Korean HR Policies
Korean HR Policies
Eun-Suk Lee*
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts, U.S.A.
Seongsu Kim**
Seoul National University
Seoul, Korea
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to review major changes in the HR system
in Korea and to suggest five propositions that need to be studied for
better understanding of the configuration of performance-based HR
system in Korea. The HR system in Korea went through great
transformations after the financial crisis in the late 1990s. The
performance-based HR system, which many Korean companies
currently claim to have, is thought to have originated from the notion of
so-called best practices of leading U.S. companies. In the framework of
best practices, there is one universal HR practice set that can be applied
to any situations. Although Korea maintained much of its unique
organizational culture and HR practices, Korea also modified its HR
system after the best practices to a great extent.
By understanding the similarities and differences between the
performance-based HR system and best practices, we will be able to
better understand the current Korean HR system. In this study we call
for empirical work on the changing configuration of HR system in Korea.
We suggest five propositions that will be crucial in understanding the
similarities and differences between the performance-based HR system
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INTRODUCTION
Many Korean firms went through fundamental changes in their
management paradigms, systems and practices since the
financial crisis in late 1990s. Like other managerial functions,
human resource management (HRM) in Korea has changed
greatly right after the financial crisis began. The direction of
changes in Korean HR system was toward performance-based
HRM. The concept of performance-based HRM is characterized
by the mechanism in which HR practices such as performance
appraisal, promotion or compensation are tightly linked to
individual or group performance. This concept is contrasted with
the traditional seniority-based HR system where job security is
emphasized and promotion and remuneration rules depend
basically on seniority.
Performance-based HRM is thought to have originated from the
notion of so-called best practices, which mainly originate from
the U.S. companies and are becoming the model for a great
number of companies in the world (Rowley and Bae 2002). In the
framework of best practices, there is one universal HR practice
set which can be applied to any situations, which ensures high
performance (Arthur 1992, 1994; Huselid 1993; MacDuffie 1995;
Delaney and Huselid 1996; Ichniowski et al. 1997; Pfeffer 1994,
1998). With the trend of globalization, best practices have
obtained a wider logical foundation for application in global
dimension, and the recent HR changes in Korean firms also owe
their main direction to this trend. However, while U.S.-type best
practices are said to be popular among Korean firms, it should
be noted that the unique social and cultural contexts in a
country have influence on the adoption and activation of new HR
practices. Especially, considering the contrast between
traditional seniority based-HRM and new performance-based
HRM in Korean firms, it is expected that current form of Korean
firms performance-based HRM would contain various unique
aspects that reflect characteristics from both practices.
have Ho-bong table (pay table that reflects seniority). Also the
fixed wage determined with Ho-bong table occupies as much as
65.7% in total wage. These practices show that seniority still
matters in Korean firms compensation practices (Jung et al.,
2003).
In 2005, 48.4% of firms had adopted Yeon-bong je and 32.1%
of firms have some form of group-based, performance-based pay
system (Kim 2006). Also adoption of these performance-related
pay system was found to be related to increases in labor
productivity. Therefore, it is expected that these performancerelated pay system will gain more popularity among Korean firms
over time (Kim 2006). Whether the increased use of performancerelated pay systems in Korea is related with increased sales,
profits, or other financial performance indicators is an important
research issue, but there seems to be a lack of studies in this
area.
Evaluation. Related to the expansion of performance-based
compensation, performance evaluation is another area that went
through substantial changes in Korea. Traditionally, evaluation
was not quite important under the seniority-based compensation
system, and it was mainly used for the promotion decision.
However, Korean firms began to apply evaluation results to both
employee development and compensation decision. Management
by objectives (MBO) plays a key role for the evaluation of
individual performance, which applies to both compensation
decision and individual development in Korean firms. The
adoption rate of MBO rapidly increased from 35.0% in 1998 to
49.0% in 2000 (Yu, Park, and Kim 2001). Also, most of the
Korean companies make use of both performance appraisal and
competency appraisal in HR decision-making. For decisions
related to compensation and promotion, the result of
performance appraisal plays a more important role, and
concerning individual development, that of competency appraisal
is more important (Park and No 2001). Additionally, more and
more Korean firms are adopting 360-degree appraisal and
feedback system. In particular, upward appraisal has seen
increased adoption for compensation decision and leadership
development (Yu, Park, and Kim 2001).
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Best practices
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CONCLUSION
In this study we reviewed major changes in the HR system in
Korea and suggested five propositions that need to be studied for
better understanding of the configuration of performance-based
HR system in Korea. The HR system in Korea went through great
transformations after the financial crisis in the late 1990s.
Specifically, the performance-based HRM in Korea has become
closer to the U.S.-type best practices. In the framework of best
practices, there is one universal HR practice set which can be
applied to any situations, which is thought to lead to high
performance. With the trend of globalization, best practices have
obtained a wider logical foundation for application in global
dimension, and the recent HR changes in Korean firms also owe
their main direction to this trend. Although Korea maintained
much of its unique organizational culture and HR practices,
Korea has also modified its HR system after the best practices.
However, while U.S.-type best practices are said to be popular
among Korean firms, it should be noted that the unique social
and cultural contexts in a country have influence on the
adoption and activation of new HR practices. Especially,
considering the contrast between traditional seniority basedHRM and new performance-based HRM in Korean firms, it is
expected that current form of Korean firms performance-based
HRM would contain various unique aspects that reflect
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