| kwwa |
2002-10-28 14:04:42, 조회 : 60 |
LIST OF TABLES AND ILLUSTRATIONS
Table 1> List of interviewees
Table 2> Rate of female participation in economic activity
Table 3> Trends in number of employed women by employment sector
Table 4> Trends in number of employees by job type and gender
Table 5> Number of married women workers in manufacturing sector
Table 6> Number of women manufacturing workers by educational level
Table 7> Monthly income and working hours of women manufacturing workers,
1970-85
Table 8> Garment industry employment trends, 1975-85
Table 9> Shoe industry employment trends, 1975-85
Table 10> Electronics industry employment trends, 1975-85
Table 11> Garment industry employment trends, 1987-92
Table 12> Shoe industry employment trends, 1987-92
Table 13> Electronics industry employment trends, 1987-92
Table 14> Trends in licensing of offshore manufacturers
Table 15> Offshore production of Korean manufacturers by region, end of
1990
Table 16> Number of workers by size of establishment, garment industry
Table 17> Number of workers by size of establishment, shoe industry
Table 18> Number of workers by size of establishment, electronics industry
Table 19> Percentage of subcontracting in small and medium sized firms
Table 20> Automation rate by type of industry
Table 21> Reasons for the use of temporary workers
Table 22> Trends in the number of full-time workers
Table 23> Employment in electronics companies producing offshore
Table 24> Wage comparisons within the manufacturing sector
Table 25> Labor shortage rate by size of establishment, all industries
Table 26> Monthly wage comparisons by economic sector and year
Table 27> Differences in basic pay and bonuses, part-time and full-time
worker, Dept Store X
Table 28> Total monthly earnings by industry
<Illustration 1> Labor relations under the dispatch system
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION & METHODOLOGY
1-1. Introduction
Industrial changes during the late 1980's and early 1990's have severely impacted the lives of women manufacturing workers. The number of women workers in manufacturing undergoes sharp declines; 291,000 factory workers were reduced between 1989-93. These decreases have been especially pronounced in recent years as 143,000 women workers were reduced in 1992; 145,000 in 1993. Many women have lost their jobs overnight as a result of sudden factory shutdowns, and others are entering work in tiny subcontract factories. Temporary forms of employment once limited to the service and clerical sectors are also spreading to factory work, bringing unstable jobs to women workers.
Activists in the women's and labor movements have responded actively to these changes in women's employment. In 1990, the Korean Women's Associations United (KWAU henceforth) held a public seminar entitled, "The Worsening State of Women's Employment: What are the Issues?" The seminar served to expose the realities of employment instability resulting from industrial restructuring and to search for common solutions. This and other organizational efforts did not stop at just discussing the issues involved, but extended to issuing political demands to the government for the implementation of such policies as employment insurance.
The industrial changes that have sparked this controversy were brought about by major shifts in international business conditions during this period, changes which in turn have created a business crisis for parts of the Korean manufacturing sector. The government and capital have responded by attempting a fundamental restructuring of production in these industries. It is this industrial restructuring that has become the focal point of the discussions regarding women's employment.
This report aims to document the concrete impacts of industrial restructuring on women factory workers in Korea. We focus on three key labor-intensive industries -- garment, shoes, and electronics -- and trace the rise and decline of these industries beginning in the 1960's and ending in industrial recession and restructuring in the late 1980's. We also outline the content of restructuring strategies and document the concrete ways in which these strategies have appeared in the lives of women workers. Finally, we conclude that restructuring efforts in these industries have resulted in the unemployment, marginalization, and the loss and de-evaluation of women's skills, all of which have fundamentally lowered the status of women in Korea.
1-2. Scope of Research and Methodology
This report is divided into six chapters. Aside from the first chapter introducing the content and methodology of our research, Chapter II outlines major trends in women's employment, including the large-scale decreases in women manufacturing workers. Chapter III provides a brief historical sketch of the three industries studied in this report, including the story of industrial crisis that sparked the push towards industrial restructuring in the late 1980's and 1990's. Chapter IV describes concrete government and capital strategies during the restructuring process, including government industrial and labor policies and major survival and development strategies on the part of employers. Chapter V offers a detailed account of the impacts of restructuring on women workers, explaining the processes and dynamics at work in reorganizing women's work during this period. Chapter VI provides a brief conclusion and few suggestions for future action.
