ABSTRACT

In the wake of the 1997 financial crisis, a key policy goal for the Kim Dae-jung government was to attract higher levels of IFDI to Korea from MNCs in possession of the capital, technology and know-how needed to enhance the competitiveness of local corporations and financial institutions and ensure sustainable economic growth. The corporate, financial and labour reforms implemented by the Kim administration during the ‘IMF Era’ were designed to move Korea’s economic and business systems away from the old developmental state model underpinned by Asian (Confucian) values towards a neoliberal, Anglo-American style of economic management. At the same time, the government’s reform programme aimed to bring corporate governance, management styles and business practices into line with international standards. An important goal for the Korean government in carrying out these reforms was to create a more transparent, equitable, familiar and welcoming environment for investors, overcoming the deeply embedded perception among foreigners that Korea was a ‘difficult place to do business’.