The Rise and Fall of Anti-Corruption in North Korea

• Published in: Journal of East Asian studies Vol. 22; no. 1; pp. 147 - 168
• Main Author: Carothers, Christopher
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, USA Cambridge University Press 01.03.2022; 동아시아연구원
• Subjects: Authoritarianism; Beliefs, opinions and attitudes; Bribery; Campaigns; Corruption; Dictators; Digital archives; Discontent; Economic crisis; Economic development; Forecasts and trends; Government regulation; Kim Il Sung; Kim Jong-Il; Korean War; Laws, regulations and rules; North Korea; Political activity; Political aspects; Political corruption; Politics; Postwar reconstruction; Powers and duties; Presidents; Presidents (Government); 지역학; North Korea; corruption; anti-corruption campaign; North Korea; Kim Il-sung; authoritarian regimes
• ISSN: 1598-2408; 2234-6643; 2234-6643
• DOI: 10.1017/jea.2021.38

North Korea is widely seen as having among the most corrupt governments in the world. However, the Kim family regime has not always been so accepting of government wrongdoing. Drawing on archival evidence, this study shows that Kim Il-sung saw corruption as a threat to economic development and launched campaigns to curb it throughout the 1950s. I find that these campaigns were at least somewhat successful, and they contributed to post-Korean War reconstruction and rapid development afterwards. So when and why did the regime shift from combating corruption to embracing it? I argue that changes in the country's economic system following the crisis of the 1990s, especially de facto marketization, made corruption more beneficial to the regime both as a source of revenue and as an escape valve for public discontent. This study's findings contribute to our understanding of the politics of corruption control in authoritarian regimes.