Korean Workers and Neoliberal GlobalizationOne of the most remarkable aspects of South Korea’s transition from impoverished post-colonial nation to fully-fledged industrialized democracy has been the growth of its independent and dynamic labour movement. Korean Workers and Neoliberal Globalisation examines current trends and transformations within the Korean labour movement since the 1990s. It has been a common assumption that the ‘third wave’ of democratisation, the end of the Cold War, and the spread of neoliberal globalisation in the latter part of the 20th century have helped to create an environment in which organised labour is better placed to overcome bureaucratic national unionism and transform itself into a potential counter-globalisation movement. However, Kevin Gray argues that despite the apparent continued phenomena of labour militancy and the rhetoric of anti-neoliberalism, the mainstream independent labour movement in Korea has become increasingly institutionalised and bureaucratised into the new capitalist democracy. This process is demonstrated by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions’ experience of participation in various forms of policy making forums. Gray suggests that as a result, the KCTU has failed to mount an effective challenge against processes of neoliberal restructuring and concomitant social polarisation. The Korean experience provides an excellent case study for understanding the relationship between organised labour and globalisation. Korean Workers and Neoliberal Globalisation will appeal to students and scholars of Korean studies and International Political Economy, as well as Asian politics and economics. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 51
... KCTU KEF KEPCO KILSP KLSI African National Congress Asia-Europe Meeting Citizens' Committee for Economic Justice Conference of Large Company Unions for Solidarity Confederation of South African Trade Unions Council of Occupational Trade ...
... (KCTU). The KCTU was unprecedented in terms of the degree of representation it brought to the democratic labour movement, and it played a key role in organizing and leading the massive general strike that took place in December 1996 and ...
... KCTU in particular, during the general strike of December 1996—January 1997. Later, we watched with trepidation the confusion and paralysis of that same labour movement as it faced the 'IMF era' beginning in November 1997.5 Whilst the ...
... (KCTU) which was established in 1995. Thus, the new democratic era brought new opportunities for the incorporation of the democratic labour movement into the capitalist democracy and provided conditions for modest reformism in the labour ...
... KCTU has followed a 'zig-zag' approach with regard to tripartite institutions. The institutional weakness of the labour movement has lead to a tendency for the KCTU to use industrial action or the threat of it as a means to achieve a ...
Contents
1 | |
12 | |
2 Globalization crisis and the entrenchment of neoliberalism in Korea | 31 |
3 The rise and fall of militant labour unionism in Korea | 52 |
4 Social movement unionism and the Korean labour movement | 71 |
5 Latedemocratization and low intensity social corporatism | 92 |
6 Korean labour and the struggle against neoliberalism | 110 |
7 The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions social reform struggle | 130 |
Conclusion | 150 |
Notes | 162 |
Bibliography | 170 |
Index | 189 |