Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-s2hrs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-09T15:12:31.024Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Looking beyond the West? The Korea Employers' Federation and the Challenges of Membership Adhesion and Cohesion

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

In Jun  and
Peter Sheldon
Peter Sheldon
Affiliation:
School of Organisation and Management, University of New South Wales
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The KEF developed its identity, role and activities in the face of challenges to employers quite different to those that marked the history of employer associations in western countries. Only in recent years have economic and political developments generated perceived threats from unions and pro-labour legislative proposals. Instead, the KEF had to find ways of attracting, holding and uniting members in the absence of these threats. The result was a very limited organisation operating at low levels. As those threats emerged more fully through Korea's democratisation process, the KEF responded to pressures to raise its profile, broaden its activities and sharpen its identity. In seeking to attract and retain members and to develop internal cohesion, macroeconomic and macro-political developments have been of crucial importance, as has the central role of large employers among the KEF membership.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Economic and Labour Relations Review , Volume 17 , Issue 1 , September 2006 , pp. 203 - 225
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2006

References

Adams, R.J. (1995) Industrial Relations under Liberal Democracy: North American in Comparative Perspective, University of South Carolina Press, Columbia.Google Scholar
Bae, K. S., Cho, S. J. (2004) ‘Labour Movement’, in Lee, W.D. (ed), Labour in Korea, the Korea Labour Institute, Seoul.Google Scholar
Bae, K. S., Cho, S. J. (2003) ‘Labour Movement Limitations and Development Planning’, in The Korean Tripartite Commission (ed.), Policy Topics for the Development of Korean Industrial Relations, Policy Research 02, The Korean Tripartite Commission, Seoul (in Korean).Google Scholar
Baglioni, G., Crouch, C. (1990) (eds) European Industrial Relations: The Challenge of Flexibility, Sage, London.Google Scholar
Barbash, J., Barbash, K. (1989) (eds) Theories and Concepts in Comparative Industrial Relations, University of South Carolina Press, Columbia SC.Google Scholar
Barry, M. (1995) ‘Employer Associations: Assessing Plowman's Reactivity Thesis', Journal of Industrial Relations, 37(4): 543–561.Google Scholar
Behrens, M. (2003) ‘Is there a future for Employers' Collective Interest Representation?’, paper delivered at the IIRA 13th World Congress, Berlin, September 8–12, 2003.Google Scholar
Behrens, M., Traxler, F. (2004) Employers' organisations in Europe, [Online] Available: http://www.eiro.eurofound.eu.int/2003/11/study/tn0311101s.html [accessed 12 June 2004].Google Scholar
Bowman, J. R. (2002) ‘Employers and the persistence of centralized wage setting: The Case of Norway’, Comparative Political Studies, 35(9): 995–1026.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Broad, P. (2001) ‘Australian business associations - their strategies for surviving the 1990s and beyond’, Labour & Industry, 11(3): 27–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chang, D.O., Chae, J.H. (2004) ‘The Transformation of Korean Labour Relations since 1997’, Journal of Contemporary Asia, 34(4): 427–448.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cheil Economic Daily, 1998–2003 (in Korean).Google Scholar
Cherry, J. (2003) ‘The ‘Big Deals' and Hynix Semiconductor: State-Business Relations in Post-Crisis Korea’, Asia Pacific Business Review, 10(2): 178–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cho, J.I. (2006) (Team leader, Management Innovation, KEF), Interviewed 8 April (in Korean).Google Scholar
Ilbo, Chosun , 1998–2003 (in Korean).Google Scholar
Cho, N.H. (2006) (Former full-time executive vice-chairman, KEF), Interviewed 15 March (in Korean).Google Scholar
Corsetti, G., Pesenti, P., Roubini, N. (1998) ‘What caused the Asian currency and financial crisis?’, National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper, 6833–4.Google Scholar
Crotty, J., Lee, K. K. (2002) ‘A political-economic analysis of the failure of neo-liberal restructuring in post-crisis Korea’, Cambridge Journal of Economics, 22: 667–678.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deyo, F. C. (1989) Beneath the Miracle: Labour Subordination in the New Asian Industrialisation, University of California Press, Berkeley.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Financial News, 1998–2003 (in Korean).Google Scholar
