Korean Industrial Relations Research Articles

Korean Management, Corporate Culture, and Systems of Labour Control Between South Korea and North America

This paper is an attempt at synthesizing an empirical and a theoretical critique of the cultural model of industrial organization, by focussing on Korean industrial organization and industrial relations in Korea, and on a large Korean industrial organization that was based in Quebec. As a counter weight to the cultural argument, the paper shows that mechanisms established to socially integrate workers into the organization in Korea are weak, and that management has had to rely instead on authoritarianism and on the State to ensure worker compliance. The paper then presents and discusses the social organization of a Korean industrial transplant; while there was a managerial discourse of participation and diffusion of power, the gap between this discourse and the real diffusion of power was such that a sizable minority of employees did not comply with managerial objectives.

Between Fragmentation and Centralization: South Korean Industrial Relations in Transition

This study investigates profound changes in South Korean industrial relations after the Asian financial crisis of 1997. Korea's neoliberal labour reforms have produced a large number of non-standard workers, deepening the union representation gap. Realizing that the fragmented enterprise unions could not adequately protect workers from this degradation of labour, trade union leaders began a major organizational drive at the industry level and tried to institutionalize sectoral bargaining. A political space for union centralization was partially opened because the state needed labour's co-operation to implement neoliberal reform packages. However, disorganized centralization in Korea, where important decisions on wages and working conditions have been negotiated mainly at the company level, has faced limitations in achieving meaningful changes in the dualistic structure of the labour market. This study concludes with a review of changes in Korea's labour law in 2010 and a discussion on the effects of the law on bargaining rights of non-standard workers and the incipient industry-level bargaining. This trend towards union centralization may continue, but the notable gap between the formal bargaining structure and actual practice is expected to widen.

The Global Uprising of Labour? The Korean Labour Movement and Neoliberal Social Corporatism

The role of organized labour as expression of dissent or social resistance to neoliberal economic globalization has attracted increasing scholarly interest. Several writers have argued that we are witnessing the emergence of a ‘global uprising of labour’. In particular, reference is made to the labour movements of the industrializing semiperiphery, such as South Korea, South Africa, and Brazil, which are argued to show a way forward for the labour movements of the North. Such analysis as above, however, focuses on only one aspect of labour movements at the expense of their larger historical context and position within the capitalist world system. By privileging the strictly ‘global’ level of analysis, it ignores a key transformation in the nature of national state-society configurations in the semiperiphery, i.e. the general trend towards both democratization and neoliberal restructuring. Through examining the case of South Korea, I argue that the transition from developmental authoritarianism to neoliberal democracy has dramatically narrowed the terrain from which militant unionism might be expected to emerge. Since the 1980s, the Korean labour movement has undergone a transformation from a militant and almost revolutionary movement, to being co-opted, albeit imperfectly, into the new capitalist democracy. Thus, the threat of neoliberal restructuring has led not to resistance but to labour to seeking a role as responsible partner to government and business in pseudo-social corporatism forums, despite the fact the striking thing about Korean industrial relations is the absolute absence of prerequisites for such a system of social agreement politics. This co-optation reflects general political conditions in the semiperiphery, where simultaneous processes of democratization and neoliberal restructuring have made the assumption of unified resistance to globalization more problematic. A Chinese version of this article's abstract is available online at: www.informaworld.com/rglo

Korean Industrial Relations in the Era of Globalisation

Globalisation has influenced the transformation of Korean industrial relations by manifesting itself in the government’s globalisation strategy and neo-liberal restructuring policies. Global market competition and international labour standards have been the key reference criteria used by the Korean government and other concerned parties to reform labour laws. Under the reality of globalisation and economic crisis, labour has been increasingly disadvantaged, with workers having experienced not only growing job insecurity, accompanied by high unemployment and deteriorated employment status as demonstrated by the sharp rise of non-standard workforce, but also widening income inequality. The Korean government’s effort to build a tripartite partnership as part of its strategic response to globalisation and the economic crisis has been constrained by the process of labour law reform and economic restructuring. At the same time, the pressure of globalisation has led to the instability of labour relations at the enterprise level by producing intense labour-management confrontations concerning employment adjustment and corporate restructuring. HRM schemes of Korean companies have to a large extent shifted to the performance-based system as a result of managerial efforts to respond to growing global competition and to benchmark global best practices.

Pursuing centralised bargaining in an era of decentralisation? A progressive union goal in Korea from a comparative perspective

During the last decade, progressive Korean unions have attempted to transform the organisation and bargaining of enterprise unionism into an industrial unionism. This vitalised development in collective bargaining contrasts with trends prevailing in many advanced nations. This paper, on the basis of case studies, examines factors shaping bargaining structures in the context of Korean industrial relations. A theoretical framework regarding factors shaping bargaining structures, one formed in comparative industrial relations studies of advanced nations, proves useful in examining the subject. This finding implies that the attempt of progressive unions will face formidable obstacles.

Globalization and labour rights: the case of Korea

In this contribution the background of Korean industrial relations (IR) is reviewed, followed by analysis of more recent changes with a special focus on globalization issues. We argue that globalization has both positive and negative effects on IR issues in Korea. There was a positive side of globalization in terms of worker rights, hence basic labour rights have been improved to meet global labour standards. However, there was a negative side to it as well in terms of working conditions and employment practices, which brought substantial setbacks for unions and rapidly eroded their power base. This negative side has more clearly appeared after the recent economic crisis.

