Chaebol the claim that in order to be a competitive economy more power must be given to the chaebol. In recent years, the leading political parties of South Korea have reversed their pro-large corporate stance to one of economic diversification. Under Kim Dae-Jung and in the wake of the 1997 Asian Financial crisis, many reforms were made to the chaebol. Most of these changes pertained to corporate structure, transparency in financial reporting, corporate governance, and debt stabilization. In 1997, the IMF provided a bailout loan of $60 billion conditional on revision. Distressed financial institutions were to be closed down and those
Propaganda in South Korea of attacks by North Korea including the sinking of the South Korean navy frigate, ROKS "Cheonan". Popular South Korean films often show reunification themes with friendships or family ties across the north and south division. The film "Joint Security Area" (2000) was the highest grossing Korean film up to that time. The movie depicted a friendship between soldiers from the north and south along the DMZ. The popular war movie, "Tae Guk Gi", from 2004 depicted close brothers divided as they are caught in the Korean War. South Korea broadcasts radio messages toward North Korea with news and propaganda themes.