?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=Elite+Control+through+Marriage+over+Institutional+Change&rft.creator=Kim%2C+Francis+D&rft.creator=Raj%2C+Prateek&rft.description=Economic+inequality+remains+a+persistent+and+widely+studied+issue+in+the+social+sciences.+South+Korea+provides+a+striking+example+where+the+top+23+business+groups%2C+controlled+by+ultra-wealthy%2C+family-owned+conglomerates+(chaebols)%2C+have+maintained+significant+economic+persistence+and+resisted+outsider+entry%2C+even+amidst+the+disruptive+forces+of+the+21st-century+digital+age.+This+study+sheds+light+on+how+chaebol+families+have+strategically+evolved+their+use+of+marriage+alliances+as+a+key+channel+to+political+networks%2C+significantly+shaping+the+dynamics+of+elite+influence+over+time.+In+the+pre-democratic+era%2C+chaebols+often+formed+marriages+with+politicians+to+strengthen+their+influence+and+boost+corporate+value.+For+example%2C+the+2024+divorce+between+SK+Group%E2%80%99s+Chey+Tae-won+and+Roh+So-young%2C+daughter+of+former+President+Roh+Tae-woo%2C+highlights+how+such+alliances+helped+secure+key+advantages%2C+like+SK%E2%80%99s+telecom+permit+in+the+1980s+(BBC+News%2C+2024.5).+However%2C+marriages+with+other+elites+or+commoners+didn%E2%80%99t+provide+the+same+benefits.+Contrary+to+the+perspective+presented+by+The+Economist+(2015.4)+that+such+practices+among+Korean+chaebols+are+enduring%2C+this+study+finds+that+blood-based+alliances+between+politicians+and+elite+businessmen+was+a+temporal%2C+institution-specific+strategy+that+have+largely+disappeared+in+the+democratic+era.+As+South+Korea+transitioned+to+a+more+liberalized+regime%2C+the+frequency+of+these+political+marriages+has+drastically+declined%2C+as+confirmed+by+our+analysis.+Instead%2C+chaebol+families+have+adapted+by+leveraging+elite+marriages+within+their+own+business+circles+to+sustain+family+control+over+top+business+groups.+These+practices+have+ensured+their+continued+economic+dominance+while+limiting+outsider+entry+into+their+exclusive+networks.+This+study+documents+the+evolution+of+marriage+alliances+as+a+critical+mechanism+through+which+chaebols+have+navigated+changing+institutional+landscapes%2C+maintaining+their+entrenched+economic+power+despite+shifting+political+and+social+conditions.&rft.publisher=Stigler+Center+for+the+Study+of+the+Economy+and+the+State%2C+University+of+Chicago&rft.date=2025-01&rft.type=Working+%2F+discussion+paper&rft.language=eng&rft.source=++++(Stigler+Center+New+Working+Paper+Series++354).+Stigler+Center+for+the+Study+of+the+Economy+and+the+State%2C+University+of+Chicago%3A+Chicago%2C+IL%2C+USA.+(2025)+++++&rft.format=text&rft.identifier=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscovery.ucl.ac.uk%2Fid%2Feprint%2F10205522%2F1%2F354Kim2020PrateekWorking20Paper2025115pdf.pdf&rft.identifier=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscovery.ucl.ac.uk%2Fid%2Feprint%2F10205522%2F&rft.rights=open