Korea in Focus

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Korea has also begun an informal dialogue with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and has expanded participation in its various committees . Korea hopes and intends to improve its economic systems to the level of advanced countries so as to join the OECD in 1996.

One organization in which the Republic of Korea has played a particularly critical role has been the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, a forum for multilateral discussions on economic issues concerning the Asia-Pacific region.Two examples of Korea’s valuable efforts have been the “Seoul Declaration” adopted at the third APEC Ministerial Meeting hosted by the Republic which laid the foundation for the institutionalization of APEC, and its diplomatic role in bringing China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, three key regional economic powers, into the APEC fold, giving the forum a new impetus. Subsequently, the Republic played a leading role at the first APEC Leaders Economic Meeting in Seattle in November 1993, which coincided with the fifth APEC Ministerial Meeting, and was elected the chair member of the Committee on Trade and Investment (CTI).

Conclusion

The rise of the Korean economy over the past several decades, often called the “Miracle of the Han”, has been an inspiring model of modern economic development. The rapid pace with which the Koeran economy rose from the ashes of war and expanded stunned the outside world. However, this rapid growth was not unaccompanied by growing pains which began to manifest themselves in all sectors of society particularly during the late 1980s. Excessive wage hikes, high capital costs and an overly bureaucratic administration, not to mention institutionalized corruption, served to weaken Korea’s international competitiveness, and this was aggravated by unfavourable external circumstances. In the past year, though, strenuous efforts have been made to overcome these impediments and through this, as well as improving international economic climate, it appears that the Korean economy is regaining its former vigor. The upcoming years pose severe challenges for the Republic in light of the December 1993 conclusion of the Uruguay Round and the rise of the Asia-Pacific region as the new global economic center, but with the increasing emphasis in both the public and private sector on globalization and internalization, the Republic seems braced to meet these challenges.

REFORM TOWARD A NEW KOREA

The Basic Goals and Reform Process of the Kim Young Sam Administration

What are the vision and goals of the Administration of Kim Young Sam, inaugurated on February 25, 1993. In a nutshell, the answer is the “creation of a New Korea” through “Reform Admist Stability.” This concept was the keynote of the President’s inaugural address as well as the main slogan of his presidential election campaign in December 1992.

“I have a dream. It is the creation of a New Korea in which a new politics, a new economy and a new culture will bloom. This is my dream and vision; it is the dream and vision of all our people.” This quotation appears in the book, “Kim Young Sam: New Korea 2000,” published in Korea in October 1992 prior to the presidential election.

In his inaugural speech on February 25, 1993, President Kim Young Sam defined the three major priorities of his policies to create a New Korea: the eradication of social injustice and corruption, the revitalization of the national economy and the establishment of official discipline and public order.

The President declared that the eradication of corruption was a vital foundation for reforms in every sector of the country, and that there would be no sanctuary from the investigation of misconduct. The movement to establish official discipline and public order, which began with high-ranking government officials, is intended to ensure integrity and high ethical standards by “purifying the upper reaches of the stream,” i.e., the upper levels of government and society.

Реферат опубликован: 13/06/2006