We have focused this research on the impacts of industrial restructuring on women workers in three main industries -- garment, electronics, and shoes. Our research concentrated on the period from the late 1980's to the present when restructuring proceeded most prominently. The regions studied in the report include the industrial complexes in the Seoul Metropolitan area, the Inchon region on the coast to the west of Seoul, as well as the Busan and Masan areas in the Kyung Sang Province in the southeastern part of Korea. The Seoul and Inchon areas encompass six major export complexes and other industrial zones, and have high concentrations of garment and electronics manufacturers. The majority (over 80%) of shoe production occurs in Busan, while the Masan Free Export Zone was established mostly for electronics production by foreign companies.
Data for the report was gathered from four major sources. First, several statistical surveys of industrial and employment trends were consulted, including studies from government agencies, industrial cooperatives, research institutes, and banks. Secondly, background literature, including academic theses, newspaper articles, and journal entries, were consulted. Official government policy statements were also referenced. Third, more focused regional studies conducted by various labor and women's organizations were also examined. Finally, first-hand interviews were conducted with labor activists and women workers. These interviews were not meant to add statistical or quantitative evidence for our conclusions, but rather to supplement and back up other information gathered on industrial restructuring, as well as to gain concrete and individualized insight into the impacts on women workers. The total list of interviewees is as follows:
<Table 1> List of interviewees
No. Region Company Gender Position
Garment industry
1 Seoul F Labor activist
2 Seoul F Labor activist
3 Seoul M Industrial cooperative researcher
4 Seoul F Home-based worker
5 Seoul M Home-based worker
6 Seoul A M Factory worker, union president
7 Seoul A F Factory worker, union vice president
8 Seoul B F Factory worker, union president
9 Seoul B F Factory worker, union general secretary
10 Seoul B F Laid-off worker
11 Seoul C F Factory worker, union president
12 Seoul C F Factory worker, union member
13 Seoul D M Factory worker, union president
14 Seoul D F Factory worker, union general secretary
15 Seoul E F Subcontract factory worker
16 Inchon F F Subcontract factory worker
Electronics industry
17 Inchon F Laid-off worker
18 Seoul G M Factory worker, union president
19 Seoul G F Factory worker, union member
20 Seoul H M Factory worker, union president
21 Seoul H F Part-time worker
22 Seoul I F Factory worker, union general secretary
Shoe industry
23 Busan F Labor activist
24 Busan F Labor activist
25 Busan M Labor activist
26 Busan M Busan Industry&Commerce Board official
27 Busan F Laid-off worker
28 Busan J F Factory worker
29 Busan K F Factory worker
30 Busan L F Factory worker
CHAPTER II. CHARACTERISTICS OF AND TRENDS IN
WOMEN'S EMPLOYMENT
In order to understand the impacts of industrial restructuring, it is important to survey major trends in women's employment in the 1980's. Industry-specific data will be presented in later sections as the connection to industrial restructuring is explicated.
2-1. Women's economic participation
The women's economic participation rate has steadily increased in the last decade. It reached 47.2% in 1993, a 4.4% increase from 1980. Compared with the relatively small increase in the male participation rate in the same period -- from 76.4 to 76.0% -- this increase indicates that women are actively proceeding into the labor market (See Table 1).
