Full Description:

The large, family-run industrial conglomerates that dominate the South Korean economy (e.g., Samsung, Hyundai). These entities were nurtured by the state to drive rapid industrialization, creating a unique form of state-guided capitalism. Chaebols are the engines of South Korea’s economic rise. Unlike Western corporations that grew through market competition, these companies were hand-picked by the military government. They were given guaranteed loans, tax breaks, and protection from foreign competition in exchange for meeting government export targets.

Critical Perspective:
The Chaebol system reveals the authoritarian roots of the “economic miracle.” The wealth of these conglomerates was built on the suppression of labor rights and the exploitation of workers, enforced by the military dictatorship. Today, their immense economic power translates into disproportionate political influence, often leading to high-level corruption and a society with deepening inequality, where a few families hold sway over the nation’s direction.