Korea’s chaebol reform a rare bonus for bankers

South Korea’s chaebols are a throwback. Tangled and powerful, they date from the country’s efforts to bolster industrial growth in the aftermath of the civil war. Under tight family control and swept up on a wave of exporting success that has lasted on and off for half a century, they are everywhere. And they are also out-of-date, stifling growth and entrepreneurship, where once they drove it.

The idea of reforming these huge conglomerates is nothing new.