Recovery from a Financial Meltdown: The Political Economy of Crisis Management under the Kim Dae-Jung Administration

Abstract

In Korea, the IMF-supported program, approved in late 1997, focused on financial sector restructuring, corporate governance, capital account liberalization, labor market reforms and trade liberalization. As in Thailand, it soon became clear that the IMF program underestimated the severity and deIn Korea, the IMF-supported program, approved in late 1997, focused on financial sector restructuring, corporate governance, capital account liberalization, labor market reforms and trade liberalization. As in Thailand, it soon became clear that the IMF program underestimated the severity and depth of the crisis. It fell upon the newly-elected government of Kim Dae-Jung to deal with both the crisis and the IMF. This paper illustrates how the Kim Dae-Jung administration deftly dealt with the grave challenges it faced. Korea's remarkable economic recovery, is in large measure, due to the government's prudent handling of the numerous economic challenges it faced. This paper examines the Korean government's management of the crisis－documenting both its achievements and the challenges ahead.

Keywords

• Korean Economic Reforms
• Financial Crisis
• The IMF
• Kim Dae-Jung