Korea's divergent industrial relations

Recent events in Korea point to that country's industrial relations diverging from those of the other Asian newly industrialized countries. A paper argues that the state-centered thesis of industrial relations in Asian newly industrialized economies requires modification in order to account for Korean divergence. The paper traces the changing fortunes under different political regimes of organized labor and the large-scale family businesses, the chaebol. It concludes that identifying the long tradition of labor protest - however suppressed under economic growth beset governments - and the unique and privileged role of the chaebol in Korea's political economy is essential for explaining industrial relations in Korea today