Korea to tap into global infrastructure

Choi Won-sik, director of McKinsey & Company’s Seoul office, speaks during the “3rd KCCI Management Concert” at the headquarters of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) in downtown Seoul, Tuesday.

By Lee Hyo-sik

Builders and other companies here should double their efforts to play a bigger role in the rapidly growing global infrastructure market if Korea wants to make another leap forward in the coming years, the local head of a global consulting firm said Tuesday.

Before about 200 CEOs of member companies of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), Choi Won-sik, director of McKinsey & Company’s Seoul office, said the international infrastructure development market will reach $57 trillion in 2030. He urged Korean companies to make inroads into Asia, South America and other emerging markets to achieve a sustainable growth.

In a speech titled “McKinsey’s View of Global Economy and Korean Enterprises’ Survival Strategy,” Choi said, “The ongoing global economic uncertainties will likely persist for the next few years. Nonetheless, the world economy will recover steadily on quantitative easing by advanced nations and emerging economies’ accelerating growth.”

The director then expressed concerns over Asia’s fourth-largest economy, citing its rapidly aging population, the low competitiveness of small businesses and households’ declining disposable income, among others.

“Externally, Korea faces growing anxiety over the United States’ quantitative easing, the prolonged yen’s weakness, the slowing Chinese economy and low oil prices,” Choi said.

Against such a backdrop, he said Korean enterprises should make every effort to tap into the burgeoning global infrastructure market to sustain growth.

“By 2030, the world’s middle-class population will increase to 5 billion from the current 2 billion. Of the 5 billion, about half will reside in Asian countries close to Korea,” the consultant said. “In line with the growing middle-class population, the infrastructure market will reach $57 trillion in 2030. This will present a golden opportunity for Korean builders and other firms who offer cost-effective infrastructure solutions.”

Choi, who became the head of McKinsey’s Seoul office in July 2012, received a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University in aerospace engineering and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He was the first Korean national to head the consulting firm’s Korean office, which opened in 1991.