The miracle to crisis and the mirage of the postcrisis reform in Korea: Assessment after ten years

Abstract

Ten years have passed since Korea underwent a severe financial crisis in 1997-98. The crisis prompted the Korean government to undertake a number of reforms in finance, corporate governance, and labor market. This paper analyzes the dynamics of the reform process and assesses the outcomes of the reforms, which aimed at introducing the Anglo-Saxon economic model. It argues that the reform outcomes were conditioned on the interplay of local-specific conditions and interest politics and that the reforms were intent more on establishing a market-oriented economy than promoting the long-term growth potential and the competitiveness of the economy.