South Korean Cultural Ecology - 1905 to 1990
Part 2: "Change to the Industrial Society" - Page 9

C. Technocrats Plans

Korea's economy has been dominated by a tightly knit group of military-backed technocrats and politicians who have bestowed favors on these powerful business families. The heads of these business groups, or chaebols, have, in turn, contributed campaign funds to the politicians. Despite periodic feuds, the elite Korean families have intermarried and shared a common purpose of nation building. The technocrats with the urging of the Korean government have engineered a heavy emphasis on exports. Prices have been held high inside Korea so the majority of products will and can be exported. When I was planning to work in Korea this March, I enquired about the price of a computer in Korea from Lucky-Goldstar. I use a lot of Lucky-Goldstar products and I am familiar with them. They are of excellent quality. The prices in Korea were better than double that I can buy here in Oregon. One reason for this is that the chaebols are exempted from tax on income earned from export sales.