ABSTRACT
The period of ‘capital flight crash globalization’ in Korea gave way to Dittmer’s (2002: 34) third and final phase of ‘austerity globalization’ as the Kim Dae-jung government began to implement the programme of reforms and restructuring required by the IMF as a condition of its rescue package. The immediate postcrisis period was marked by sweeping reforms in major sectors of the Korean economy that aimed to establish a free market economy based on neoliberal principles and continued the process of bringing Korea’s institutions, systems and regulations into line with international standards. In implementing the reforms, the Korean government created new opportunities for foreign investors and encouraged the creation of a more open, transparent and attractive business environment in which they could operate. The Asian values that had underpinned these systems and had also influenced the country’s perceptions, attitudes, management style and business culture were also called into question after the crisis, and it seemed inevitable that the rapid changes in Korea’s ‘hardware’ would demand corresponding changes in its ‘software’.