<Table 2> Rate of Female Participation in Economic Activity
unit: 1000 people, %)
Gender Year Total population Economically Percentage of totl
(15 yrs & over) active economically
population active
Total 1980 14,431 59.0
1985 27,553 15,592 56.6
1987 28,955 16,873 58.3
1989 30,217 17,975 59.5
1991 31,367 19,012 60.6
1992 31,851 19,384 60.9
1993 32,400 19,803 61.1
Female 1980 5,412 42.8
1985 14,258 5,975 41.9
1987 14,979 6,735 45.0
1989 15,603 7,259 46.5
1991 16,173 7,657 47.3
1992 16,437 7,770 47.3
1993 16,763 7,913 47.2
Male 1980 9,010 76.4
1985 13,295 9,617 72.3
1987 13,976 10,138 72.5
1989 14,614 10,716 73.3
1991 15,194 11,355 74.7
1992 15,415 11,615 75.3
1993 15,647 11,890 76.0
Source: Economic Planning Board, Annual Reports on the Economically Active Population, yearly reports. 1993 statistics are from National Office of Statistics, Korean Monthly Statistics, June 1994.
2-2. Women's employment by economic sector
Despite increases in women's economic participation, statistics show a marked decrease in the number of women workers in the manufacturing sector beginning in the late 1980's (See Table 2). The number of women manufacturing workers decreased by 6.9% in 1992, by 7.5% in the following year. Between 1989, when the number of women workers was highest, to 1993, the total rate of decline equalled 14.1%.
The reduction rate for women is also greater than that for men. Compared with the 6.9% decrease for women in 1992, the rate for men equalled 0.6% (National Office of Statistics, Korean Monthly Statistics, 1993). The number of women workers in the service sector rises markedly in the same period, increasing by 32% between 1989 and 1993.
There may be several reasons for these trends, but our report attempts to link reductions in manufacturing employment to industrial restructuring. As is documented later, it is difficult to comfortably conclude that women manufacturing workers are finding stable jobs in the expanding service sector.
<Table 3> Trends in Number of Employed Women by Employment Sector
unit: 1,000 workers; %)
Forestry, Mining & Service &
Year Total number agriculture, manufacturing infrastructure
fishing
1980 5,222 (100.0) 2,034 (39.0) 1,166 (22.3) 2.022 (38.7)
1985 5,833 (100.0) 1,619 (27.8) 1,356 (23.2) 2,858 (49.0)
1986 6,165 (100.0) 1,621 (26.3) 1,547 (25.1) 2,998 (48.6)
1987 6,613 (100.0) 1,607 (24.3) 1,862 (28.2) 3,144 (45.5)
1988 6,771 (100.0) 1,552 (22.9) 1,976 (29.2) 3,243 (47.9)
1989 7,121 (100.0) 1,542 (21.7) 2,067 (29.0) 3,512 (49.3)
1990 7,341 (100.0) 1,499 (20.4) 2,058 (28.0) 3,785 (51.5)
1991 7,507 (100.0) 1,396 (19.8) 2,064 (29.2) 4,047 (57.3)
1992 7,609 (100.0) 1,384 (18.2) 1,921 (25.2) 4,304 (56.6)
1993 7,710 (100.0) 1,311 (17.0) 1,776 (23.0) 4,623 (60.0)
Source: same as above
2-3. Women's employment by occupational type
Table 4 shows that among women manufacturing workers, the number of actual production workers is decreasing at a high rate in the 1990's as well; the rate of decline was 7.4% in 1992. This is in large contrast to the reduction rate for male workers, which totalled only 0.4%. The number of women workers in service sector jobs, as well as clerical and sales jobs, shows an increase.
<Table 4> Trends in Number of Employees by Job Type and Gender
(unit: 1000 workers, %)
Sex Yr All Specialized Clerical Sales Service Forestry, Prod-
skills & agric, uction
admin fishing
F 1991 7,507 635 1,033 1,287 1,298 1,393 1,861
(2.3) (12.9) (10.2) (3.5) (6.1) (-6.7) (-1.1)
1992 7,609 731 1,099 1,330 1,344 1,381 1,724
(1.4) (14.9) (6.4) (3.4) (3.6) (-0.9) (-7.4)
1993 7,956 750 1,211 1,464 1,467 1,498 1,565
M 1991 11,068 1,070 1,435 1,431 827 1,687 4,612
(3.5) (7.1) (2.5) (4.2) (5.5) (-5.0) (5.9)
1992 11,312 1,168 1,619 1,482 832 1,620 4,592
(2.2) (8.5) (12.9) (3.6) (0.6) (-4.0) (-0.4)
1993 11,677 1,251 1,684 1,660 932 1,577 4,573
Source: National Office of Statistics, Korean Monthly Statistics, monthly reports.
