Heavy Dependence

The ratio of the exports from Korea’s 10 major industries to its total exports jumped from 61.5% to 73.6% between 2004 and 2014.
The ratio of the exports from Korea’s 10 major industries to its total exports jumped from 61.5% to 73.6% between 2004 and 2014.

 

It has been found that the global market shares of South Korea’s industries such as automobile and shipbuilding are on the decline while South Korean enterprises’ dependence on them is on the rise.

The Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) analyzed 125 countries’ international trade data by using the UN Comtrade database and announced on May 15 that the ratio of South Korea’s 10 major industrial items to international trade edged down from 36.9% to 36.8% between 2004 and 2014. As of 2014, the 10 major items based on the amounts of exports were automobiles, auto parts, ships, general machinery, steel, petrochemical products, refined oil, mobile phones, displays and semiconductors.

According to the FKI, the ratio of the exports of these products to South Korea’s total exports jumped from 61.5% to 73.6% during the same period. This implies that South Korean companies are relying more and more on the key industries while failing to distinguish themselves in new industries.

The FKI suggested seven items – cosmetics, prepared foods, solar collectors, lithium-ion batteries, human vaccines, carbon fiber and electric vehicles – as new and promising industrial items expected to enjoy a substantial increase in trade volume. At present, South Korean companies have a global market share of less than 5% in each of the seven markets except for the lithium-ion battery market. 

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