culture such as Confucian patrimonialism and familism had obstructed democratic consolidation, and the improvement of quality of democracy. The author compares empirically, from the perspective of a comparative political scientist, political regime superiority of democracy over authoritarianism with regard to economic development. He concludes that “democratic incompetence” theory has been proven wrong and, in South Korea, democracy has performed better than authoritarian regimes in terms of economic growth with equity, employment, distribution of income, trade balance, and inflation. This book will benefit political scientists, development economists, labor economists, religious sociologists, military sociologists, and historians focusing on East Asian history.

The Korean economy is beset with problems caused by increasingly tough international competition on the one hand, and years of undemocratic, strong-armed resource allocation practices on the other. This revised edition offers an analysis and critique of the current state of Korea's economy by Kim Dae Jung, the president of South Korea, has spent decades deeply involved in Korean politics. In this book, he outlines his goals for reinvigorating his country's economy and making South Korea a leading economic power in the global marketplace.Chapters: My Vision for the Korean Economy; The Goal and Basic Principles of my Reform Program; A Brief History of the Post-War Korean Economy; The Economic Policies of Park Chung Hee and Chun Doo Hwan; Korea's Economy under Roh Tae Woo; Price Stability: A Foundation for Sustained Growth; Parasitic Land Speculation and the Housing Problem; Liberalization of the Financial Sector: The Keystone to Further Reforms; Reforming the Fiscal Structure for Equity and Efficiency; The Export Crisis and a Fundamental Solution; Large Enterprises vs. Small-Medium-Sized Firms: Toward a Division of Roles; From an Authoritarian to a Cooperative Labor-Management Relationship; How Can We Revive Our Dying Rural Economy?; Education, Science and Technology for the 21st Century; Distributional Justice and Social Welfare; Summing Up: The Road to Becoming the World's Eighth Largest Economic Power.Co-published with The Center for International Affairs, Harvard.