ABSTRACT

This chapter investigates the evolution of Korea’s developmental alliance in the wake of the financial crisis, a period in which the state enacted the reforms in return for bailout loans from the IMF. The process of reform contributed heavily to a realignment of the power relativities within the DA. Contrary to some expectations, neoliberal reform did not necessarily weaken the influence of state elites. Indeed, some state elites (particularly President Kim Dae-jung and his senior ministers) were able to utilise the reform process to increase their influence within the developmental alliance.