This article argues that political gridlock in Korea was responsible for the defeat of many economic reform efforts before the economic crisis. Successful and timely economic reforms would have made the Korean economy less vulnerable to the economic crisis. The persistence of political gridlock can be attributed to the immature or unconsolidated nature of Korean democracy, including weak democratic institutions and traditional political values and practices. With a model of policy gridlock in the context of the Korean decision-making process, the article attempts to link Korean political culture and institutions to the occurrence of policy gridlock.
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