The Role of Japanese Foreign Direct Investment and Technology Transfer in South Korean Economic Development Strategies in the 1980’s and Beyond

Abstract

The present study aims at highlighting some aspects of the inter-relationship between South Korea’s economic development strategies and ensuing government policies vis-à-vis foreign direct investment (FDI) and technology transfer (TT) on the one hand and the inflow of Japanese direct investment on the other hand. One of the salient features of the Japanese-Korean economic relationship is the fact that Japan has been the biggest provider of FDI and TT since the normalisation of relations in 1965. Over the same period policy-makers in Korea tried to control and guide the inflow of capital and technology so that it would not only facilitate industrial development in the direction desired by the government but also help to nurture domestic entrepreneurs. Changing government perceptions of FDI and TT and policies and regulations in this field have thus to be seen against the background of changes in the prevailing development strategies in the past three decades. [...]