South Korean Economy at the Crossroads: Structure Issues under External Pressure – An Essay from a Law and Development Perspective

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 865-885
Author(s):  
Yong-Shik Lee
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
South Korea ◽  
External Pressure ◽  
Institutional Perspective ◽  
Advanced Economy ◽  
Law And Development ◽  
South Korean ◽  
Korean Economy ◽  
Two Generations ◽  
Materials Used

Abstract South Korea is one of the most successful economic development cases in history. This country, stricken with crushing poverty and torn by a disastrous war two generations ago, rose from the ashes of the war and underwent unprecedented economic development for over three decades. By the mid-1990s, South Korea had built an advanced economy with world-class industries and also achieved a liberal democracy based on the rule of law. Since its 1997 financial crisis, however, Korea’s economic growth has been continually slowing down with widening income gaps among its populations. The Korean economy has also faced increasing external pressure, which has recently been dramatized by Japan’s export restraint measures on some of the key materials used to produce semiconductors, one of the most important export products for the Korean economy. This note discusses structural issues in the Korean economy, such as its over-dependency on a small number of conglomerates (“chaebols”) and the weakness of its SMEs, which cause the Korean economy to slow down and render the economy vulnerable to external pressure. This note examines these issues from a legal and institutional perspective and offers proposals to remedy some of the problems in the Korean economy.

Development, Discernment, and Death: Dore on the South Korean Economy

2019 ◽  
Vol 92 (4) ◽  
pp. 715-728
Author(s):  
Hyung-Gu Lynn
Keyword(s):  
Human Capital ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
South Korea ◽  
Developmental State ◽  
Mortality Rates ◽  
The Other ◽  
South Korean ◽  
Korean Economy ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Investments In Education

Ronald Dore's 1977 article in Pacific Affairs, "South Korean Development in Wider Perspective," is a rare example of the scholar known for his writings on Japan applying his analytical lens on South Korea. What were some of this article's most notable areas of foresight and elision related to development studies? This essay answers this question by interpreting connections to publications before and after 1977 to analyze areas of insight under the rubric of "discernment" and overlooked subjects under "death." On one hand, Dore's essay was ahead of the curve in its deft foreshadowing of post-developmentalist, varieties of capitalism, and developmental state approaches to economic development. On the other, Dore sidestepped the effects of death on economic development in three forms: literal— effects of changing mortality rates on investments in education and human capital; industries related to death—wars, munitions production and arms expenditures; and the aftereffects of the death of a scholar—the revisiting and renewal of debates that can sometimes emerge as a result.

scholarly journals SOUTH KOREAN LEADERS IN THE POLITICS OF DEMOCRATIZATION

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 147-168
Author(s):  
Grażyna STRNAD
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
South Korea ◽  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Political Development ◽  
Political System ◽  
Political Leadership ◽  
Authoritarian Regimes ◽  
Political Leaders ◽  
South Korean ◽  
Late Twentieth

This article aims to show the process of formation and operation (functioning) of the changing political system of South Korea. It is undertaken for the analysis of the process of the collapse of the former authoritarian political system and formation of South Korean democracy. Indicated in this article are the roles and participation of political leaders (Chun Doo Hwan, Roh Tae Woo, Kim Young Sam, and Kim Dae Jung) in the process of intense political change that took place in South Korea from the 1980s to the late twentieth century.During the authoritarian regimes of South Korea, the nation recorded spectacular economic development, but without political development. Political leadership in the democratization of the country was still authoritarian. Core values and attitudes of politicians pointed to the presence of the cultural heritage of Confucianism in politics.

Gloomy sentiment will spur stimulus in South Korea

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Monetary Policy ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
South Korea ◽  
Domestic Demand ◽  
The South ◽  
Content Type ◽  
South Korean ◽  
Sustained Growth ◽  
Korean Economy

Significance The recent fall in the price of oil was expected to provide a timely boost to the South Korean economy, but its performance in the first quarter of 2015, though rebounding from the previous quarter, has been below expectations. Beset by slowing exports and weak domestic demand, the mood in both the business and household sectors is downbeat. Impacts Absent a sustained growth rebound (or some kind of foreign policy breakthrough), Park's presidency will be seen as a failure. Deflation could threaten South Korea if there is no adjustment to monetary policy. An FTA with China will boost South Korean exports only in the longer term. The sharp depreciation of the euro will make Europe a challenging market for South Korea for now.

Financial Sector Restructuring in South Korea: Accomplishments and Unfinished Agenda

2004 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Choong Yong Ahn ◽  
Baekin Cha
Keyword(s):  
South Korea ◽  
Financial Sector ◽  
International Market ◽  
Reform Effort ◽  
Financial Industry ◽  
Financial Reforms ◽  
Balance Sheets ◽  
South Korean ◽  
Korean Economy ◽  
The Many

South Korea has undertaken major and far-reaching actions to rebuild and improve its financial sector since the financial crisis of 1997. Various measures to clean up the balance sheets of financial institutions have helped to normalize the financial system earlier than expected and have significantly eased the credit crunch. Despite the many significant changes in the South Korean economy brought about by financial reform, the country must continue with further improvements if it expects to build a stronger and more competitive financial industry that can thrive in the international market. To sustain the momentum of its initial reform effort, South Korea should institute additional financial reforms, eliminate moral hazard, and establish new market-based rules.

scholarly journals The Financial Instability Hypothesis and the Case of Private Non-Financial Firms in South Korea

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 417-432
Author(s):  
I.V. Rozmainsky ◽  
◽  
M.S. Selitsky ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South Korea ◽  
Financial Instability ◽  
Macroeconomic Policies ◽  
The Great Recession ◽  
South Korean ◽  
Financial Firms ◽  
Korean Economy ◽  
Hyman Minsky ◽  
Economic Collapse ◽  
Analytical Tools

