Global Capital, Business Groups and State Coordination: the Changing Profile of Chaebol-State Relations in South Korea

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Soyon Kim
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
South Korea ◽  
Developmental State ◽  
Government Control ◽  
South Korean ◽  
Financial Behaviour ◽  
State Coordination ◽  
Korean State ◽  
State Relations ◽  
Political Economic

This article examines the effects of global capitalism and state coordination on the financial behaviour of <em>chaebol</em> (business conglomerates) in South Korea. This study focuses on the evolution from controller to coordinator in the post-developmental South Korean state. In recent times, the Korean government has been studied as the exemplar of the Asian newly industrializing economies (NIEs) based on its ability to <em>control</em> economic development. As civil society pressures outgrew government control in the 1990s, the government’s mission shifted from control to <em>coordination </em>– the state sought to accommodate newly emerging or enlarged bargaining domains of key political-economic actors. However, the emergent post-developmental state is buffeted by the growing strength of the private sector, domestically and transnationally. While civil society strived to mobilize mass movements to further social democracy, the neoliberal evolution of capitalist class interests generated institutional configurations favouring the hegemony of finance capital.

The Emergence of Business Groups: Israel and South Korea Compared

2002 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 737-758 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Maman
Keyword(s):  
South Korea ◽  
Multinational Corporations ◽  
Business Groups ◽  
South Korean ◽  
Economic Organizations ◽  
Self Sufficiency ◽  
Institutional Contexts ◽  
1960S And 1970S ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Korean State

This paper examines the emergence of business groups in Israel and South Korea. The paper questions how, in very different institutional contexts, similar economic organizations emerged. In contrast to the political, cultural and market perspectives, the comparative institutional analysis adopted in this research suggests that one factor alone could not explain the emergence of business groups. In Israel and South Korea, business groups emerged during the 1960s and 1970s, and there are common factors underlying their formation: state-society relations, the roles and beliefs of the elites, and the relative absence of multinational corporations in the economy. To a large extent, the chaebol are the result of an intended creation of the South Korean state, whereas the Israeli business groups are the outcome of state policies in the economic realm. In both countries, the state elite held a developmental ideology, did not rely on market forces for economic development, and had a desire for greater economic and military self-sufficiency. In addition, both states were recipients of large grants and loans from other countries, which made them less dependent on direct foreign investments. As a result, the emerging groups were protected from the intense competition of multinational corporations.

Enterprising State and Entrepreneurial Self

Homing ◽  
2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ji-Yeon O. Jo
Keyword(s):  
South Korea ◽  
The State ◽  
Global Capitalism ◽  
Economic Mobility ◽  
Ethnic Nationalism ◽  
South Korean ◽  
Entrepreneurial Strategies ◽  
Korean State ◽  
And Shifts

I trace how conceptions of citizenship have transformed in post-1990 South Korea, focusing on the major formations of and shifts in Korean citizenship, as well as on the evolution of nationality laws concerning diaspora Koreans. I also examine legacy migrants’ perspectives on citizenship and legal belonging. The process of citizen-making, which unfolds through the dynamics between an “enterprising” South Korean state and the “entrepreneurial” strategies incorporated by the legacy migrants in this study, largely rests on the interplay between emotionally charged ethnic nationalism and economic mobility driven by neoliberal global capitalism, both of which in turn have rearticulated and reconfigured the borders of South Korean citizenship and belonging. As a result, various forms of conditional and contingent citizenship—statuses that are neither fully admitted by the state nor fully committed to by returnees—have been produced.

From Learning to Creating: Biotechnology and the Postindustrial Developmental State in Korea

2004 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 491-517 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South Korea ◽  
Price Competition ◽  
Developmental State ◽  
Information And Communications Technologies ◽  
South Korean ◽  
Communications Technologies ◽  
Manufacturing Sectors ◽  
Catch Up ◽  
Transformative Process ◽  
Capital Development

South Korea is currently undergoing a process of industrial restructuring. As competitors in the Asian region have begun to catch up—in terms of technological know-how, investment mobilization, price competition, and human capital development—advanced Asian economies such as South Korea's have had to shift their industrial focus away from conventional manufacturing sectors toward postindustrial sectors including biotechnology, nanotechnology, and advanced information and communications technologies. As such, the ongoing processes of postindustrial restructuring in South Korea have involved a transition from the industrial learning paradigm to a new knowledge creation paradigm where technology innovation, rather than technology borrowing, is key. This article examines this transformative process in the area of biotechnology and bioindustry development. It specifically looks at how the South Korean developmental state has begun to reinvent itself in order to meet the challenges of innovation-driven industrialization.