Gladstone, A. (1984) ‘Employers associations in comparative perspective: Functions and activities', in Windmuller, J., Gladstone, A. (eds), Employers associations and industrial relations: a comparative study, Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 24–43.Google Scholar
Hankyoreh, 1998–2003 (in Korean).Google Scholar
Hankyung, 1998–2003 (in Korean).Google Scholar
Hur, J. J. (2002) ‘Economic Crisis, Income Support and Employment Generating Programs: Korea's Experience’, Labour Policy Research, 2(4): 39–73.Google Scholar
IMF (International Monetary Fund) (1998) Annual report of the Executive Board for the Financial Year Ended April 30 1998, IMF: Washington D.C.Google Scholar
Jeong, I. (2004) ‘Unemployment Structure and Unemployment Schemes', in Lee, W.D. (ed), Labour in Korea, the Korea Labour Institute, Seoul.Google Scholar
Jwa, S. H., Yi, I. (2001) The Korean Financial Crisis: Evaluation and Lessons', in Kwon, O.Y., Shepherd, W. (eds), Korea's economic prospects: from financial crisis to prosperity, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham.Google Scholar
KEF, Annual Business Reports, 1970–2005 (in Korean).Google Scholar
KEF, Financial Reports, 1988–2003, unpublished (in Korean).Google Scholar
KEF (Korea Employers Federation) (2000) A Thirty-year History of the KEF, The KEF, Seoul (in Korean).Google Scholar
KEF (Korea Employers Federation) (1990) A Twenty-year History of the KEF, The KEF, Seoul (in Korean).Google Scholar
KEFPLAZA (2006) KEFPLAZA website [Online] Available: www.kefplaza.com [accessed March/April 2006] (in Korean).Google Scholar
Kim, D. W., Kim, S. (2003) ‘Globalisation, Financial Crisis, and Industrial Relations: The Case of South Korea’, Industrial Relations, 42(3): 341–367.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kim, H.R. (2001) ‘Economic Crisis in Korea: Toward a New Economic Paradigm’, in Kwon, O.Y., Shepherd, W. (eds), Korea's economic prospects: from financial crisis to prosperity, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham.Google Scholar
Kim, K.S. (2004) Korean Labour Movement: 6. The Labour Movement during the Democratisation Period, 1987–1997, Jisikmadang, Seoul (in Korean).Google Scholar
Kim, S. S., Briscoe, D.R. (1997) ‘Globalization and a new human resource policy in Korea: Transformation to a performance based HRM’, Employee Relations, 19(4): 289–308.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Korea Herald, 1998–2003.Google Scholar
Korea Times, 1998–2003.Google Scholar
KTC (Korea Tripartite Commission) (2003) A Five-year History of the KTC, the KTC, Seoul (in Korean).Google Scholar
Kwon, S.D. (2006) (Director, Business Information Management Team, Hyundai Car), Interviewed 16 March (in Korean).Google Scholar
Kyunghyang Shinmoon, 1998–2003 (in Korean).Google Scholar
Park, S.I. (2000) Reforming Labour Management Relations: Lessons from the Korean Experiences: 1996–7, the Korea Development Institute, Seoul.Google Scholar
Plowman, D.H. (1989) Holding the Line: Compulsory arbitration and national employer co-ordination in Australia, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lee, D.E. (2006) (full-time Executive Director, KEF), Interviewed 21 March (in Korean).Google Scholar
Lee, W. B. (2004) Korean Labour Movement: 5. The Labour Movement during the Industrialisation Period, 1961–1987, Jisikmadang, Seoul (in Korean).Google Scholar
Lee, W. D., Lee, J. H. (2004) ‘Will the Model of Uncoordinated Decentralization Persist? Changes in Korean Industrial Relations after the Financial Crisis', in Katz, , et al (eds), The New Structure of Labour Relations, Cornell University Press, Ithaca.Google Scholar
Lie, J. (1998) Han Unbound: The Political Economy of South Korea, Stanford University Press, California.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lim, S.H. (2002) Strategy Matters: A Constructivist Approach to The South Korean Social Pact, Unpublished Ph.D dissertation, University of Wisconsin-Madison.Google Scholar
Lim, W. (2003) ‘Origin and evolution of the Korean economic system’, in Tcha, M.J., Suh, C.S. (eds), The Korean Economy at the Crossroads, Routledge Curzon, London.Google Scholar
Macdonald, D. (1997) Industrial Relations and Globalisation: Challenges for Employers and their organisations, Paper presented at the ILO Workshop on Employers' Organizations, in Asia-Pacific in the Twenty-First Century, Turin, Italy, 5–13 May.Google Scholar
Martin, J. P., Tergeist, P., Tores, R. (2004) ‘Reforming the Korean Labour Market and Social Safety Net: Key Pending Issues', in Harvie, C., Lee, H. H., Oh, J. (eds), The Korean Economy: Post-Crisis Policies, Issues and Prospects, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham.Google Scholar
