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• 20th anniversary of Korea's accession to the OECD

  This year, we celebrate the 20th anniversary of Korea’s accession to the OECD. Korea’s invitation to join the Organisation represented the culmination of 35 years of extraordinary growth that transformed it from one of the poorest nations in the world to a major industrial power.

• Basic Statistics of Korea, 2014

  This Survey is published on the responsibility of the Economic and Development Review Committee (EDRC) of the OECD, which is charged with the examination of the economic situation of member countries.

• Executive summary

  OECD Analytical Database.

• Assessment and recommendations

  Korea has been one of the fastest growing OECD economies over the past 25 years, boosting its per capita income from 39% of the average of the top half of OECD countries in 1991 to 75% by 2014. Sustained double-digit export growth in volume terms helped make Korea the 6th-largest exporter and 11th-largest economy in the world by 2015. A number of Korean companies are world leaders in key industries. Korea is exceptional in terms of its high levels of education and R&D investment.

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  • The impact of reform on the Korean economy
  • Key elements of the Three-year Plan for Economic Innovation
  • Economic co-operation with North Korea
  • Progress in structural reform
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• Expand / Collapse Hide / Show all Abstracts Thematic chapters

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  • Raising Korea's productivity through innovation and structural reform

    Raising productivity requires addressing a wide range of policies that affect resource allocation, the creation and diffusion of technology, human capital and the creation and financing of start-ups. The greatest gains can be achieved in the service sector and in SMEs, where productivity has fallen to less than a third of large firms. Regulatory reform, increased international openness and labour flexibility would support such reallocation and technology diffusion. Korea’s large investment in R&D and education should be leveraged to raise productivity by enhancing university and public research and strengthening its links with the business sector and global innovation networks. To take advantage of innovation, the relatively low skill levels of workers above age 35 calls for increased lifelong learning. Perhaps most important, it is essential to shift SME policies away from promoting the survival of firms and towards productivity gains. Given market failures in indirect financing, developing capital markets, including venture capital investment, is a priority to boost firm creation.

  • Labour market reforms to promote inclusive growth

    Labour market reforms are essential to promote social cohesion by removing obstacles to employment, particularly for women, youth and older persons. In addition to reducing income inequality and poverty, such reforms would also sustain economic growth as Korea’s working-age population begins to decline in 2017. Breaking down labour market duality is crucial to reduce the wide wage disparity. Better conditions for non-regular workers would in turn promote greater labour participation. Increasing the take-up of maternity and parental leave, expanding the availability of high-quality childcare, reducing working time, narrowing the large gender wage gap and eliminating discrimination would also increase opportunities for women. Boosting youth employment from its current low level requires addressing labour market mismatch by better aligning the skills learned in school with those demanded by employers. Reducing the emphasis on seniority in setting wages by moving to more flexible systems and expanding training to improve the skills of older persons would allow them to extend their careers, thereby reducing old-age poverty.

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