Note:
1) The figure in ( ) indicates the increase over the entire year.
2) Production jobs include transportation service and other miscellaneous work directly related to manufacturing.
3) 1993 statistics are based on a period of three-quarters of the ye ar.
2-4. Increase in married women workers in manufacturing
The late 1980's and early 1990's has also witnessed an increase in the number of married women workers. The table below indicates a significant increase in the proportion of married women workers from 13% to 42% between 1981 to 1992. The rate in 1992 is higher than that for all industries (37%).
As will be documented in later sections, this change has been largely due to an increase in subcontract work, arising in conjunction with industrial restructuring, and the decrease in the number of unmarried women in the sector. Subcontract production targets older, married women workers as it is increasingly concentrated in residential areas and carried out in tiny factories or home-based operations. When we consider that the table below represents a survey only of companies with over 10 employees, we can assume that the actual number of married women workers will be greater than the percentage cited.
<Table 5> Number of married women workers in manufacturing sector
(number of workers, %)
All industries Manufacturing
Total Unmarried Married Total Unmarried Married
1981 1,022,215 881,279 140,936 814,921 707,777 107,144
(100) (86) (14) (100) (87) (13)
1987 1,509,445 1,123,809 385,636 1,148,810 858,294 290,516
(100) (74) (26) (100) (75) (25)
1992 1,489,946 931,395 558,551 933,721 540,796 392,925
(100) (63) (37) (100) (58) (42)
Source: Ministry of Labor, Wage Survey Report by Occupation, yearly reports.
Note: Survey includes only companies with over 10 employees.
2-5. Educational level of women manufacturing workers
The educational level of women manufacturing workers has risen significantly in the 1980's. This is generally seen to indicate the rising overall educational standards in the society. This factor is important in considering the potential for more highly educated women workers to move into higher skilled jobs.
<Table 6> Number of women manufacturing workers by educational level
(unit: number of workers, % of total workers)
Educational level
Total Below junior High school College
high school graduate graduate
All industries 1981 1,022,215 731,220 257,602 13,075
(100) (72) (25) (1)
1987 1,509,445 751,507 659,308 42,352
(100) (50) (44) (3)
1992 1,489,946 502,828 825,790 86,288
(100) (34) (55) (6)
Manufacturing 1981 814,921 673,497 135,418 3,092
(100) (83) (17) (---)
1987 1,148,810 695,621 433,715 11,163
(100) (61) (38) (1)
1992 933,721 436,423 460,028v 20,744
(100) (47) (50) (2)
Source: Ministry of Labor, State of Companies and Labor Survey Report, yearly reports.
Note: Survey includes only companies with over 5 employees.
The statistics shown above outline several major trends in women's employment. First, women's overall economic participation rate is seen to be increasing. However, in the manufacturing sector, we see large-scale decreases of over 14% between the late 1980's and the present, and most of these decreases have occurred in production jobs. The number of married manufacturing workers is shown to be increasing, and educational attainment levels among manufacturing workers are also on the rise.
The following report aims to make the link between these trends in women's employment and the process of industrial restructuring in the manufacturing sector. We conclude that industrial restructuring has drastically reduced women's manufacturing jobs and has adversely reshaped the kinds of jobs available to women in the labor market.
CHAPTER III. INDUSTRIAL HISTORY:
GARMENT, SHOES, ELECTRONICS
This chapter provides brief background sketches of three key industries facing restructuring in the 1980's and 1990's. These industries -- garments, shoes, and electronics -- have the largest concentrations of women workers and hence, have impacted women's employment most during this period. The chapter offers a background to this report's main assertion that much of the reductions in women's employment beginning in the late 1980's have been a direct result of industrial decline among labor-intensive manufacturing industries where women have predominated.
