한국 신발산업의 공동화: 글로벌 상품사슬의 재편과 그 함의

The framework of global commodity chains can provide a new angle on the problems of the inter-firm networks and the governance of those networks which has expanded beyond the boundary of the nation-states. The de-industrialization of the Korean footwear industry can be understood as a process of disconnecting from the global commodity chains of the footwear industry. The buyer-driven commodity chains of the global footwear industry were established in mid-1970s. The Korean footwear industry was incorporated into the global commodity chains in 1970s and became one of the largest producer of the world in 1980s. But the brand-owning major buyers such as Nike, Reebok forced the Korean footwear companies to move their production facilities to China and Southeast Asia, which brought about the hollowing out of the Korean footwear industry. A few Korean companies tried to upgrade their position in the global commodity chains through developing their own brand. But they could not succeed because they were lacking in the knowledge necessary for the products renovation. Some new Korean production partners of Nike appeared in mid-1990s and succeeded in partial upgrading within the global commodity chains, but could not free themselves from the OEM structure. As the Korean footwear industry suffered hollowing out and reorganizing in 1990s, the average employment size of the footwear companies became smaller and the composition of workers changed rapidly at the same time. Both the proportions of the self-employed and of the unpaid family workers have increased. The proportion of the female workers has decreased, but the proportion of the female workers in their forties or fifties has increased.