Policy analysis and labour movements in Korea

Abstract

The aim of this chapter is to examine the role of labour movements in the policy process, with a focus on social dialogue in Korea. The chapter first identifies the historical legacies of Korea’s authoritarian developmental state, which are embedded in both industrial relations and the policy process. It then investigates the evolution of social dialogue institutions after the political democratisation of 1987 and the Asian financial crisis of 1997. Particular attention is paid to the interactions between the tripartite actors’ political strategies and institutional arrangements as the keys to understanding the influence of labour on the policy process. Given the labour market polarisation between regular workers in large firms and other forms of labour, social dialogue should be more inclusive in the range of societal groups and interests represented.