Korea Rises to 27th in Competitive Power

By Lee Hyo-sik
Staff Reporter

The nation's global competitiveness has strengthened over the past year, with more domestic companies outperforming their rivals on the international stage, according to the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) Wednesday.

In its 2009 World Competitiveness Yearbook, the Switzerland-based institute said Korea ranked 27th in competitiveness among the 57 countries, up four notches from 2008. In a stress test designed to project how well countries could deal with a possible worldwide economic downturn, it ranked 29th.

Among 29 nations with a population of over 20 million, Asia's fourth-largest economy ranked 11th, and was placed 10th among the 13 Asia-Pacific countries.

The IMD issues the report every year, analyzing the efficiency and competitiveness of governments and companies across the globe, infrastructure development and economic achievement.

The United States topped the list in 2009 for the third consecutive year, followed by Hong Kong and Singapore. Japan's ranking jumped five notches to 17th from the previous year, with that of Taiwan plunging to 23rd from 13th. China came in at 20th, down from 17th.

Korea performed better across the board compared with 2008. It ranked 29th in corporate efficiency, up seven notches, as more local businesses improved productivity and operational know-how, outrivaling competitors on the global market.

In economic achievements, the nation's ranking increased by two spots to 45th from a year earlier, while those in government efficiency and infrastructure development both rose by one notch to 36th and 20th, respectively.

``The report shows that Korea has been coping with the ongoing economic downturn better than other leading economies. The continued efforts of businesses to turn themselves into more efficient and competitive organizations boosted the nation's overall global competitiveness,'' the Ministry of Strategy and Finance said.

It also said the government tax cuts and deregulation over the past year were seen as an improvement in government efficiency.

On some of the finer details, Korea was rated highly in employment, public finance, and scientific and technology infrastructure. But it continued to lag behind other countries in foreign investment, inflation, corporate regulations and social infrastructure.

The IMD recommended that the nation make more efforts to stop talented manpower from heading overseas, improve the quality of the education system and enhance management-labor relations.

leehs@koreatimes.co.kr

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