ABSTRACT
There is an alternative view of the crisis in Korean and neoliberal restructuring. This perspective emphasizes the problems of neoliberal economic policy and argues that mismanaged steps taken in opening the country’s finances in the early 1990s were a major cause of the crisis. This point of view also argues that neoliberal economic restructuring in Korea overall has been highly problematic. Post-crisis restructuring weakened the growth potential of the economy and worsened social disparity, which brought about a vicious cycle of lower growth and high inequality. This chapter reviews the debates around the Asian financial crisis, and argues that the post-crisis restructuring and financial opening was a failure. It discusses Korea’s post-crisis economic performance and the implications of the new neoliberal development model.
