Neoliberal Politics in South Korea and the Democratic Labour Party’s Counter-Campaign
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32890/jgd2014.10.1.7Keywords:
neoliberalism, centrist tendency, radical socialism, economic democracy, social safety netAbstract
This article reviews the South Korean Democratic Labour Party’s (DLP) anti-neoliberal campaigns of the 2000s. While the centrist government implemented abortive economic reform and pro-capitalist labour policies, the DLP had a great window of opportunity to replace the centrist tendency with a moderate socialist program. Contrary to expectations, the DLP’s counter neoliberalism campaigns were unsuccessful as the party’s campaigns went through within an anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist struggle which resembled the radical Latin American leftist parties in the 1970s. Due mainly to this radical strategy, the DLP was unable to create a broad coalition with civil movements and the centre-left tendency. The DLP’s radical anti-neoliberalism campaign was unsuited to the Korean constituency and the party was defeated in a series of presidential elections.
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