Erosion of A Developmental State: A Case Study of South Korea's Semiconductor Industry

Abstract

This paper examines the development of South Korea's semiconductor industry from its inception in the 1960s to the present, focusing on erosion of the developmental state and changes in the state-business relationship. The semiconductor industry in South Korea is another showcase of South Korea’s remarkable economic development in the 20th century. However, showing that it was not the state sector, but the private business groups that took the initiatives and played a leading role in the development of the semiconductor industry in South Korea, the paper challenges the developmental state theory's contention that the developmental state was most pronounced in South Korea even among its peers in East Asian newly industrializing countries.