Editing Openai/684c8efd-d510-8009-9dd1-58649bff873c (section)

===== - A member of the OECD, WTO, and IMF, =====
* Aligned with the U.S. militarily and economically,
* Dominated by chaebols (massive private conglomerates) like Samsung, Hyundai, LG, etc.

So yes: South Korea is capitalist, and the majority of its economy is privately owned. However — and this is where nuance comes in — it still maintains a significant number of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), especially in:
* Infrastructure (Korail, Korea Expressway Corp),
* Utilities (KEPCO for electricity, KOGAS for gas),
* Banking and finance (Korea Development Bank, Industrial Bank of Korea),
* Housing (Korea Land & Housing Corporation),
* Health and pensions (National Health Insurance Service, National Pension Service).

These SOEs exist alongside capitalism, not in place of it — and are often highly corporatized and efficiency-driven. Importantly:

: