Chaebol Influence in South Korean Politics

Thomas Smith

Background: Modern South Korea is defined by its massive conglomerates, known as Chaebol. Today, Samsung alone is responsible for around 20% of the South Korean economy[1], with the Hyundai and LG groups not far behind. As a result, these companies have an undeniable impact on the politics of the country.

The lines between the Chaebol and Korea’s political landscape are often blurred. Former president Lee Myung-Bak is a former Hyundai executive, and one of the sons of Hyundai’s founder sits in Korea’s parliament, the National Assembly. General feelings toward the Chaebol in Korea can be mixed, as they are a major source of not only employment and income but also employee rights violations and corruption scandals.

The relationship between Korea’s politicians and the Chaebol leaves the question of what the level of this influence is, and if there are any conclusions that can be made by examining shared backgrounds in driving relationships between politicians and private sector executives.

Research questions: How does Chaebol influence in Korea's National Assembly look on an interpersonal level? Is the pattern for former employees of these organizations to enter politics, or do the lines stay distinct without much transition between politics and the private sector? What are the effects of other personal factors such as school or work background in linking political parties and companies? Is there a pattern of factionalism not only among parties but also regarding Chaebol affiliation? Are there ties that can be made between the executive board members of the Chaebol and members of the National Assembly?

Hypotheses: There will be noticeable ties between the Chaebol and National Assembly members. Korea’s conservative Saenuri party members (the current ruling party) will have a strong ties with the Chaebol, given the strong business ties not only of former president Lee Myung-bak, but also those of current president Park Geun-hye (whose father Park Chung-hee oversaw massive growth of the Chaebol in the sixties and seventies). Additionally, there may be correlation between alma mater and shared military service that could indicate friendliness between National Assembly members and Chaebol executives.

Data Collection: The primary objective of this study would be to examine at the ties between Chaebol executives and high ranking members of the Korean National Assembly. Some data needed for the study will be readily available and others will take time and effort to research, though most information will be able to be found through online searches. Due to a potentially high number of individuals involved, the investigation would look first at the members of the national cabinet (State Council) as well as the board members of Samsung, Hyundai and LG. The data set would be scalable and could be built up to include all members of the National Assembly and non-board executives of the Chaebol companies.

As it is difficult to gauge interpersonal relationships, connections will be judged by some of the powerful characteristics that can link elites in Korean society, namely universities or employers. Therefore I would use a three point scale to indicate strength, going by how many shared characteristics individuals have of the following three or four traits:

- Same political party (if a politician or former politician)
- Attended the same undergraduate university
- Worked for (or currently works for) the same company of the list of Chaebols – Samsung, Hyundai, LG (this metric is slightly tricky as there may be individuals who have worked for more than one selectable company)
- (Optional fourth) Familial relation (due to the dynastic nature of Korean business and politics there will be some siblings and cousins within the networks)

Using this method, one can see the strength of ties between individuals and also between political parties and companies. Other characteristics which could be examined are

- Gender
- Age
- Home region (broken into five regions: North East, North West, South East, South West and Seoul)
- Military service time period (military service is compulsory for Korean men and often forms the basis for strong personal relationships)

Collecting the data will be slightly challenging as it requires fluency in Korean but most information should be publicly available via sites like Wikipedia, as the study looks at high-profile individuals and Korea has an extremely developed internet landscape.

Analyzing the network:

The goal of the study is not to determine who the political allies within the network are, but how shared experiences and relationships between the political and business world create the potential for influence, and whether this influence skews toward the more “business friendly” political party. The most important information will be the strength of the ties, as ties with strength of two or more will signify a large potential to influence, or a personal connection.

Hopefully there will also be interesting factional or clique analysis available that can be compared to Korean political news sources, to determine if there is a correlation between strong connections and actual political alliances, which could strengthen the study.

Eigenvector and betweeness will be important measures in this study as they will show the individuals who are holding the network together and potentially bridging the business and political world.

Outcomes:

Applying network analysis using publicly available data will showcase the potential bonds between Korean politicians and business elites.

The network will not show the actual networks between these groups. An ideal outcome would be to also have information about the personal relationships between individuals in the network, however it is unlikely that this will be publicly available, particularly on the business side. Nevertheless, it is hoped that the analysis of the information in this network could demonstrate a trend that is perceived to be endemic in Korean society, business influence on politics.

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[1] http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/07/whoa-samsung-is-responsible-for-20-of-south-koreas-economy/260552/