DET KORRUPTA MIRAKLET En studie om Sydkoreas och Japans utvecklingsmodeller

Abstract

The corruption between the big businesses and the state in South Korea is well documented. This corrupt relation can be traced back to their model for economic development, which is largely based on the Japanese development model. However, the corruption between big business and the state in Japan is not so prominent as it is in South Korea. The aim for this study is to try to determine what can explain this difference in corruption. This will be studied through a most similar system design where previous causes of corruption will be listed and examined in both countries to try and find what cause show different value between the two countries. Thus, this study uses a process tracing method to make an historical checkup and determine what in the history that can explain why corruption grew strong in South Korea. The results show that even though personal relation between the businesses and the state is present in both South Korea and Japan, it differs in form. The previous studies show that there is a deeply institutionalized co-operation between the state and businesses in Japan whilst the state in South Korea used these businesses as a political weapon for economic development, showing a big difference in hierarchical structures between the state and business life. Another finding of this study shows that corporate governance differs between the big businesses in South Korea and Japan, which can possibly explain the difference in incitements to engage in corrupt activities.