Repression and Struggle: the State, the Chaebol and Independent Trade Unions in South Korea

The paper examines the interactions between the state, the chaebol and independent trade unions in South Korea from 1945 to 1999 within a political economy framework. It explores four propositions. First, that a more contingent approach is needed to understand the diversity and dynamic nature of environmental forces affecting South Korean industrial relations than the conventional emphasis on rapid industrialisation, Confucian values and anti-communist ideology. Second, that the role of the state has altered since 1987 from one of repression of labour militancy to one of playing a less interventionist role in industrial relations, although the state remains more supportive of the interests of employers. Tbird, that employers, especially family- owned conglomerates or chaebol, play an increasingly central role in industrial rela tions. Fourth, that economic, social structural and political factors aided the re-emergence of independent trade unions, in particular the development of large-scale heavy and chemical industries in regional industrial estates as part of the process of rapid industrialisation and the movement towards democratic political rule in 1987.

New Unionism and the Transformation of the Korean Industrial Relations System

This article explores the impact of new unionism on the transformation of the Korean industrial relations (IR) system at both national and enterprise level. It is argued that the presence of a strong union movement added a unique dimension to the structural shift of Korea from low-cost export-oriented industrialization (EOI) to higher value-added EOI, different from other Asian newly industrialized countries (NICs). Employees' new found strength brought on a development of internal labour markets in large companies, forcing management to adopt new IR/HRM (human resource management) policies. The author notes two different orientations, solidarity-oriented industrial unionism and micro- corporatistic enterprise unionism, within the Korean labour movement. The article attempts to make a comparison of IR between Japan and Korea, highlighting differences as well as similarities.

Approaching the 21st Century: Perspectives on Korean Industrial Relations

AbstractThis paper argues that the future direction for the development of Korean industrial relations will evolve through direct interaction between employers and trade unions (either conflictual or cooperative). The government is likely to play a less interventionist role in industrial relations, compared with the past, and to adopt the role of mediator between unions and employers. Characteristics of Korean industrial relations during the pre- 1987 period is firstly examined; four major factors are used to explain the industrial relations practice during this time. Changes after 1987 are also considered. Special consideration is given to interaction between the environment and the three major industrial relations participants, and the interactions between them. Both macro and micro aspects of industrial relations are examined. The special Presidential Address (26/04/1996), known as New Conception of Industrial Relations, is also analysed in terms of its implications for future industrial relations issues in Korea.

Korean Industrial Relations at the Crossroads: The Recent Labour Troubles

(1997). Korean Industrial Relations at the Crossroads: The Recent Labour Troubles. Asia Pacific Business Review: Vol. 3, No. 3, pp. 148-160.

Works Councils and Unionization: Lessons from South Korea

This study analyzes the impact of effective works councils and unions in large South Korean firms. Following a brief review of economic theory on works councils and the institutional environment of Korean industrial relations, we describe the unique data set used to analyze Korean firm‐level labor relations and economic performance. The results of the multivariate analysis show that both effective works councils and unions enhance employee voice on several key personnel practices. In addition, the estimates show that unionization increases wages and reduces turnover, but effective works councils are associated with higher levels of employee satisfaction and somewhat higher productivity. These estimates are consistent with theoretical models that find that carefully designed works councils can enhance employee voice and may increase productivity.

Origins of the Korean Labour Movement

[Extract] Since the mid-1980s, industrial relations researchers (Kim Byung-whan, 1988; Park Yong-ki, 1993, 137-171) and other social scientists, for example Wilkinson (1994a, 79-114; 1994b) have directed their attentions to industrial relations and, even more focussed, to labour organisations (Kim Hwang-joe, 1993, 133-161) in South Korea (the Republic of Korea, hereafter referred to as Korea). Others (Yoo Sangjin and Lee Sang M, 1993) have emphasised the uniqueness of Korea's business conglomerates, especially their relationship with the state (Moon Chung-in, 1994, 142-166), and including their employment practices (Kwon Seung-ho and Leggett, 1994). Australian researchers have sought lessons for Australian public policy from the Korean industrial relations phenomena (Lansbury and Zappala, 1990) and, attracted by Korea's status, along with Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong, as an Asian Newly Industrialised Country (NIC), some American and Korean scholars (Deyo, 1989; Koo, 1990; Vogel, 1991) have inter alia used comparative methods to illustrate the directive role of the state in shaping the industrialisation process. In particular, for Korea, it has been the apparent political transition of the country from state authoritarianism towards a more democratic scheme of things that has inspired the more recent commentators (Rauenhorst, 1990).

The Korea Labour ‘Problem’

ABSTRACTThis article documents the rise of organized labour and the emergence of overt industrial conflict in the Republic of Korea since democratization in 1987, and the crisis of world competitiveness of Korean industry to which the gains of organized labour contributed. Based on an analysis of the characteristics of the actors in the Korean industrial relations system, the nature of the conflict and its consequences are assessed. It is argued that, in forcing the pace of economic restructuring towards high‐tech/high‐wage sectors, organized labour, often characterized by state and business elites as a ‘problem’, may turn out to be a progressive force.

Income Equalization Policy in the Context of the Korean Industrial Relations System (Written in Korean)

Income Equalization Policy in the Context of the Korean Industrial Relations System (Written in Korean)