Koreas Industrial and Trade Policy - Case Study Example

Of South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore, only South Korea financed its economic development with a dramatic build-up of foreign debt, debt that totaled US$46.8 billion in 1985, making it the fourth-largest Third World debtor" (Wikimedia Foundations, Inc). It was this strategy that worked well for Korea. Specifically, "The government mobilized domestic capital by encouraging savings, determined what kinds of plants could be constructed with these funds, and reviewed the potential of the products for export.

In this sense, the will of the government to undertake economic development played a crucial role; the role of the government, however, was not limited to such measures as mobilizing capital and allocating investments" (Wikimedia Foundations, Inc). It was vast savings and investment that brought Korea to instant stardom. However, it was trade liberalization that made it surpass a perilous regional economic crisis: The Asian Economic Crisis in 1997. "Korea's economy has achieved an impressive recovery from the Asian crisis, with its GDP per capita having been restored to pre-crisis levels, according to a report on the trade policies and practices of the Republic of Korea released on September 17 by the WTO Secretariat.

This economic recovery has undoubtedly been fostered by wide-ranging structural reforms and the maintenance of outward-oriented trade and investment policies as far as manufacturing and services are concerned. The recovery was also facilitated by a favorable external economic environment, the report says" (World Trade Organization). This one-two punch of Korea has made it sail through economic troughs and succeed. The goal of this paper then is to answer several questions that pertain to the economic strength that Korea now enjoys.

It is worthwhile to ask these questions:1. What are the specific industrial policies of South Korea starting in 1960 that helped boost its economy2. What particular changes in the economic structure were necessary to support these industrial policies3. What are the results of the industrial policies4. What trade policies of South Korea helped boosts their economy5. What are the current trade policies that South Korea employs