Chaebol (from chae: wealth or property + pŏl: faction or clan) refers to a South Korean form of business conglomerate. They are global multinationals owning numerous international enterprises. The term is often used in a context similar to that of the English word "conglomerate". The term was first used in 1984.

There are several dozen large Korean family-controlled corporate groups which fall under this definition. Through aggressive governmental support and finance^{[citation needed]}, some have become well-known international brand names, such as Samsung, Hyundai and LG.

The chaebol has also played a significant role in South Korean politics. In 1988 a member of a chaebol family, Chung Mong-jun, president of Hyundai Heavy Industries, successfully ran for the National Assembly. Other business leaders also were chosen to be members of the National Assembly through proportional representation. Since 2000, Hyundai has played a role in the thawing of North Korean and South Korean relations.^{[citation needed]}

Park Chung-hee (September 30, 1917 – October 26, 1979) was a Republic of Korea Army general and the President of South Korea from 1961 to 1979.

Park seized power in a military-led coup d'état and ruled as an unelected military strongman until his formal election as president in 1963, a post he held for 16 years until his assassination on October 26, 1979.

Park has been credited with the industrialization and rapid economic growth of South Korea through export-oriented industrialization. Despite this, Park remains a controversial figure in South Korean history due to his authoritarian way of ruling the country, particularly after 1971.

In 1999, Park was named by Time magazine as being one of the top ten "Asians of the Century".

Today, Park's legacy is split between those who credit his role in rebuilding war-ravaged South Korea after the devastating Korean War, to those who fervidly condemn his authoritarian policies, particularly those implemented after 1971.

Park Chung-hee was born on September 30, 1917, in Gumi-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do during a time when Korea was under Japanese rule. His father was Park Seong-bin (age 46 at the time) and his mother was Baek Nam-hui (age 45). His eldest brother was Park Dong-hee (age 22); second brother was Park Mu-hee (age 19); eldest sister was Park Gwi-hee (age 15); third brother was Park Sang-hee (age 11); fourth brother was Park Han-saeng (age 7); and his youngest sister was Park Jae-hee (age 5).

Mushtaq Husain Khan is a heterodox economist and Professor of Economics at the School of Oriental and African Studies(SOAS), University of London. His work focusses on the economics of poor countries; it includes notable contributions to the field of institutional economics and South Asian development.

Educated as an exhibitioner at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, Khan graduated with a first-class BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics in 1981. In 1982, he received his MPhil from King's College, Cambridge, where he would completed a PhD in 1989.

From 1990 to 1996, Khan was both Fellow and Lecturer in Economics at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge and Assistant Director of Development Studies at Cambridge, a prestigious post held by, among others, John Toye (economist) and Ha-Joon Chang. In 1996, Khan took up a post at SOAS, where he was made a Professor in 2005.

Apart from his academic career, Khan has held appointments as consultant for a vast number of international institutions focussing on poor countries, among others the World Bank, DfID, UNDP and the Asian Development Bank; moreover, he has held positions as Visiting Professor at Chulalongkorn and Dhaka Universities. Several of his articles have won prizes such as the Hans Singer Prize or the Frank Cass Prize. In addition, he is a regular commentator to the BBC's Bengali service broadcasts.