The post-1997 Korean crisis, immediately followed by the IMF intervention, fatally undermined the communitarian structure of Korea. The IMF capitalized on Korea’s weakness to destroy what remained of its statist structure and replaced it with a market-driven neoliberal system. In the article entitled “Economic Crisis and Restructuring in South Korea: Beyond the Free Market-Statist Debate,” Martin Hart-Landsberg and Paul Burkett sought to trace the causes of the South Korean crisis in 1997-98 and the nature and consequences of the post-crisis restructuring process. The authors examined the economic, political, and social effects of the IMF-led restructuring process in order to demonstrate how it has left the South Korean economy more vulnerable to the abusive power of both foreign capitals and the domestic conglomerates, and more dependent on labor exploitation than before the crisis. Deeper into the analysis, the Korean society has since then been plagued by the sharp polarization between the haves and the have-nots, whose outcome appeared in various forms of societal disintegration, such as the rise of the unemployment rate, the rise of the divorce rate, and the breakdown of the family structure. The consequence of the IMF intervention in restructuring Korea’s economy has forced the Korean people to ponder on the 1st article of their constitution, which defines Korea as a republic: “The Republic of Korea shall be a democratic republic.” In addition to Article 1, both Article 23 (especially the first two stipulations) and Article 119 specifically stipulate what should be done by the government in order to keep its republican nature. These two articles specify what it means for Korea to remain a republican state. Here, more serious attention should be paid especially to both the second stipulation of Art. 23 (“the public welfare”) and the second stipulation of Art.119 (“democratize the economy”) because they justify the state’s intervening role in regulating and coordinating various interests of economic agents, such as the state, enterprises, and the household, in order to materialize the democratization of the economy.
At this juncture, I am offering an idea of basic income as a way of substantiating the republican nature of Korea so that it may prevent itself from collapsing. The COVID-19 pandemic, which has been ongoing for more than two years, has worsened the socioeconomic polarization to the detriment of the republican social order. It has become clear that the neoliberalist motto, “employment is the best welfare policy,” cannot stand the global decline in employment rate all over the world. Instead, the coronavirus pandemic has compelled many governments worldwide to provide cash relief to their citizens, regardless of their income and social status in the form of a basic income.
Kim Hae-kwon
(Professor at the Dept. of Christian Studies)
