Stagnant Competitiveness

South Korea came in 26th out of 137 countries for the fourth consecutive year in the latest annual Global Competitiveness Report of World Economic Forum (WEF).
South Korea came in 26th out of 137 countries for the fourth consecutive year in the latest annual Global Competitiveness Report of World Economic Forum (WEF).

 

The World Economic Forum (WEF) released its latest annual Global Competitiveness Report on September 27. South Korea came in 26th out of 137 countries for the fourth consecutive year, ranking 73rd in labor market efficiency and 74th in financial market development.

In the labor market efficiency category, South Korea ranked 112th in redundancy costs, 130th in labor-management cooperation, 88th in employment and dismissal practices, and 90th in female participation in labor force. Besides, it slid from 30th to 39th in reliance on professional management.

“The South Korean labor market’s low level of efficiency has chronically hindered the growth of the country’s competitiveness,” the WEF pointed out, adding that the country needs to make efforts for greater innovation capabilities.

When it comes to financial markets and systems, South Korea came in 90th and 91st in ease of access to loans and soundness of banks, respectively. Its ranking is 81st in financial services meeting business needs and 71st in regulation of securities exchanges.

It also ranked 109th in efficacy of corporate boards, 95th in burden of government regulation, 98th in transparency of government policymaking, 90th in public trust of politicians, 90th in ethical behavior of firms, and 99th in protection of minority shareholders’ interests.

Copyright © BusinessKorea. Prohibited from unauthorized reproduction and redistribution