The 1997–98 financial crisis in
the Republic of Korea

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Bailout of South Korea Raises Stakes for U.S.
By David E. Sanger, in the New York Times, 22 November 1997. After crisis in Vietnam and Indonesia, it seems South Korea is a dyke to protect the Japanese economy. So US willing to take drastic measures along lines of Mexican bailout, but larger.
IMF Bailout Pushes South Korea's Stock Market to 10-Year Low
By Kevin Sullivan, in The Washington Post, 26 November 1997. IMF strict regulation contributes to market collapse. Southeast Asia’s financial crises now reaching Japan and Korea.
Behind Korea’s Plunge
By Alice H. Amsden and Yoon-Dae Euh, in the New York Times, 27 November 1997. The financial crisis in the ROK. Korean government regulation has been associated with rapid economic growth, and deregulation (in response to the globalization of banking in the 1980s) associated with economic decline. So IMF policy looks doubtful.
Government agrees terms for IMF loan
By John Burton in Seoul and Phil Halliday in London, in the Financial Post, 1 December 1997. International banks caused crisis by calling in short term loans at a time when underlying Asian economy soft. Conditions of IMF bailout is globalization of Korean financial institutions to allow foreign (US and Japanese) take-over of Korean assets and the sacrifice of Korea’s industrial sector, including labor, to preserve profitability of foreign investment in financial institutions.
Korean Crisis: IMF must talk to the trade unions
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, ICFTU OnLine... 2 December 1997. The absence of an effective social security and unemployment insurance system in the Republic of Korea increases the need for the Korean trade unions to be included in the IMF discussions about stabilising the Korean economy.
US Stresses Korean Economic Reforms
Associated Press, 11 December 1997. The Clinton administration stressed the importance of tough economic reforms being demanded of the Asian nation by the International Monetary Fund. President Kim Young-sam pledged to honor the commitments South Korea made in order to reach agreement on a $57 billion emergency rescue package, the largest such bailout in IMF history.
The repossession of South Korea’s Economy
By Fred Goldstein, in Workers World, 18 December 1997. Bailout actually a predatory operation by US and Japanese imperialism, which shifts the burden on the backs of the masses in order to contain the crisis.
Perspective on Korea: A crisis from underregulation
By Ha-Joon Chang, in Los Angeles Times, 31 December 1997. The deflationary bias of the International Monetary Fund made the credit crunch worse, leading to bankruptcies. A liberalization of the economy is just what Korea does not need.
Clinton administration & U.S. Banks: Trying to solve Korean crisis by making workers pay
By Fred Goldstein, in Workers World, 8 January 1998. US strategic interest, and US take-over of Korean assets. Loans to be rolled over on condition labor law is weakened.
The IMF rescue package will ultimately benefit the West far more than Seoul
By Mark Atkinson, in The Guardian. 11 January 1998. Korean industries sold cheap to get needed capital from IMF. IMF always ready to bail out unwise foreign investment. IMF demand that Korea open her economy could lead to a worse crisis.
Behind their sudden switch: World capitalists buy time
By Fred Goldstein, Workers World, 15 January 1998. Free-market oracles—on a journey to crush the south Korean government’s anti-free-market coddling of chaebols and protection of workers from mass layoffs—suddenly veered down the perilous road of statism. They found a way for the south Korean government to intervene in the economy after all: It should guarantee that the imperialist banks will be repaid the tens of billions of dollars they have loaned to south Korean banks.
The mexicanization of Korea
By Mike P. McKeever, 9 January 1998. Some thoughts on the Korean situation plus a reference to some detailed background of the IMF agreement. A critical look at some of the IMF conditionalities. The government had encouraged the chaebols to expand and become aggressive exporters in the world markets; to do so, the companies were more optimistic than the markets warranted.
The Korean collapse
By Walden Bello, Multinational Monitor, January/February 1998. Even as the economies of Southeast Asia were collapsing in dramatic fashion over the summer, things were building up to a climax in Korea, where over the last year, seven of the country’s mighty chaebol or conglomerates had come crashing down. The dynamics of the fall in Korea were, however, distinct from that in Southeast Asia.