Abstract

The current economic crisis reflects the failure of the political system as much as the economic system. It is the job of the former to correct the problems of the latter. But the Korean political system failed to carry out long overdue reforms and contain the unfolding financial crisis. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the direction of political reform in Korea in view of the failures of the political system to address the economic problems before the crisis. Among the many political problems confronting Korea, I have highlighted the role of political culture. Emphasis on culture does not mean that institutional reforms are unimportant. By all means, Korea should continue institutional reforms. But institutional reforms by themselves are insufficient to bring about the desired change in government performance. There is now a significant gap between cultural values and practices, and the formal rules of political institutions. Unless this gap is reduced, Korea will continue to suffer from political gridlock and stalemate, which was one of the leading causes for the economic crisis.