Economy of South Korea

This article is about the economy of the Republic of Korea. For the Economy of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, see Economy of North Korea.

Economy of South Korea
Seoul, the capital and largest city of South Korea
CurrencySouth Korean won (KRW, ₩)
Calendar year
Trade organizations
APEC, WTO, RCEP, OECD, G-20
Country group
Statistics
Population51,628,117 (2022)
GDP
  • Increase $1.870 trillion (nominal; 2024)[3]
  • Increase $3.260 trillion (PPP; 2024)[3]
GDP rank
GDP growth
  • 1.4% (2023)
  • 2.3% (2024)
  • 2.3% (2025)[3]
GDP per capita
  • Increase $36,132 (nominal; 2024)[3]
  • Increase $62,960 (PPP; 2024)[3]
GDP per capita rank
GDP by sector
2.5% (2024)[3]
Population below poverty line
14.4% (2016 est.)[4]
Steady 35.5 medium (2017)[5]
Steady 63 out of 100 points (2023, 32nd rank)
Labor force
  • Increase 28,466,640 (2020, ILO)[7]
  • Increase 65.8% employment rate (2020)[8]
Labor force by occupation
Unemployment
  • Negative increase 3.7% (September 2020)[9]
  • Negative increase 11.5% youth unemployment (15 to 24-year-olds, September 2020)[10]
Average gross salary
3,796,000 ₩ / US$2,707 monthly[11] (2024 August)
3,137,217 ₩ / US$2,237 monthly[12] (2024 August)
Main industries
External
ExportsDecrease $632.4 billion (2023)[13]
Export goods
Main export partners
ImportsDecrease $642.6 billion (2023)[13]
Import goods
Main import partners
FDI stock
  • Increase $230.6 billion (31 December 2017 est.)[4]
  • Decrease Abroad: $344.7 billion (31 December 2017 est.)[4]
Decrease $68 billion (2020)[8]
Negative increase $542.4 billion (2020)[15]
Public finances
Negative increase 39.8% of GDP (2020)[16]
-3.5% of GDP (2020)[16]
Revenues$428.7 billion (2020)[16]
Expenses$456.5 billion (2020)[16]
Economic aidODA, $2.4 Billion (donor) (2018) aid to North Korea excluded
Increase $458.700 billion (July 2021 est.)[4]
All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.
Economy of South Korea
History
Business culture
Industries
Regional
Related topics

The economy of South Korea is a highly developed mixed economy.[19][20][21] By nominal GDP, the economy was worth ₩2.61 quadrillion (US$1.87 trillion). It has the 4th largest economy in Asia and the 12th largest in the world as of 2024.[3] South Korea is notable for its rapid economic development from an underdeveloped nation to a developed, high-income country in a few generations. This economic growth has been described as the Miracle on the Han River,[22] which has allowed it to join the OECD and the G20. It is included in the group of Next Eleven countries as having the potential to play a dominant role in the global economy by the middle of the 21st century.[23] Among OECD members, South Korea has a highly efficient and strong social security system; social expenditure stood at roughly 15.5% of GDP.[24][25][26] South Korea spends around 4.93% of GDP on advance research and development across various sectors of the economy.[27][28]

South Korea's education system and the establishment of a motivated and educated populace were largely responsible for spurring the country's high technology boom and economic development.[29] South Korea began to adapt an export-oriented economic strategy to fuel its economy. In 2022, South Korea was the ninth largest exporter and ninth largest importer in the world. The Bank of Korea and the Korea Development Institute periodically release major economic indicators and economic trends of the economy of South Korea.[30][31]

Renowned financial organisations, such as the International Monetary Fund, notes the resilience of the South Korean economy against various economic crises. They cite the country's economic advantages as reasons for this resilience, including low state debt, and high fiscal reserves that can quickly be mobilised to address any expected financial emergencies.[32] Other financial organisations, like the World Bank, describe South Korea as one of the fastest-growing major economies of the next generation, along with BRICS and Indonesia.[33] South Korea was one of the few developed countries that was able to avoid a recession during the Great Recession.[34] Its economic growth rate reached 6.2% in 2010, a recovery from economic growth rates of 2.3% in 2008 and 0.2% in 2009, during the Great Recession. The South Korean economy again recovered with the record-surplus of US$70.7 billion mark of the current account at the end of 2013, up 47 percent growth from 2012. This growth contrasted with the uncertainties of the global economic turmoil, with the country's major economic output being the technology products exports.[35]

Despite the South Korean economy's high growth and structural stability, South Korea is experiencing damage to its credit rating in the stock market due to North Korea in times of military crises. The recurring conflict affects the financial markets of its economy.[36][37][38][39][40] The South Korean economy faces challenges due to a declining and ageing population, with a fertility rate among the lowest in the world.

