Economy - The Korea Times

Korea moving forward to mature welfare state

By Florence Lowe-Lee Director of the Korea Economic Institute in America Korea's welfare system has developed over the past 40 years from a bare structure to a relatively comprehensive social welfare program. After the Korean War ended in 1953, the government and the general public were focused on rebuilding the nation and pursued economic development. At that time, the nation's GDP was a mere $80, and most Koreans lived in absolute poverty. People worked hard without any social protection. The topic of social welfare was never on the government's policy agenda. It became a political issue when the military government took office in the 1960s. The government tried to gain public support by promising a series of social reforms to improve the lives of ordinary citizens. Many of the social welfare programs were adopted as a basic principle of the country's constitution, but only a few were implemented. The nation failed to make any significant improvement, as policymakers continued to be preoccupied with economic growth. In the wake of the Asian financial crisis in 1997

Jul 12, 2010

Carmakers succeed in localizing foreign models

By Lee Hang-koo Director of Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade Korea is the world's fifth largest car manufacturing country, and the industry serves as a core engine for economic growth. The industry has also been emerging as a leader of green growth businesses in the 21st century. In the whirlwinds of rapid change in the global auto market, Korea's vehicle exports in 2009 fell by 19.9 percent to 2.15 million. Domestic vehicle sales increased by 20.7 percent compared with the previous year to 1.39 million. Korean automobile manufacturers are not only restructuring, but also increasing investment in R&D to develop advanced technologies and improve their models. They are aiming at sustainable growth with green cars in the future. Securing high technology for eco-friendly cars such as hybrid and electric cars is a must to survive the ever-fierce auto market competition. Korean auto-parts suppliers are also moving to improve their competitiveness in cooperation with the government. While their revenues have been increasing, their engineering capabilities nee

Jul 9, 2010

Pfizer Korea employees demonstrate unique yoga poses ..

Jul 8, 2010

The Seoul Forum, organized by the Seoul Economic Daily ..

Jul 7, 2010

Seoul plans renaissance of Han River

By Alan Timblick Head of Seoul Global Center The Han River is about one kilometer wide as it flows through the city of Seoul. There are very few major cities around the world which have as wide a body of moving water as the Han, although the historically classical place to found a city is on the banks of a navigable river where it can be supplied by water-based transport and enjoy the benefits of a trading center as merchants bring their goods by boat. In the 1960s the river had some wide sandy banks, just like the seashore and it is still possible to find pictures of citizens relaxing by the water, even though those who could afford the time to relax may not have chosen to let their skin get too dark with sun-tanning. Upstream, below the heights of Walker Hill, small pleasure boats were for hire where couples might take a pre-cooked meal and enjoy a romantic meander with a boatman navigating between the sandbanks and sheltered from the sun by a colorful awning. Larger craft also served as floating restaurants with exotic names like "Venice" and "River Nile", although their

Jul 7, 2010