Report: ‘Chinese Economy Puts Pressure on S. Korea’s Key Industries’

The Chinese economy puts pressure on the South Korean key industries as a double-edged sword, according to a recent report.

The Hyundai Research Institute (HRI) analyzed the reasons of the current crisis at its report titled “South Korean Key Industries’ Crisis and Solutions” on April 8.

Comparing the competitive industrial performance (CIP) index, which indicates the competitiveness of manufacturing industry by country, South Korea ranked fourth from 2009 to 2014, outpacing China. However, China moved up to third place in 2015, overtaking South Korea. South Korea fell to fifth place in terms of the competitiveness of the manufacturing industry.

The HRI analyzed the crisis situation of some key industries caused by China.

The report said, “China has the leadership of steel supply, not South Korea. For the petrochemical industry, domestic companies are facing double difficulties of China, the main export market, entering the moderate growth state and seeing the rise in the rate of self-sufficiency. For the shipbuilding industry, China are pushing out domestic shipbuilders even in a smaller size of orders.”