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  2. ^ "World Bank Country and Lending Groups". datahelpdesk.worldbank.org. World Bank. Archived from the original on 28 October 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Report for Selected Countries and Subjects: October 2024". imf.org. International Monetary Fund.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "EAST ASIA/SOUTHEAST ASIA :: KOREA, SOUTH". CIA.gov. Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on 29 January 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  5. ^ "Income inequality". data.oecd.org. OECD. Archived from the original on 23 December 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  6. ^ a b "Human Development Report 2023/2024" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 13 March 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 March 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
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  8. ^ a b "2021 Economic Policies". english.moef.go.kr. Ministry of Economy and Finance (South Korea). Archived from the original on 17 December 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
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  10. ^ "Unemployment rate by age group". data.oecd.org. OECD. Archived from the original on 29 October 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  11. ^ "Average monthly wage of wage earners (total)", kosis.kr
  12. ^ "Income tax calculator South Korea", kr.talent.com
  13. ^ a b c d "Trade Statistics". Korea Customs Service. Archived from the original on 18 August 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  14. ^ a b "South Korea Exports and Imports OEC - The Observatory of Economic Complexity". oec.world/en. The Observatory of Economic Complexity. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  15. ^ "2020 External Debt". english.moef.go.kr. Ministry of Economy and Finance (South Korea). Archived from the original on 3 March 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  16. ^ a b c d "2021 Budget Proposal". english.moef.go.kr. Ministry of Economy and Finance (South Korea). Archived from the original on 26 November 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  17. ^ "Sovereigns rating list". Standard & Poor's. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
  18. ^ a b c Rogers, Simon; Sedghi, Ami (15 April 2011). "How Fitch, Moody's and S&P rate each country's credit rating". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 1 August 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
  19. ^ "South Korea: Introduction >> globalEDGE: Your source for Global Business Knowledge". Archived from the original on 5 June 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
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  23. ^ Chapter Thirteen - Beyond the BRICs: a Look at The 'Next 11' (PDF). Goldman Sachs. p. 161. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 December 2020. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  24. ^ Kenworthy, Lane (1999). "Do Social-Welfare Policies Reduce Poverty? A Cross-National Assessment" (PDF). Social Forces. 77 (3): 1119–1139. doi:10.2307/3005973. JSTOR 3005973. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 August 2013.
  25. ^ Moller, Stephanie; Huber, Evelyne; Stephens, John D.; Bradley, David; Nielsen, François (2003). "Determinants of Relative Poverty in Advanced Capitalist Democracies". American Sociological Review. 68 (1): 22–51. doi:10.2307/3088901. JSTOR 3088901.
  26. ^ "Social Expenditure – Aggregated data".
  27. ^ Our World in Data. "Research & development spending as a share of GDP". ourworldindata.org. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  28. ^ Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. "Gross domestic spending on R&D". data.oecd.org. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  29. ^ "High performance, high pressure in South Korea's education system". ICEF. 23 January 2014. Archived from the original on 9 July 2017. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
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  31. ^ "KDI Korea Development Institute > Publications". Korea Development Institute. Archived from the original on 3 February 2019. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
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  33. ^ "Six Emerging Economies Will Account For Over Half Of Economic Growth By 2025, World Bank Says". The Huffington Post. 18 May 2011. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
  34. ^ "South Korea Survived Recession With CEO Tactics". Newsweek. 10 May 2010. Archived from the original on 12 June 2016.
  35. ^ "Economy ended 2013 on a high". joins.com. 30 January 2014. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  36. ^ "Moody's Raises Korea's Credit Range". The Chosun Ilbo. 2 August 2010. Archived from the original on 15 August 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
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