1960년대의 포항종합제철건설과정에서의 일본의 협력

Japan’s Cooperation in the Construction of Pohang Iron and Steel Company in the 1960s

Purpose: This paper examines the background surrounding the economic cooperation, including the Japan Claims Fund and loans, for the construction of the Pohang Iron and Steel Company during the early days of heavy and chemical industrialization under the Park Chung-hee regime in the 1960s, and the situation in which key figures, including those in politics and business, cooperated despite the Japanese government’s concerns about economic rationality at the time. Research design, data, and methodology: The history of the development of Pohang Iron and Steel Co is similar to that of korea-Japan relations. Diplomatic relations were established at the Korea-Japan summit in 1965, and claims were received from Japan, but the construction of the integrated steelworks was planned to be carried out through a loan from the Korea International Steel Industry Association (KISA), which was a developed country other than Japan. However, KISA opposed the construction of the steelworks due to the issue of profitability, and the Korean government had no choice but to choose Japan, and the alternative was to use the funds for claims against Japan. Results: Among the many developing countries that were born after the Second World War, Mexico, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and other countries became members of the OECD club of developed countries at the same time, but Korea is the only country that has sufficient international competitiveness in the steel, automobile, and shipbuilding machinery industries to be on par with the G7.This was made possible by the heavy chemical industrialization plan that was strongly promoted in the 1970s, and the establishment and construction of Pohang Iron and Steel Co, an integrated steelworks, made this possible. The construction of Pohang Iron and Steel Co led to the early stage of the heavy chemical industry, which is the core of Korea’s economic development, and led to economic growth. From this perspective, the establishment of Pohang Iron and Steel Co, an integrated steelworks, in Korea was an important process that decorated one of the trends in the world known as the Miracle of the Han River, and the normalization of diplomatic relations between Korea and Japan (1965) and the funds for claims against Japan, which changed the course of international politics in East Asia in the 1960s, were important factors. Implications: The success of Pohang Iron and Steel Co was only possible thanks to Park Chung-hee’s tenacity and Park Tae-jun’s legendary ability, but in fact it would have been virtually impossible without the cooperation of the Japanese government, Japanese bureaucrats, politicians, and Japanese businesspeople in the use of the funds for claims against Japan. The purpose of this study is to look back on the history of Korea-Japan relations in the 1960s, and to examine the establishment of the Claims Fund against Japan, which emerged along with the normalization of diplomatic relations between Korea and Japan, which was positioned within the path of the two countries, and the establishment of Pohang Iron and Steel Co, which was established specifically as part of the Claims Fund against Japan.