South Korea’s Future Place in the Economy (“The World Factbook”)

Current Situation: South Korea’s economy now has hit a plateau, so their future economic growth will

depend on the redefining and

restructuring of their economic policy,

by possibly “encouraging promoting by merit

innovation and entrepreneurship,

rather than seniority and opening the door

to immigrants” (Ramstad).

(Conerly)

Strengths -

has had quick growing economy (Conerly).

-

increase in newer technology, industrialization (Forsberg).

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big market in exports (Conerly).

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People look up to their technology and their growth from exports and use them as an example (fastest broadband connection in the world) (Forsberg).

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Very innovative– building Songdo, the “city of the future”= green +high tech (Day).

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Beat out china and japan because they sell things cheaper

(Day)

Challenges -

Threat of North Korea

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Europe’s debt crisis is greatly affecting Korea’s exports (Seo)

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Government is too involved with economy and is supporting the big “chaebol” companies who do not need help ("South Korea's Industrial")

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Stuck on Confucian values

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Value of won decreasing (Conerly).

(“South Korea’s Industrial”)

Challenges cont… -

Job Conflicts (High Unemployment among the educated) -

Not enough people to for jobs– low birthrate and aging population (Ramstad). Lack of women in the workforce because of culture (Ramstad). People are not applying to lower-paying/ lower- skilled jobs (Ramstad). Rare permanent immigration bc work law only them permits them to stay at Korean- own companies for 5 years (Ramstad).

(Ramstad)

Future Position in the World Economy? Currently South Korea has the… 15th best economy in the world $25,255 per capita income 6% annual growth, soon to be 3- 4.5% South Korea wants to have… by 2018 World’s 7th largest economy $40,000 per capita income

(“South Korea’s Industrial”)

7% annual growth If they have more productivity improvements and greater employment of women and the elderly, South Korea may reach their targeted goal (Ramstad).

("The World Factbook")

What Korea Plans on Doing… -

Korea plans on introducing 9 new innovative technologies, one being Wi-Bro, to help raise the Korean gross domestic product to $20,000 per capita from $12,600 in 2003 (Forsberg).

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Expanding their technological experience to other countries, starting with the United States (Forsberg).

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South Korean President Lee Myung-bak acknowledges that there needs to be reform of the social norms, practices, and traditions in order to advance and believes they should try and change (Ramstad).

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Making inroads in to other emerging markets such as India (Seo).

(Arnoldy)

Suggestions from Other Observers… -

Focus on smaller companies

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- Stop investing in “zombie” and bankrupt firms (Noland) Needs to promote merit instead of seniority (Ramstad)

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Allow more immigration (Ramstad).

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Keep up with the consumer boom (Noland).

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Korean government needs to stop micromanaging the economy ("South Korea's industrial")

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Slow growth rate, prevent further inflation

(dkpopnews.net)

Thank YOU!

(“The World Factbook”)

Work Cited Conerly, Bill. “South Korea Economic Forecast, 2012-2013: A Business Perspective.” Forbes 27 Dec. 2011: n. pag. Forbes. Web. 6 May 2012. . Day, James. “Songdo in South Korea leading charge to become city of the future.” Metro 10 Jan. 2012: n. pag. Metro UK. Web. 1 May 2012. . Forsberg, Birgitta. “The future is South Korea - Tech firms try out latest in world’s most wired society.” San Francisco Chronicle 13 Mar. 2005: n. pag. SFGate. Web. 8 May 2012. . Levitt, Aaron. “Keep An Eye On South Korea.” Investopedia. Investopedia ULC, 15 Sept. 2010. Web. 1 May 2012. . Noland, Marcus. “Economic Reform in South Korea: An Unfinished Legacy.” Peterson Institute for International Economics© Peterson Institute for International Economics. Peterson Institute for International Economics, 6 Apr. 2002. Web. 4 May 2012. . Ramstad, Evan. “The Miracle is Over. Now what?” The Wall Street Journal 8 Nov. 2010: n. pag. The Wall Street Journal. Web. 3 May 2012. . Seo, Eunkyung. “S. Korea Trims Growth Forecast on Europe Woes.” Bloomberg Businessweek 16 Apr. 2012: n. pag. Bloomberg Businessweek- News from Bloomberg. Web. 9 May 2012. . “South Korea’s industrial giants- The chaebol conundrum.” The Economist 31 Mar. 2010: n. pag. The Economist. Web. 9 May 2012. . “The World Factbook- Korea, South.” Central Intelligence Agency. Central Intelligence Agency, 26 Apr. 2012. Web. 8 May 2012. .