Govenrment and Business Environment Case Study

South Korea's Chaebol

OR

Abstract:
South Korea's Chaebol, or the family-owned conglomerates, played an instrumental role in the post-war revival of the economy. The Korean government provided special incentives to Chaebol to realise their plans for economic development. But when the Asian financial crisis hit Korea, it had a disastrous effect on the economy and the overt nexus between the government and Chaebol was questioned, as some of the Chaebol went bankrupt, throwing light on the complexities involved in the Chaebol system. Economists started blaming the Chaebol for reckless expansion and required them to restructure to become more transparent.

Pedagogical Objectives:

• To discuss the governmental support enjoyed by the SMEs in Thailand and the measures taken by the government with an objective of increasing SMEs' GDP contribution to 50% by 2006
• To discuss how the Asian financial crisis and Chaebol's expansion brought the country to its knees and how Daewoo, the biggest of the Chaebol, went bankrupt. This case can be used in conjunction with the case 'Chaebol Reforms'.

Keywords : Chaebol, Reforms, Asian financial crisis, Kim Dae Jung, Kim Woo Choong,Government and Business Environment Case Study,Cross-holding, Economic development, IMF bailout, Daewoo bankruptcy, Chaebol restructuring, Daewoo, Origin of Chaebol,Business Environment Case Study, Park Chung Hee, South Korean economy, Chaebol bankruptcy