Industrial relations and South Korean chaebol

[Extract] The chaebol have played a prominent role in South Korea's post-war economic development; most importantly as the government's chief agency for implementing its imperatives for industrialization. In this role, the chaebol present a unique phenomenon in any comparison of the business structures of South Korea with the other Newly Industrialized Countries (NICs) of Asia-Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan-although some similarities may be discerned with the Japanese business conglomerates, sometimes referred to as zaibatsu. As with all the East and Southeast Asian industrialized countries, industrialization has been accompanied, albeit in different ways, by the subordination of labour movements, institutional and/or legal provisions to minimise disruptive industrial action, and, although not so in Hong Kong, the propagation of national sentiments intended to obtain workforce compliance with the demands made on it to raise productivity that its employers might compete more effectively in world markets. In South Korea, the chaebol fulfil a symbolic function in this national scheme of things as well as playing societal and industrial roles. This paper will consider the functions and roles of the chaebol before proceeding to examine the implications of their importance for the character of South Korean industrial relations