Pushing Ahead with Reform in Korea : Labour Market and Social Safety net Policies At the end of 1997 Korea was hit by a major financial and economic crisis which resulted among other things in a huge rise in unemployment. The event caught the country’s labour and social institutions unprepared so that many workers and their families were hit hard. The economy has now turned the corner. This book shows that government labour and social policies together with improved basic workers’ rights have helped minimise the costs of the crisis while also contributing to overcome it. However this book also highlights the need for further actions in these areas in order to pave the way for a healthy socially sustainable economic performance and argues the case that the momentum of reform should not be slowed.