From Dyad to Triad: The Changing Nature of State-Market Relations in Korea

Abstract

This study aims to focus on two key factors, democratisation and globalisation, in order to examine how the Korean chaebols have coped with them while interacting with the state and what effect they have had on the interrelationships between state and business. This study emphasises the importance of the democratisation period, as it has been regarded as the ‘missing link’ that lies unacknowledged between industrialisation and globalisation as an explanation for the interrelationships between government and business in Korea. Two case studies (Hyundai’s Chung Ju-yong and Samsung’s Lee Kun-hee) show the manner in which businesses have collectively responded during the democratisation period and provide an important touchstone for an interpretation of the crucial role played by Korean capitalists during the next globalisation period. Finally, this study examines the fundamental effects of global capitalism on the transformation of Korean business and foreign capital since the economic crisis of the late 1990s.