At the turn of the 1980s, the government attempted a drastic change in policy directions.
A “growth-first” strategy was replaced by “consolidating growth on the basis of stability.” “Private sector-led” rather than “government-led” growth was emphasized. In particular, price stabilization was pursued with contractionary policies, banks were privatized, and competition policy was strengthened. These attempts, however, were only half successful in redefining the respective roles of government and the private sector.
Source : SaKong, Il and Koh, Youngsun, 2010. The Korean Economy Six Decades of Growth and Development. Seoul: Korea Development Institute.
