Miracle on the Han River brief compared to other countries who experienced similar situations. Chaebol refers to corporate groups in South Korea, mainly run by families, that exercise monopolist or oligopolist control over product lines and industries. They can be compared with conglomerates of the United States and the Zaibatsu of Japan. Sometimes the Korean military itself is considered a chaebol. During the industrialization period of South Korea, President Park Chung-hee supported the rise of chaebol groups, facilitating the growth of these groups in order to trigger economic growth. Inside the operations of chaebol groups, there are many branches that family members control and operate.
Trade policy of South Korea of luxury goods increased including high tech and electronics products which reduced exports which resulted in Korea's trade deficit and current account deficit. In mid-1990's Korea reduced tariff rates and import restriction on autos, high tech products and financial services. South Korea and the Asian Financial Crisis Korean Banks and Chaebol borrowed heavily from the foreign banks on a short-term basis. The money was taken to fund investment in the industries at the encouragement of the government. The heavy reliance on the short term foreign loans led the Korean economy to suffer from the currency crisis, as foreign reserves were