There are various theories that explain economic development of South Korea since 1960s. Even though these theories are not mutually exclusive, they are mostly policy oriented and tend to under-appreciate the contribution of Korean private sector. South Korea’s rapid economic development might not have been as successful, had it not been for the aggressive and visionary entrepreneurship of the first generation business leaders, who laid the foundation for such business groups like Hyundai, Samsung, LG, and POSCO. This talk will focus on the role of Korea’s private sector in the 1960s and 1970s. South Korea’s economic development should be reinterpreted as a process of private sector development. It is hoped that this interpretation of Korea’s economic development could shed new light on other developing economies’ effort to expedite their economic development.

Dr. Jong Seok Kim holds a Ph.D. from Princeton University (1988) and was a Research Fellow at Korea Development Institute (KDI) before he became a Professor at Hong Ik University (1991) in Seoul. He was President of Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI). He is currently a member of the National Economic Advisory Council in the President’s Office. His areas of interests are regulatory economics, industrial and competition policy, and public sector reform.