1. Korea Posts Fast Economic Recovery
The year 2009 was a milestone for Korea as it was hit hard by the global financial crisis but recovered at the fastest pace among major economies on the back of the government's expansionary policies and stronger-than-expected exports.
This is in stark contrast to the U.S. and other advanced economies that continue to remain in a deep slump as they struggle with surging unemployment and plunging private consumption.
Asia's fourth-largest economy grew by 3.2 percent in the third quarter from the second quarter, the largest quarterly growth since the first quarter of 2002 when output rose 3.8 percent. It also jumped 0.9 percent from July to September from the same period last year, becoming the only country among the 30 member economies of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which posted year-on-year growth in the third quarter.
With faster-than-expected growth, global financial institutions and investment banks rushed to raise Korea's growth outlook. The Paris-based organization said in November that the country's gross domestic product (GDP) would grow by 0.1 percent in 2009, up from its June forecast of a 2.2 percent contraction. The OECD also raised its 2010 growth projection for Korea to 4.4 percent from the previous 3.5 percent.
Here at home, the state-run Korea Development Institute said the Korean economy will expand by 0.2 percent this year and 5.5 percent next year, while the government and the BOK puts the 2010 growth projections at 5 percent and 4.6 percent, respectively.
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2. Seoul Selected as Host of 2010 G20 Summit
Korea was selected as the host of the fifth G20 Summit, slated for November 2010. It is the first Asian country to host the forum, which aims at setting the goal for global economy.
At the third G20 Summit in Pittsburgh last September, the world's 15th largest economy got unanimous support as the host of the fifth summit, which will be held after the fourth in Canada in next June.
Unlike G8 comprised of only a few developed countries, G20 nations include major developing countries like China, India, Brazil and Korea, and account for about 85 percent of the global economy. As the host of the forum, Korea is expected to reflect voices from developing nations.
It will be the largest international forum held in Korea, with more than 10,000 participants including leaders of more than 25 countries and international organizations expected to come.
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3. ‘Green Wash’ Inundates Nation
Under the former Roh Moo-hyun administration, yellow was the most-popular color as hard-core supporters of the late Roh, who committed suicide earlier this year amid an investigation of a bribery scandal, tended to wear hats and shirts or carry balloons of that color.
During the current Lee Myung-bak administration, things have changed. With Lee focusing on environment-friendly businesses, green has become the color of choice.
President Lee's love affair with green businesses has sprouted up this year in a full-fledged manner as he began his project of refurbishing Korea's four big rivers.
Plus, the government has come up with a myriad of low-carbon, eco-friendly initiatives in 2009, thus boosting ``green'' as a nationwide buzzword despite some lingering debates over whether the projects would really benefit the environment.
In particular, the four-river refurbishment project has split the nation's politicians and public into two opposing camps. The main argument is over whether the pluses of the project in environmental protection will outweigh the tens of trillions of won cost over the next few years.
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4. Exports Booming Amid Global Downturn
It was supposed to be a dismal year for Korea Inc., but it seems clear that the country's leading corporations missed the related memo. Despite the worries over collapsed consumer demand in key global markets such as North America and Europe, a number of the country's major exporters defied such expectations and enjoyed record profits.
Samsung Electronics, the world's largest electronics maker, solidified its position as the world's biggest flat-screen television maker and gained on market leader Nokia as the No. 2 mobile-phone producer. The company benefited from getting out of the gate early in innovative technologies and products such as light-emitting diode (LED) backlit liquid crystal display televisions.
LG Electronics, Samsung's industry rival, also strengthened its position in the global tech sector, finishing the year as the world's No. 2 television maker and No. 3 handset vendor.
The Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group also successfully exploited the softened competition in the car market, moving up to the No. 4 spot in the global automaker rankings, driven by sharply increased sales in North America.
Through November, Korea posted $328.3 billion in exports and an accumulated trade surplus of $37.8 billion, both of which increased for the 10th consecutive month, according to figures from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.
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5. Old Comes Back
 This year was tough for consumers, who've been reeling from job losses, rising food prices and hard-to-get credit. But this doesn't mean they didn't spend at all.
Thrifty shoppers began turning to online shopping sites that offer dirt-cheap products that are both practical and economical.
The nation's leading Internet shopping malls have collectively posted sales growth of more than 15 percent compared to a year earlier, showing a steeper growth margin than traditional retailers.
Some of the items that sold strong throughout this year were old-school products that took people down memory lane.
For example, ``makgeolli'' (a traditional, milky alcoholic beverage) and red long johns saw their sales soar to fresh highs.
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6. Cyber Attacks Cripple Country
Korea touts itself as a high-tech powerhouse, but was humbled this summer when the nation was exposed as virtually defenseless against a massive Internet attack that crippled scores of computers at homes and offices.
The distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack in July, which occurred when multiple systems were flooded with traffic that overwhelmed bandwidth and resources, hit more than 80,000 computers here.
