# 민간 차원의 자발적인 경제 활동



## 82riceballs

Hi all,

I have a question about the following sentence:
경제활동에 정부가 지나치게 개입하여 민간 차원의 자발적인 경제 활동이 위축되고, 정경 유착을 비롯한 여러 가지 폐단을 낳기도 하였따. 

How would you translate the red text or explain it to a foreigner?

Naver dic says that 민간 차원 usually means "nongovernmental" or "private sector." So I would just translate it as "spontaneous nongovernmental/private sector activities." However, I was a little confused by this statement, because I know that the the Korean government helped out very large private enterprises, the 재벌. So are 재벌 not considered 민간 차원의 자발적인 경제 활동? If so, is this because they are perceived to be basically governmental???

Any help is appreciated- thank you!


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## Environmentalist

Hi, Riceballs.

From the viewpoint of the Korean way of writing, 민간 차원의 자발적인 경제 활동 can refer to the whole economic activities in the private sector. I don't think 자발적인 is necessary in the sentence because no one is fundamentally forced to be invloved in the free market system, but I guess it is just another way to put in.

I'm surprised you already know much about the Korean society as you mentioned 재벌. I should be very careful to say this, but the Korean government has formed kind of collusive or cooperative relationships with 재벌s. They are, of course, part of the private sector as they perform their own economic activities to yield a lot of revenues even though they have some furtive connections with government officials or organizations. From the government's perspective, 재벌s could be very important because they play a significant role in Korean economy and are arguably key drivers to level up the whole economic situation in the country. I wouldn't say the Korean government has just helped 재벌s, but I would say the govenment has actively supported them. This can be seen as a government's big intervention in the private sector, but it is way different from what we know about the government's intervention in economic system.

I understand it could be hard for you to understand this type of situation. Easily put in, most 재벌s bootstrapped themselves in early stage and they received consistent and favorable support from the Korean government (in the form of policies or regulations and so forth) to make their company bigger and bigger.

You can ask more questions.
Good day.


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## 82riceballs

Wow, thanks so much for your very illuminating explanation!

So in terms of 민간, would you say that most Koreans do not consider 재벌 to be 민간 기업?


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## Environmentalist

That could be where most foreigners get confused.
재벌, they unquestionably are players in the private sector.
The tricky part is that most of them have benefitted from the government.
Since the 60s and 70s, Korean government has devised some plans in favor of particular private companies by giving them some business or financial incentives.
This enabled the companies to grow exponentially to make a huge conglomerate and the owner (or the entrepreneur) here is the so-called 재벌.
You might have heard of crony capitalism.
The entire business environment revolving around 재벌s can be described as the concept of crony capitalism.
To dumb it down, they made friends with the government and got lots of support.
So, 재벌s are considered 민간 기업, but have a very close relationship with the government.
This is actually one of the main criticisms of 재벌 because the relationship is likely to lead to corruption.

Any question?


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