As the world's 13th largest economy, Korea has emerged as a success story in many ways. In 2007, Korea's trade volume amounted to US$728 billion, ranking 11th in the world. Korea also has the fourth largest foreign reserves. Despite high oil prices, the strong won and rising raw material prices, the Korean economy is growing at a healthy pace.
Hyundai Motor SUVs waiting for shipping in the nation's southeastern port Ulsan
As a major auto manufacturer, Korea produces over 3.8 million vehicles annually. Since Korea first started exporting cars in 1976, the nation's auto industry has developed at a remarkable speed. Riding on the increased popularity of Korean automobiles all over the world, leading Korean car companies have begun extending manufacturing bases to overseas locations.
* Leading Traders, 2006 [Unit: US$ billion]
* Source: World Trade Organization
With almost 11% of the global market share, Korea's semiconductor sector is at the forefront of the industry, particularly in terms of flash memory and DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory). As of 2006, Korea's DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) ranked first in the world, with a remarkable 49% market share. Equally impressive were the flash memory chips, which took up 63% of global markets.
Looking back, the direction of Korea's industrial policy changed significantly every decade or so, helping to drive the economy toward a brighter and more prosperous future. From the 1960s, Korea started to promote exports by enacting relevant laws and regulations and establishing export-oriented development plans. The heavy chemical industry was the center of the nation's industrial policy in the 1970s and there was industrial restructuring in the 1980s. The restructuring was aimed at promoting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Hyundai car plant in India
Since 2000, innovation has topped the national agenda. To bring about more innovation into the industries, Korea is promoting business-friendly policies as well as policies enhancing cooperation between large companies and SMEs.
Korea's main emphasis is concentrated on stimulating the nation's growth engines and upgrading its industrial structure. To do so, Korea aims to further develop its components and materials sector and the knowledge-based service sector.
Having reached a successful free trade agreement with the U.S., Korea now hopes to explore other mutually beneficial pacts with its trading partners. This will pave the way for Korea to become truly integrated with the global economy. One way to become an active player on the global stage is to have more Korean companies invest and take part in overseas business ventures.