Authorities remain unclear about the source of the attacks, although suggesting at one point that the malicious programs that infected the computers could have been produced and distributed by the ``cyber troops'' of North Korea.
It remains to be seen whether Korea will be better prepared for the next massive Internet attack. Critics point out that the DDoS attacks were a price the country had to pay for allowing a Microsoft monoculture in operating systems and Web browsers.
Virtually, all encrypted online communications in Korea, such as online banking and e-commerce transactions, have been made to rely on a Microsoft technology called ``Active-X,'' which is designed to work only on the company's Internet Explorer (IE) browsers.
Although Active-X was a key reason Microsoft cemented its dominance in Korean computing, the country's dependence on the tool is unique, as security concerns have limited its deployment elsewhere.
Instead of a security-based model, Active-X relies on signatures to allow users to judge whether to download an Active-X control. This is a risky arrangement, since Active-X controls require full access to the Windows operating system and are often abused by cyber criminals who spread malicious programs that direct the browser to download files that compromise the user's control of the computer.
It was pointed out that Active-X provided an easy route for cyber criminals spreading the malware for the distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks.
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7. Economic Territory Expanded
Korea has taken a giant step toward becoming a more globalized country in 2009 by signing a de facto free trade agreement (FTA) with India in August and initialing the bilateral FTA with European Union in October.
Korea and India signed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), wrapping up three years of negotiations. A CEPA is practically the same as an FTA, but tariffs are reduced in phases.
Korean Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon and his EU counterpart Catherine Ashton inking the bilateral FTA in Belgium. They plan to officially sign the trade pact within the first half of 2010.
The EU is Korea's second-largest trading partner after China and its largest foreign investor. Korea is the European Union's eighth-largest trade partner, with bilateral trade reaching $98.4 billion in 2008.
Korea plans to make more FTA deals with China, Japan and other countries next year to create an economic block in East Asia.
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8. Jobless Growth
Korea has been in the limelight of the global community as its economy recovered from the worldwide economic crisis at the fastest pace. However, there is a dark side behind the robust performance.
The economy has grown without job creation. Despite growing optimism over an economic rebound, rampant unemployment is emerging as one of the major concerns hanging over Asia's fourth-largest economy.
The economy lost 10,000 jobs in November, with many businesses still remaining reluctant to hire new staff due to lingering uncertainties. The number of people employed stood at 23.8 million last month, down 10,000 from a month earlier, marking the first decline in four months.
The number of unemployed came to 819,000 in November, up 69,000 from the previous year, with the jobless rate rising to 3.3 percent from 3.2 percent.
In its recent report, the Samsung Economic Research Institute expressed concerns that if the job market remains at this level next year, it will lead to sluggish consumption due to income decreases and sluggish corporate investment, which could be a threat to economic recovery in 2010.
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9. Failure of Rocket Launch
All eyes were on the Naro Space Center at the southwestern tip of the peninsula on Aug. 25 when Korea attempted its very first space launch at its brand new space center.
Although the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 (KSLV-1) reached its desired height and speed on its maiden flight, it failed to deliver its payload satellite into orbit because the fairings, the part of the rocket which covers the satellite on top of the launcher, didn't separate properly.
Russia's Khrunichev State Space Science and Production Center, which is providing the technology for the Korean rocket project, was responsible for the development of the KSLV-1 first stage, consisting of the liquid-fuel propulsion system and rocket engine.
The rocket's flawed second stage, which was supposed to eject the satellite into its right position, was a product of the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), the country's space agency.
The Khrunichev State Space Science and Production Center is contracted for another launch during the first half of next year, likely to be somewhere between April and May, and a possible third should it be found responsible for failure in any of the first two launches.
After launching KSLV-1 rockets once or twice more, Korea will focus on its second-generation space rocket, the KSLV-II, which it plans to complete and launch by 2019, relying almost on domestic technology.
The government is planning to spend around 1.5 trillion won (about $1.26 billion) on KSLV-II, which will be used to send a 1.5-kilogram satellite into a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of somewhere between 600 to 800 kilometers.
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10. Flu Changes Industry Map
The Samsung Economic Research Institute last week included flu-related goods among this year's top 10 products.
The spread of the new influenza A (H1N1) virus stirred up the local retail industry, putting preventive items against the pandemic and health-related products at the top of this year's most-sold lists for both online and offline stores.
Items aimed at flu prevention such as surgical masks and hand sanitizers were the best selling products of the year for Auction, the country's largest online retailer.
Growing health concerns led to soaring demand for supplementary food items such as red ginseng and vitamins, making them one of the biggest growths in sales in the country's top department stores.
The new influenza was a huge boon to both online and offline retailers, including home shopping firms and Internet malls. According to a report by Lotte Department Store, the two industries grew 19.4 percent and 14.4 percent respectively this year, mainly because of the prevailing disease.
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[단독] 르노삼성, 본사 모델로 한국 공략
