Korea's overseas construction work and its impact on the Korean economy 1965-1984

The Korean overseas construction industry played a significant role in enabling Korea to make a spectacular leap from being one of the world's poorest countries in the early 1960s to become one of the newly industrialising countries by the early 1980s. The overseas construction industry's contribution to the Korean economy was particularly pronounced in the 1970s.Korea's balance of payments rapidly deteriorated in the early 1970s, as she had to pay much higher prices for raw materials to continue implementing her principal economic development strategy of processing and assembling imported raw materials and components for exports. In addition, Korea had to pay back the loans that had been taken out in the 1960s. To prevent increasing deficits in the balance of payments and to sustain Korea's rapid economic growth, the government needed a good source of foreign currency supply.To lessen her serious problem in the balance of payments, Korea needed a strategy to earn foreign currency while discouraging an excessive spending on imports. The solution was centred around exporting manpower. Fortunately, Korea had an industry that seemed as if it were designed to solve her faced economic problems: the Korean overseas construction industry, exporting manpower to overseas sites, could earn her immediately needed hard currency. Thus, the Middle East construction boom meant much to the Korean economic development.The contribution of the Korean overseas construction to her economy is as follows: improving the balance of payments, increasing national income, reducing unemployment, spurring corporate internationalisation, improving technical know-how, encouraging manpower development, increasing domestic investment, promoting related industries, and helping Government establish diplomacy with the Third World nonaligned nations. Of course, there were negative sides such as inflation and high increase of wages. However the loss was minor compared to the gain.The Korean overseas construction, in many ways, influenced not only the Korean economy but also the society: it gave her people incentives to look outwards and confidence in being a member of the international society

Pathways to meet critical success factors for local PPPs: The cases of urban transport infrastructure in Korean cities

Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) have been utilized extensively in both developed and developing countries to provide various public services and infrastructure. The literature points to many common critical success factors, including a mature financial market, transparent regulatory framework, advanced technology, and people's acceptance of new forms, but those can vary from country to country. South Korea's mature market capitalist system and strong regulatory framework have led to somewhat successful infrastructure provision through PPPs at the national level, but as our two cases of urban transportation in the Seoul Metropolitan Area indicate, local-level PPPs have demonstrated mixed results. By elaborating on the factors that affect the outcomes of PPPs at the local level, we argue that under a relatively new local democracy, Korean cities are likely to be susceptible to producing unfair contracts mainly due to limited local fiscal authority and resources, opportunistic behavior of local politicians, an underdeveloped urban institutional framework for PPPs, and the rise of new conditions such as economic nationalism intermixed with speculative foreign investment. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.1

Report and recommendation of the president of the international bank for reconstruction and development to the executive directors on a proposed loan to the Republic of Korea for a vocational training project

노트 : This document has a restricted distribution and may be used by recipients only in the performance of their official duties. Its contents may not otherwise be disclosed without World Bank authoriation

The Australia-Korea Economic Relationship and Prospects for an FTA

Since the 1960s, trade opportunities based on complementary economies have driven the Australia-Korea economic relationship. Australia exported raw materials, principally minerals and energy, which Korea processed and subsequently sold on domestic and international markets. In return, Australia purchased increasing volumes of Korean manufactures, initially textiles, clothing and footwear and later automobiles. With the onset of the financial and economic crisis in Korea during 1997-98, trade and investment opportunities were severely constrained. However, in the wake of the crisis, and the rapid recovery of the Korean economy underpinned by corporate and financial sector reforms, trade and investment opportunities in traditional areas have re-emerged as well as in new areas. Australia's rapid economic growth has also increased demand for the sorts of consumer products produced by Korea. It is, therefore, opportune to consider the benefits, and obstacles, to the establishment of an Australia-Korea Free Trade Agreement. The paper analyses trends in Australia's trade and investment with Korea. New areas for trade are also highlighted as well as prospects for an FTA between the two countries. In doing so it: reviews the Australia-Korea bilateral trade relationship; reviews the nature and extent of foreign direct investment between Australia and Korea; reviews trade and investment prospects and opportunities between the two countries; analyses the prospects for a Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement (KAFTA); reviews the potential economic effects from a KAFTA; and identifies key policy implications.Australia, Korea, free trade agreement, trade and investment

Foreign Labor Trends: Korea

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Development of North Korea\u27s Legal Regime Governing Foreign Business Cooperation: A Revisit under the New Socialist Constitution of 1998

A primary purpose of this article is to examine the formation of North Korea\u27s legal regime governing foreign business cooperation and its evolution in the post-Kim Il Sung era. Since initiating its open-door policy in the early 1990s, North Korea has developed the legal framework for external economic cooperation. The Law of the Democratic People\u27s Republic of Korea ( DPRK ) on Foreign Investment of 1992 and its 1999 revision has especially represented North Korea\u27s legal and policy direction towards inducing foreign capital investment, as well as establishing a legal basis for the following laws and regulations in this field. The main focus of this research is on the Foreign Investment Law and its relevant legislation, including the Equity Joint Venture Law, the Contractual Joint Venture Law and the Foreign Enterprises Law. The Law of the DPRK on Joint Venture of 1984, which is the original model of lawmaking in external economic cooperation, will be also examined. A constitutional perspective, meanwhile, is maintained throughout the article. In conclusion, the future of North Korean foreign business laws and their implications in inter- Korean economic cooperation will be discussed