The developmental state and social enterprise in South Korea

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 116-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bokgyo Jeong
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
South Korea ◽  
Social Enterprise ◽  
Developmental State ◽  
The State ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
The South ◽  
Content Type ◽  
South Korean ◽  
Role Of The State

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the distinctiveness of South Korean social enterprises from a historical institutionalism perspective. From this perspective, the author focuses on the proactive roles played by the government in the process of emergence and formulation of social enterprises in South Korea. The author roots this paper in the concept of the developmental state and examines how this concept applies to newly emerging social enterprises in South Korea. Design/methodology/approach – This paper first introduces the process of South Korean social enterprises’ emergence as an independent phenomenon. The author explains the process with a link to governmental actions, such as the introduction of public programs and government acts. Second, this paper introduces the concept of developmental state which captures the proactive role of the state in social, economic and political development in South Korea. Third, this paper applies the institutional framework proposed by Kerlin (2013) to see how the South Korean social enterprise model can be located from a comparative perspective and how the South Korean model can contribute to the expansion of the existing framework. Findings – This paper finds that the state involvement in South Korea is a reflection of the historical path of the developmental state. The cross-comparison of South Korean social enterprises from a historical institutionalist approach finds that the South Korean case may contribute to the ongoing scholarly debate by suggesting taking a Weberian ideal type of an interventionist state into account for an extension of the proposed framework. This paper also uncovered the strategic approach of the South Korean Government in utilizing this public policy tool by adopting and combining existing social enterprise models. Research limitations/implications – This paper demonstrates the state’s intents to mobilize economic and societal resources as public policy intervention tools, which can be understood from a developmental state context. This role would be distinct when compared to those in Europe and the USA. This paper has a limitation to restrict its analytical scope to formally recognized social enterprises because it focuses on the role of the state in utilizing social enterprises for public policy agenda: social development and social welfare provision. Practical implications – As a practical implication, this study might provide an insightful framework for South Korean public policy makers, outlining the contributions and limitations of state-led public policies associated with social enterprises. As seen in the historical path of governmental interventions, governmental public policies do not necessarily guarantee their sustainable community impacts without the consideration of private or nonprofit actors’ spontaneous involvements. The flip side of state-led interventions requires policy makers to become more cautious, as they address social problems with public policy intents. Originality/value – The majority of current studies on social enterprises in South Korea mainly focus on reporting the quantitative increase in the number of registered social enterprises. Beyond this quantitative description of its achievement, this paper also provides a historical narration and philosophical background of this phenomenon. Additionally, it shows how this artificial government intervention in social enterprises could be accepted from a historical perspective and brought remarkable responses from the private and civil society sectors in South Korea.

scholarly journals How to Place August 15 in South Korean History? The New Right, the “1948 Foundation” Historical View, and the 2008 Kŏn’gukchŏl Dispute

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 137-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Vierthaler
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
New Right ◽  
Minor Role ◽  
Korean Society ◽  
Korean History ◽  
South Korean ◽  
Historical View ◽  
Academic Scholarship ◽  
Korean State ◽  
A Minor

Abstract In Korea, August 15 marks both the liberation from colonialism (1945) and the promulgation of the South Korean state (1948). As a memorial day, 8.15 became to be narrated mostly as the day of liberation, while 1948 plays only a minor role. However, in the 2000s, the emergence of the New Right brought new debates on how to evaluate post-liberation history. A historical view proposing public memory on 8.15 centred on the “foundation” of South Korea emerged (kŏn’guk view). Combined with attempts to re-name 8.15 into a foundation day (kŏn’gukchŏl), an intense dispute between proponents and opponents of the re-narration was the result. This paper outlines the emergence of the New Right and traces the origins and politicisation of the kŏn’guk view and demonstrates how adopting the kŏn’guk narrative in state commemoration events led to a broad dispute in South Korean society. I trace this view’s origin to 2003 and argue that it got politicised in early 2008 during the early Lee Myung-bak administration. The politicisation resulted in a dispute in politics, civil society, and newspapers, whose progress and characteristics I analyse in detail. As a result of the 2008 Kŏn’gukchŏl Dispute, the issue of how to narrate the events of 1948 became actively discussed in academic scholarship since 2009.

scholarly journals The Government and Civil Society Collaboration against COVID-19 in South Korea: A Single or Multiple Actor Play?

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bok Gyo Jeong ◽  
Sung-Ju Kim
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
South Korea ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Collaborative Governance ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
The Public ◽  
South Korean ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Public Sphere

Abstract This study examines, from a collaborative governance perspective, the public policy process of South Korea in responding to the global health pandemic. In many countries, attention has been focused primarily on governmental capacity and political leadership in containing the COVID-19 pandemic. In South Korea, however, the role of civil society as a collaborative partner to government is especially important. To analyze the comprehensive and substantive nature of government-civil society collaboration, this study assesses the response to COVID-19 along two dimensions: the level of civil society involvement in governance, and the stage in public policy development. The study reveals that the South Korean government was a coordinator of multiple actors and multiple sectors of society, including civil society, and that all three facets of civil society as described by Edwards (2004), were involved: associational life, civility, and engagement in the public sphere.