3-1. Industrial history: Garment, shoes, and electronics
The industries studied in this report represent three major manufacturing industries that have been actively fostered by the government since the 1960's and 1970's. They all involve labor-intensive production that is predominantly carried out by women workers. This section aims to outline the general history of the industries' development, examining the major institutional factors that have influenced this development. These institutional factors will include government policies, international factors, and conditions of labor that have affected industrial growth or decline.
First, the active role of government policy in industrial growth is a common factor in the development of these three industries. The garment and shoe industries were fostered as light, labor-intensive manufacturing industries as part of Park, Chung Hee's First and Second Five-year Economic Development Plans (1962-66, 1967-71). Government assistance included restrictions on over-investment, funding for facilities upgrading, and various types of export promotion efforts. The overall objective of such plans was to expand export-oriented production of both industries.
Electronics production was also fostered as an export-oriented industry in the 1970's when the government began to restructure the economy towards heavy chemical industries. The Third Five-year Economic Development Plans (1971-76) and the Pronouncement on Heavy-Chemical Industry in 1973 specifically funded heavy chemical industries, and the First Eight-year Electronics Industry Promotion Plan (1969-76) directed financial and tax support towards the electronics industry in particular. Production during the 1970's was dominated by low-technology consumer electronics products like radio's, televisions, cooking ranges, and the like, while a readjustment of electronics production occurred in the early 1980's as the move towards more sophisticated semiconductor and computer products was first made.
In addition to government directives, the international division of labor has played a large role in determining the structure of production in all three industries. For the garment and shoe industries, this is indicated in the fact that 87% of garment production and 90% of shoe production is dependent on the so-called OEM subcontracting system (Kim, Hye-Lim 1993, p. 55). This arrangement has made Korean manufacturers into a subcontract producer for the First World offering the advantages of low wages and hence, low-cost production of goods.
Electronics production also depended heavily on the OEM system, through which Korean manufacturers essentially assembled consumer electronics goods at low cost and exported them to the First World. However, electronics has also relied, more than garments and shoes, on direct investment and offshore production by First World manufacturers. Because of imbalances in economic growth and the two oil shocks of the 1970's, First World countries like Japan and the U.S. began to restructure production towards more high-tech, military goods while shifting heavy chemicals production offshore to the Third World. To attract foreign capital through these offshore producers, the government enacted the Foreign Capital Investment Law in 1966, allowing 100 percent investment by foreign multinationals, and the Temporary Exemption Law in 1970, outlawing labor union activity in foreign companies. In 1973, the Masan Free Export Zone was created as a major center for electronics production by foreign multinationals. The entrance of foreign multinationals was dominated by Japanese firms in the 1970's, then by U.S. companies in the early 1970's (Cho, Mi Jin, A Study on Capital Mobility among Foreign Firms 10).
The third important factor in the growth of these three industries lay in the huge supplies of low-wage women's labor. The huge urbanization trend during the 1960's and 1970's is often seen to be largely a result of the government policy of lowering agricultural prices and sacrificing the countryside for urban, industrial growth. Massive numbers of young women workers entered urban areas in this period, making up the labor force for the major labor-intensive industries like the three studied in this report. The number of women manufacturing during 1960-80 rose sharply from 12,000 to 1,000,000 workers, an increase of 82% (Lee, Hyo-Chae, "Changing Profile," p. 340).
Working conditions during these twenty years were notably harsh as women, mostly living in large dormitories in industrial complexes, were often forced to carry out overtime and nighttime work at shockingly low wages. Average hours and pay rates can be seen in the following table:
<Table 7> Monthly income and working hours of women manufacturing workers,
1970-85
(unit: won, hours per month, %)
<Income>
All industries Garment Shoes Electronics
1970 17831 9974 -- 15213
(100) (56) (85)
1980 176058 97489 115297 134794
(100) (55) (65) (77)
1985 324283 178546 189508 266088
(100) (55) (58) (82)
<Hours>
All industries Garment Shoes Electronics
1970 224 233 -- 215
(100) (104) (96)
1980 224 243 231 218
(100) (108) (103) (97)
1985 226 242 245 222
(100) (107) (108) (98)
Source: Ministry of Labor, Labor Statistics Yearbook, 1993.
