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 41
... South Korea State formation, capitalist development and national identity Kyong Ju Kim 9. Industrial relations in Korea Diversity and dynamism of Korean enterprise unions from a comparative perspective Jooyeon Jeong 10. The global ...
... South African Trade Unions Council of Occupational Trade Unions Democratic Labor Party Federation of Korean Trade Unions Employment Insurance System Export oriented industrialization Economic Planning Board Global civil society the ...
... global South. This literature on 'social movement unionism' (SMU) suggested that lateindustrialization in the semi-periphery led to the conditions for the growth of new militant and dynamic labour movements that were unfettered by the ...
... global labour movement, the key cases of South Korea, South Africa, Brazil, and the Philippines are nonetheless held to be particularly indicative of this trend of increasing militancy vis-a-vis neoliberal globalization (Moody 1997 ...
Kevin Gray. and global processes of neoliberal restructuring. The literature on ... global civil society' in examining labour and social forces. Global civil ... South was accompanied by the spread of the 'third wave' of democratization ...
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 |