scholarly journals CHINA’S SHIFTING BEHAVIOUR TOWARDS SOUTH KOREA IN THAAD CRISIS RESOLUTION IN KOREAN PENINSULA

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Ganang Wira Pradana
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
South Korea ◽  
Pop Culture ◽  
The United States ◽  
Defense System ◽  
The South ◽  
South Korean ◽  
Policy Theory ◽  
High Altitude Area ◽  
Korean State

ABSTRACTThe THAAD crisis between South Korea and China occurred due to the installation of the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) system by South Korea with the help of the United States which was considered as a threat to China's national security. China strongly opposed the installation of the defense system and imposed unofficial sanctions in a form of a boycott in the field of South Korean tourism, products, and pop culture, which provided significant losses due to China's retaliation. After the South Korean state visit to China which was held in Beijing, China’s boycott was later lifted, but the THAAD installed in South Korea remain stayed and deployed. Thus the question arises about why China chose to soften and not force the South Koreans to withdraw THAAD. This article uses the qualitative research method of literature studies and uses variables of foreign policy theory by Yuen Foon Khong as the theoretical framework in this paper. Therefore, it can be seen that China's softening of the THAAD issue is caused by the influence of China’s "peripheral diplomacy" foreign policy and the shifting of Chinese behavior so that China does not impose its will on the South Korean THAAD system to maintain good relations with South Korea as a peripheral country. Keywords: China, China’s Behavior, Foreign Policy, South Korea, THAAD

Strong State and Strong Civil Society in Contemporary South Korea

Asian Survey ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 528-549 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer S. Oh
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
South Korea ◽  
Democratic Governance ◽  
The State ◽  
Strong State ◽  
Societal Actors ◽  
Korean State ◽  
The Impact

Abstract This article examines the impact of Korean civil society on politics since democratization. Weak mediating institutions prevent the systematic inclusion of societal actors in the policymaking process, pitting an increasingly strengthened civil society against the state. Consequently, Korean state-society relations continue to remain contentious, posing challenges to democratic governance.

South Korea in 2004: Peninsular Flux

Asian Survey ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor D. Cha
Keyword(s):  
South Korea ◽  
War On Terror ◽  
Grand Strategy ◽  
The Political ◽  
Fundamental Change ◽  
Global War On Terror ◽  
South Korean ◽  
Global War ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
The U.S

The variables presaging fundamental change on the Korean Peninsula are many. This assessment of South Korea seeks to lay out the political, economic, and military events of 2004 and their relationship to South Korean grand strategy. It also seeks to analyze the linkages between Seoul's grand strategy and the U.S.-led global war on terror.

English for North Korean refugees in South Korea

English Today ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Eun-Young Jang ◽  
Eun-Yong Kim
Keyword(s):  
South Korea ◽  
Social Background ◽  
Certified Public Accountant ◽  
Korean Society ◽  
South Korean ◽  
The North ◽  
North Korean Defectors ◽  
Cpa Exam ◽  
North Korean Migrants ◽  
Korean State

Mee-Soo was a good student in North Korea. She came to South Korea in her early teens, and South Korean state policy for North Korean defectors enabled her to gain entry into a decent university in Seoul. She majored in Business Management and, when she had to choose her sub-major, she chose Accounting over Marketing and Human Resources because she thought she could avoid English. Achieving CPA (Certified Public Accountant) status was the goal for Accounting majors. Passing a score of 700 in the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) was a requirement to take the CPA exam. Mee-Soo worked hard studying for TOEIC and took the test ten times. Her score rose from the 400s to the 600s, but she could not pass the 700 threshold and was left behind while other South Korean students passed the English requirement. She could not even begin to study for the CPA exam itself. She once sighed and told me (one of the authors), ‘I wish I could have a life without English.’ I responded, ‘I didn't think English would be so important to North Koreans in South Korea.’ To this, Mee-Soo exclaimed, ‘It is a matter of survival.’ Given there have now been over 70 years of separation between North and South Korea since the Korean War, it is unquestionable that North Korean migrants face and struggle with a variety of troubles in their attempts to settle into South Korean society. In this context, why does English constitute a ‘matter of survival’ for North Koreans when there are so many other critical issues for these individuals, who crossed several borders at the risk of their lives? This phenomena, that ‘English’ represents a major difficulty for North Korean defectors in their process of settling in South Korea (Jung & Lim, 2009), constitutes an interesting linguistic phenomena in an intra-ethnic contact. However, by itself, this statement somewhat simplifies how English actually affects the migrant group. Instead, its influence works in a surprisingly diverse number of ways across different ranges and layers within the North Korean population, depending on their regional and social background, age, time of migration, and possibly many other factors. A meaningful pattern we discuss here is the changing relations between English and North Korean migrants according to age; it is the North Korean young adults who seem to be particularly affected by English and disproportionately in need of English teaching. We also note, though, that this pattern itself is changing, as we are seeing the recent increase of children of North Korean migrants born and educated in South Korea or in China.

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