In terms of labor organization, the women's labor movement began to gain strength in the late 1970's through such well-known struggles as the fight against factory shutdown in Control Data (Japanese electronics multinational), the struggle against factory shutdown at the YH Wig factory, the struggle for democratic unions at Dong-Il Garment Company, and the fight for acknowledgment of industrial unions at Chung-Kye Garment Company.
Despite slight economic setbacks in the late 1970's and early 1980's, all three industries have grown rapidly in employment and production since the 1970's. The surprising rates of growth have made industrial decline in the late 1980's that much more severe for women workers. Growth trends are illustrated in the following tables:
<Table 8> Garment industry production employment trends, 1975-85
(unit: number, %)
No. factories No. workers M F % Female
1975 2742 145491 29739 115752 80
1977 2777 186135 41067 145068 78
1979 2799 164295 30980 133315 81
1981 2811 191931 33529 158402 83
1985 3964 215152 41241 173911 81
Source: Economic Planning Board, Survey of Mining and Manufacturing Industries, yearly reports.
<Table 9> Shoe industry production employment trends, 1975-1985
(unit: number, %)
No. factories No. workers M F % F
1975 192 11011 4916 6095 55
1977 192 18085 9068 9017 50
1979 272 19266 8087 11179 58
1981 308 22918 9650 13268 58
1985 460 26314 12678 13636 52
Source: same as above
<Table 10> Electronics industry production employment trends, 1975-1985
(unit: number, %)
No. factories No. workers M F % F
1975 640 115319 36255 79064 69
1977 1148 158970 51162 107808 68
1979 1360 187161 62857 124304 66
1980 1477 162387 54668 107719 66
1985 2563 219053 79447 139606 64
Source: same as above
Note: The following statistics classifications from the Korean Standard Industrial Classification (KSIC) are used to denote the electronics industry. For statistics before 1991, we have defined electronics as office machinery and apparatus (3825), video, audio, and communications equipment (3832), consumer electrical equipment (3833), precision instruments (385), and parts (3834). After 1991, the codes changed, but the classifications remained the same.
3-2. Period of structural decline: Late 1980's to present
We have seen that growth in all three industries has been largely based on low-cost, labor-intensive, export-oriented production. During the period from the late 1980's to the present, these industries encountered various domestic and international factors that made this type of production less feasible; this crisis in production in turn sparked the push towards industrial restructuring. Restructuring in this period is given particular attention, for it is often seen to be a fundamental reorganization of manufacturing production to an extent not seen since the 1970's.
Changes in international conditions played a key role in creating this crisis for Korean manufacturing. First, the rise in the won exchange rate in the late 1980's made Korean exports less competitive abroad and hurt export-dependent industries. Increased protectionism in the First World also made Korean exports more expensive. In particular, exporting through the OEM international subcontracting system was made more difficult in 1985 when the U.S. abolished its favored tariff treatment for OEM-produced goods. Perhaps most significantly, the entrance of countries like Southeast Asia and China into the international economy created intense price competition for Korean products. These conditions are have created a crisis for Korean manufacturing, whose role in the international division of labor has depended on labor-intensive, low-cost, export-oriented production.
Important shifts in domestic conditions also brought about a crisis in labor-intensive production. Some analyses point to imbalances between small/medium-sized and large companies as a reason for industrial decline. More visible, however, was the large wage increases in the manufacturing sector during this period, averaging 17% a year, which made it difficult to produce low-cost exports.1 In addition, the eruption of large-scale labor and democratization movements in 1987 resulted in increased labor union organization in the late 1980's; many studies point to the strenthened labor movement as a factor in the push towards industrial restructuring. Third, decreases in overall population, as well as the number of workers migrating from the countryside, have created labor shortages for some manufacturing industries. However, while this labor shortage has received much public attention, it is important to note that it has not lessened the impacts of unemployment as a result of restructuring. The seeming paradox between unemployment and labor supply shortage will be clarified in later sections.
