Micro-corporatism in South Korea: A comparative analysis of enterprise-level industrial relations

Due to institutional legacies of the authoritarian regime, South Korea afte r the transition to democracy failed to establish a neo-corporatist policy- making body at the national level. Instead, micro-corporatist practices tha t produced many publicized instances of labor-management cooperation in ind ividual enterprises substituted the failed neo-corporatist concertation. Th is article aims to clarify the mechanisms of micro-corporatism in South Kor ea. Case studies of three large firms illustrate how changes in management strategies and internal union politics produced a combination of industrial peace and welfare-generating institutions at the firm level. The article c oncludes with a brief discussion of the economic and political implications of micro-corporatism.