ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND POLITICAL DEMOCRACY IN SOUTH KOREA
This research paper discusses the following topics: (1) the process through which South Korea modernized itself economically and politically in the post-World War II period and became the 11th largest economy, especially the expanded role of the state in directing and otherwise fostering economic development; (2) the interrelationship between national economic policy and economic progress in providing a framework within which political power could be shared more broadly --i.e. Asian democracy, Korean style; and (3) the prospects and challenges facing South Korea as it seeks to consolidate its economic gains, maintain political stability and achieve other social goals. As appropriate, comparisons are drawn between the experience of South Korea and those of other industrializing countries, including Taiwan and some Latin American nations.
Under Japanese colonial rule (1910-1945), important steps were taken to provide the foundations for later economic growth, but political developments were retrogressive. During the immediate post-war period, international factors largely undermined economic growth and retarded political liberalization but some progress on both fronts was achieved during the First Republic of President Syngman Rhee (1948-1960). South Korea's longest period of economic expansion occurred under military rule (1961-1987) in which a combination of state-sponsored export-led growth and repressive policies toward labor and other dissident groups produced a very high rate of economic growth combined with periodic outbreaks of political turmoil; (4) economic growth engendered demands for broader participation in politics, weakened the authority of the state and produced after many crises genuine progress toward electoral democratization but less impressive social reforms; and (5) the prospects for political stability, the continuation of democratic reforms a...