As a result of these various factors, manufacturing production dependent on exports and labor-intensive, low-cost production faced a crisis in growth. These industries have tended to be light manufacturing industries developed during the 1960's and 1970's. The following employment figures show significant decreases in women's employment in the garment, shoe, and electronics industries beginning in the late 1980's:
<Table 11> Garment industry production employment trends, 1987-92
(unit: number, %)
Total no. Total no. Male Female % Female
factories production production production
workers workers workers
1987 5111 238973 50760 188213 79
1989 6497 225286 50689 174597 78
1990 6561 197355 45839 151516 77
1991 6507 167076 39063 128013 77
1992 6573 162913 38389 124524 76
% increas +28.6 -31.8 -24.4 -33.8
(1987-1992)
Source: Economic Planning Board, Survey of Mining and Manufacturing Industries, yearly reports.
Note: The report is a nationwide survey of companies with over 5 employees.
<Table 12> Shoe industry production employment trends, 1987-92
(unit: number, %)
Total no. Total no. Male Female
factories production production production
workers workers workers % F
1987 638 31957 14825 17132 54
1989 704 26897 13091 13806 51
1990 742 23279 10942 12337 53
1991 1740 127625 44755 82870 65
199 1620 94224 31386 62838 67
% increase
1987-90 +16.3 -27.2 -26.2 -28.0
1991-92 -6.9 -26.2 -30.0 -24.2
Source: Economic Planning Board, Survey of Mining and Manufacturing Industries, yearly reports.
Note: The large differences in employment before and after 1991 are due to a change in statistical classification. The industry was categorized as 324 in the past and included all shoes, excluding plastic and rubber shoes. After 1991, number 192 was used, and the category included all leather, plastic, and rubber shoes.
<Table 13> Electronics industry production employment trends, 1987-92
(unit: number, %)
Total no. Total no. Male Female % Female
factories production production production
workers workers workers
1987 4067 354088 132998 221090 62
1989 5544 327827 128403 199424 61
1990 5993 317985 125868 192117 60
1991 5955 274869 116609 158260 58
1992 6079 257963 114970 142993 55
% inc +49.5 -27.1 -13.6 -35.3
(87-92)
Source: Economic Planning Board, Survey of Mining and Manufacturing Industries, yearly reports.
Hence, significant decreases have occurred in the employment in these industries. These reductions have disproportionately impacted women; most notably, the rate of decrease in women production workers in the electronics industry (35.3%) is almost three times that for men (13.6%) between 1987-1992.
Moreover, we can see that labor-intensive, mostly light manufacturing industries when we compare the above figures to those of other industries. Women's total manufacturing employment decreased by only 4.6% (see table 3) over the same period. Also, between 1987-1990, total production employment (male and female) in the automobile and steel industries decreased by 0.9% and 1.2% respectively (Korean Statistics Association, in Korean Employers Federation, p. 37). The corresponding rates for the garment, shoe, and electronics industries are 17.4%, 27.2%, and 10.2%.
This section has delineated the basic history of development of the three industries, garment, shoes, and electronics, studied in this report. It has also shown that the period of restructuring beginning in the late 1980's has brought international pressures for labor-intensive, low-cost manufacturers producing for the export market. The industries most affected have been traditional, light manufacturing industries like garment and shoes, while labor-intensive processes of the electronics industry have also been impacted. The ways in which the state and capital have responded to this crisis, as well as the impacts of this restructuring on women workers, are explained in the following sections.
CHAPTER IV. CONTENT OF RESTRUCTURING:
LATE 1980'S TO PRESENT
4-1. Government policies
<INDUSTRIAL POLICY>
The Korean state has traditionally played a significant role in determining the direction and method of economic development, directly controlling major banking institutions and selecting certain industries for concentrated investment. State policies in the past have basically focused on "heightening" or upgrading the industrial structure, essentially meaning that it has encouraged production that has required more technology and capital. For example, the last major industrial restructuring push, which occurred during the Park, Chung Hee regime in the 1970's, represented an attempt to move the economy from light (wigs, textiles, gar | | |