South Korea: the corruption that built its economy (2017)
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Re: South Korea: the corruption that built its economy (2017)
#2That article makes me think that corruption is (at best) a zero sum game, but maybe in an export oriented economy the losers could be outside the country.
Re: South Korea: the corruption that built its economy (2017)
#3That article makes me think that corruption is (at best) a zero sum game, but maybe in an export oriented economy the losers could be outside the country.
> The Park government provided these capitalists promotional privileges—particularly cheap credit from state-owned banks and monopoly privileges in local markets—to grow their firms
Sounds to me like the losers were Koreans whose businesses were crushed by an unequal playing field.
Had there been true competition, who is to say there wouldn't be more thriving and innovative businesses in Korea?
Re: South Korea: the corruption that built its economy (2017)
#4the park’s regimes(both father and daughter) are overthrown by chinese influence. The socalled leftist governments are consists mostly a mix of north korean spies and ccp agents. If you look closely at what happen after Park’s depature, the country is in shambles
Re: South Korea: the corruption that built its economy (2017)
#5the park’s regimes(both father and daughter) are overthrown by chinese influence. The socalled leftist governments are consists mostly a mix of north korean spies and ccp agents. If you look closely at what happen after Park’s depature, the country is in shambles
Can you expand on this or share some links/reading materials?
Re: South Korea: the corruption that built its economy (2017)
#6Why did this "build" or strategy for lack of a better word work so well for Korea? They mention other countries that have adopted this model but haven't seen the phenomenal success Korea has seen over the past decades. What was the secret sauce?
Re: South Korea: the corruption that built its economy (2017)
#7That article makes me think that corruption is (at best) a zero sum game, but maybe in an export oriented economy the losers could be outside the country.
> The Park government provided these capitalists promotional privileges—particularly cheap credit from state-owned banks and monopoly privileges in local markets—to grow their firms Sounds to me like the losers were Koreans whose businesses were crushed by an unequal playing field. Had there been true competition, who is to say there wouldn't be more thriving and innovative businesses in Korea?
Certainly smaller businesses in Korea do poorly. Maybe there is a generation of startups we are missing.
Samsung though, is leading the world in a number of areas. It makes processor chips, it makes flash memory. I think it's the only important cell phone brand other than Apple that isn't based in China. It wins in areas where (say) Sony fails.
People in the US might ask why there are no heavy forges in the US but there are heavy forges in Korea? ASML not withstanding, Europeans would like to have an electronics industry. Anybody who thinks they'd like to subsidize some business and turn it into a world beater would probably be envious of Korea.
That said, I understand that many young Koreans perceive the country to be "Hell Joseon" and immigrate to places like the US where they perceive you can get ahead if you don't get hired by Samsung. Contrast that to Japan which is said by some to be economically and culturally stagnant but doesn't have a mass exodus.
Re: South Korea: the corruption that built its economy (2017)
#8That article makes me think that corruption is (at best) a zero sum game, but maybe in an export oriented economy the losers could be outside the country.
> The Park government provided these capitalists promotional privileges—particularly cheap credit from state-owned banks and monopoly privileges in local markets—to grow their firms Sounds to me like the losers were Koreans whose businesses were crushed by an unequal playing field. Had there been true competition, who is to say there wouldn't be more thriving and innovative businesses in Korea?
That seems likely, on the other hand, without putting their thumbs on the scales, it's possible that no company would have been a break-out like many of the Chaebols.
So maybe the question is: level playing filed where everyone has equal access to capital and labor but achievement is limited, or do you want an uneven playing field but which results in economic juggernauts which leave small businesses behind?
Re: South Korea: the corruption that built its economy (2017)
#9That article makes me think that corruption is (at best) a zero sum game, but maybe in an export oriented economy the losers could be outside the country.
The losers are inside the country, but a rising tide allegedly lifts all boats, and the drag of corruption on a quickly-growing economy still results in net growth. And when there's net growth, and a lot of it, the sore losers can be brushed aside.
The secret to a quickly-growing economy is government investment in infrastructure, grueling work hours in high-margin industries[1], and an export focus. And, if Korea[2], China, and Vietnam are any indicators, a brutal and repressive dictatorship can't hurt.
[1] Your country won't get rich growing peas.
[2] Pre-1987.
Re: South Korea: the corruption that built its economy (2017)
#10See also: Samsung's Dangerous Dominance over South Korea