Political Economic Transformation and Contentious Labour Politics: The Case of South Korea

ABSTRACT With the recent Yoon Suk Yeol presidency, contentious labour politics in South Korea has returned to the public spotlight. Despite being a consolidated democracy and a highly developed economy, South Korea continues to exhibit contentious and combative labour politics. This article reviews both the recent and historical research which examines why this remains the case, drawing from sociological and political economy perspectives. The article has three foci. First, it reviews research detailing the historical relationship between ‘developmentalism’ and labour repression during Korea's period of rapid industrialisation. Second, it reviews studies which attempted to interpret labour politics within the evolving relationship of state, capital, and labour during South Korea's democratic transition and economic liberalisation period. Third, it explores modern research that accounts for these dynamics in the recent post‐Asian Financial Crisis era. Still, important questions remain regarding why Korea continues to experience contentious labour politics compared to its peer states in East Asia, and why the democratic state often persists in intervening heavily in industrial disputes rather than pursuing mediation and conflict resolution. The article concludes by discussing emerging directions for future research.