The paper aims to test the Financial Instability Hypothesis (FIH) proposed by Hyman Minsky by looking at the case of private non-financial firms in South Korea. The FIH offers analytical tools to explore how an economy endogenously becomes financially fragile and is therefore prone to crises. Using this toolkit and a sample of 102 leading South Korean nonfinancial private companies, we analyze how their financing regimes changed between 2005 and 2019. We applied five different classification criteria developed over the past few years within the framework of the FIH. The paper brought to light two time periods when the sector of private non-financial firms in South Korea became more financially fragile. The first period is the few years before and during the Great Recession. The second period is the few years preceding 2019, the last year of the analyzed period. The conclusion is made that by the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the South Korean economy was vulnerable to crisis shocks. Therefore, there is a need for macroeconomic policies that will saturate the firm sector with funds. Otherwise, the crisis could turn into an economic collapse. Our findings also show the applicability of the FIH to the case of South Korean economy.

DEVELOPMENT OF UZBEKISTAN-SOUTH KOREA RELATIONS (2000-2020)

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 31-36
Author(s):  
Fazilat Nurmetova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Human Resources ◽  
South Korea ◽  
Strategic Partnership ◽  
Internet Services ◽  
Scientific Publications ◽  
Economic Relations ◽  
Financial Cooperation ◽  
South Korean ◽  
Heads Of State

The article states that the Uzbek-South Korean economic relations have reached a new level, in particular, the Joint Statement of the Heads of State on the comprehensive deepening of the Strategic Partnership, the Memorandum of Cooperation between the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Ministry of Human Resources, 2018-2020. Intergovernmental Agreement on Loans from the Fund for Economic Development and Cooperation and the Fund for Reconstruction and Development of Uzbekistan Export-Import Bank of Korea, an agreement on financial cooperation relations have been analyzed using scientific publications and Internet services.

scholarly journals Law and Development: Lessons from South Korea

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 433-465 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong-Shik Lee
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
South Korea ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Law And Development ◽  
Economic Productivity ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
External Threats ◽  
World Class ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Theory Of Law

Abstract South Korea has achieved unprecedented economic and social development in history. This country, which had been among the poorest in the world until the early 1960s, became one of the world’s leading economies by the mid-1990s as demonstrated by high per-capita income and world-class industries. In the early 1960s, Korea had much of the characteristics shared by many developing countries today, such as prevalent poverty, low economic productivity, low levels of technology and entrepreneurship in society, insufficient capital, poor endowment of natural resources, over-population in a relatively small territory, and internal political instability and external threats to its security. Korea has successfully overcome these obstacles and achieved economic development within a single generation. Korea’s success in economic development was also accompanied by the advancement of the rule of law and elective democracy by the 1990s. What are the causes of this unprecedented success? This article, applying a recently developed theory of law and development, explores the legal and institutional dimensions of Korea’s development and draws lessons from its successful development.

scholarly journals Measurement of the Importance of 11 Sustainable Development Criteria: How Do the Important Criteria Differ among Four Asian Countries and Shift as the Economy Develops?

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (17) ◽  
pp. 9719
Author(s):  
Tomohiro Tasaki ◽  
Ryo Tajima ◽  
Yasuko Kameyama
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
South Korea ◽  
Gross Domestic Product ◽  
General Public ◽  
Stated Preference ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
Environmental Capacity ◽  
South Korean ◽  
The Relationship

Understanding the criteria underlying development in a country is crucial to formulating developmental plans. However, it is not always clear which criteria are more important than others in different countries and at different times. The relationship between developmental criteria and the stage of economic development is also unclear in many countries. Therefore, we devised an indirect stated preference approach for the measurement of the importance of developmental criteria and employed it in four Asian countries—Japan, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam—to measure the importance of sustainable development (SD) criteria perceived by the general public. Specifically, we evaluated the importance of 58 national goals linked to 1 of 11 SD criteria. Security, efficiency, accessibility, capability, and environmental capacity were perceived as relatively important by respondents in all four countries. The respondents perceived that the currently important criteria would be important in the future as well. The order of the importance in each country differed. For example, environmental capacity was ranked lower, and inclusiveness was ranked higher as the gross domestic product of a country increased. Thai and Vietnamese respondents had similar perceptions and, overall, tended to have higher levels of importance than South Korean and Japanese respondents, who also had similar perceptions of importance.

A Review of Industrial Clusters, Industrial Policy, and Industrialization in South Korea

2020 ◽  
pp. 649-672
Author(s):  
Sanghoon Kim ◽  
Hah-Zoong Song
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
South Korea ◽  
Development Strategy ◽  
Industrial Development ◽  
Manufacturing Sector ◽  
Industrial Clusters ◽  
South Korean ◽  
Agrarian Society ◽  
Industrial Complexes ◽  
History Of

The development of South Korea, due to relevant and effective industrial policies, is unique in the modern history of industrialization. Within one generation, the country transformed itself from a poor agrarian society into a modern industrial power, all the more remarkably in that its rapid economic development was broad-based and supported by all stakeholders. From 1962, the South Korean government aggressively pursued an economic development strategy that centred on manufacturing-sector growth, driven largely by industrial complexes. Lately, more than 900 industrial clusters account for 62 per cent of the country’s manufacturing production and 80 per cent of total exports. South Korea’s policies designate physical sites and facilitate growth platforms that reinforce cooperation and coordination between industries, academia, and research. This chapter reviews the path of industrial development that South Korea took, with attention to the industrial complexes and clusters scattered across the country, and the measures and policies that enabled them.

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