Murhem, S. (2003) Turning to Europe: A New Swedish Industrial Relations Regime in the 1990s, Dissertation, Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis.Google Scholar
Ogle, G. E. (1990) South Korea: Dissent within the Economic Miracle, Zed Books Ltd, London.Google Scholar
Olson, M. (1965) The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the Theory of Groups, Harvard University Press, Cambridge Mass. Google Scholar
PCIRR (1998) Review of the Industrial Relations Reform, the PCIRR, Seoul (in Korean).Google Scholar
Rowley, C., Bae, J. (2004) ‘HRM in South Korea’, in Budhwar, P. S. (ed), Managing Human Resources in Asia-Pacific, Routledge, London.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rynhart, G. (2004) ‘International Employers' Organizations', in Blanpain, R. (ed), Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations in Industrialized Market Economies, Kluwer Law International, the Hague, 8th edn, pp.509–548.Google Scholar
Schmitter, R.C., Streeck, W. (1999) The Organization of Business Interests: Studying the Associative Action of Business in Advanced Industrial Societies, MPIfG Discussion Paper 99/1, Max-Planck-Insitut fur Gesellschaftsforschung, Cologne.Google Scholar
Seoul Economic Daily, 1998–2003 (in Korean).Google Scholar
Sheldon, P., Thornthwaite, L. (1999a) (eds) Employer associations and industrial relations change: catalysts or captives? Allen & Unwin, Sydney.Google Scholar
Sheldon, P., Thornthwaite, L. (1999b) ‘Swedish engineering employers: The search for industrial peace in the absence of centralized collective bargaining’, Industrial Relations Journal, 30(5): 514–532.Google Scholar
Sheldon, P, Thornthwaite, L. (2004) ‘Business or Association? The Strategic Response of Employer Associations to the Decentralisation of Bargaining in Australia’, Economic and Labour Relations Review, 15(1): 128–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sisson, K. (1987) The management of collective bargaining: An international comparison, Blackwell, Oxford.Google Scholar
Song, W.G., Lee, S.H. (2005) The Business Structure of Korean Chaebols and Concentration of Economic Power, Nanam, Seoul (in Korean).Google Scholar
Streeck, W. (1987) ‘The Uncertainties of Management in the Management of Uncertainty: Employers, Labor Relations and Industrial Adjustment in the 1980s', Work, Employment & Society, 1(3): 281–308.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thelen, K. (1994) ‘Beyond corporatism: Toward a new framework for the study of labor in advanced capitalism’, Comparative Politics, 27(1): 107–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tolliday, S., Zeitlin, J. (1991a) ‘Introduction: Employers and industrial relations between theory and history’, in Tolliday, S., Zeitlin, J. (eds), The Power to Manage? Employers and industrial relations in comparative-historical perspective, Routledge, London, pp. 1–31.Google Scholar
Tolliday, S., Zeitlin, J. (1991b) ‘Conclusion: National models and international variations in labour management and employer organisation’, in Tolliday, S., Zeitlin, J. (eds), The Power to Manage? Employers and industrial relations in comparative-historical perspective, Routledge, London, pp. 273–343.Google Scholar
Traxler, F. (1993) ‘Business associations and Labor Unions in Comparison: Theoretical Perspectives and Empirical Findings on Social Class, Collective Action and Associational Organisability’, The British Journal of Sociology, 44(4): 673–691.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Traxler, F. (2000) ‘Employers and employer organizations in Europe: Membership strength, density and representativeness', Industrial Relations Journal, 31(4): 308–316.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Traxler, F. (2003a) ‘Bargaining (De)centralization, Macroeconomic Performance and Control over the Employment Relationship’, British Journal of Industrial Relations, 41(1): 1–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Traxler, F. (2003b) Economic change and its impact on employers' associations: A Crossnational Comparison: IIRA, 13th World Congress, Track 4.Google Scholar
Vatta, A. (1999) ‘Employers' Organizations and Concertation: Internal Dynamics and Institutional Influence’, European Journal of Industrial Relations, 5(3): 245–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Windmuller, J.P., Gladstone, A. (1984) Employers associations and industrial relations: a comparative study, Clarendon, Press New York.Google Scholar
Yoo, B. (2004) ‘Social Accord’, in Lee, W.D. (ed), Labour in Korea, the Korea Labour Institute, Seoul.Google Scholar
Yoon, N.S. (2005) (Former full-time executive vice-chairman, KEF), Interviewed 18 April (in Korean).Google Scholar