By Lee Hyo-sik
Staff Reporter
South Korea was rated Asia' eighth-freest economy this year, while North Korea ranks at the bottom among 41 economies in the Asia-Pacific region, the Heritage Foundation said Thursday.
The Washington-based think tank said Asia's fourth-largest economy received 68.1 out of 100 in its index of economic freedom, ranking eighth. Hong Kong topped the list with a sore of 90, followed by Singapore at 87.1 and Australia at 82.6. Worldwide, Korea ranked 40th out of 179 economies.
The foundation measures 10 components of economic freedom, assigning a grade in each using a scale from 0 to 100, where 100 represents the maximum amount of freedom.
The 10 component scores are then averaged to give an overall economic score for each country. The components are business, trade, fiscal, monetary, investment, financial and labor freedoms, government size, property rights and freedom from corruption.
``Korea's overall score dropped by 0.5 points from 2008, reflecting worsened conditions in labor and government size that offset slight improvements in business and trade freedom. It scored above the world's average in business, monetary, investment and financial freedoms, government size, property rights and freedom from corruption. The overall regulatory environment has gradually become more efficient and transparent,'' the think tank said.
It added government spending is moderate, despite recent increases over the past year, and that monetary stability is relatively well maintained. ``Also, Korea's rule of law is strong, and property rights are protected in a transparent manner. But its fiscal and labor freedoms are relatively weak. The labor market remains rigid despite recent efforts by the government to enhance market flexibility.''
Meanwhile, North Korea ranked last among Asian economies, receiving a score of only 2. Myanmar was second-to-last but its score was 37.7, substantially higher than that of the Communist state. The North was also found to be the least economically free among 179 countries worldwide.
In terms of political freedom, North Korea ranked at the bottom in Asia, while South Korea ranked ninth.
Citing data from the International Institute for Strategic Studies based in Britain, the foundation said North Korea is the most military-centered country in the world, with 4.71 percent of its population, or 1.1 million people, serving in the military.
South Korea ranked fourth in militarization with 1.41 percent of its population being military personnel.
leehs@koreatimes.co.kr
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