Employment Relations and Hrm in South Korea

South Korea is one of the rare countries that have experienced political/industrial democratization and economic development simultaneously in a relatively short period. However the full story of democratization and development processes displays two faces - positive and negative aspects to the deployment of labour/human resources. This book explains these seemingly contradictory outcomes of Korean employment relations (ER) and human resource management (HRM) based upon a theoretical framework that incorporates logics of environmental constraints and strategies of actors. The book discusses the paradigm shift in both ER and HRM during three key periods of the previous century (pre-1987, 1987-1997 and post-1997). This text contains informative details on Korean ER and HRM of past and present, with theoretical and practical views, and of transformations and continuities. The book provides policy implications that can stimulate constructive debates regarding the "mutual-gains" strategies for policy makers, management and employees.