Individual Selfishness Damages Economy

The Korean economy has been stagnating at the “10,000 dollars a year level” for some time now. If the current situation continues, it could drop further, giving no hope to the nation`s attempts at achieving the “20,000 dollars a year” level, taking it to the level of other developed nations in terms of GNP.

Along with this main factor for concern, people from all walks of life as well as economic experts are voicing their worries about the future of South Korea.

Difficulties in the Korean economy can be distinctly felt from the various economic indexes that have been bottoming out lately. In May, the three major indexes for production, consumption and investment have turned to the negative in four years and seven months since October 1998.

Experts are more concerned about the Korean people’s attitudes under the current “10,000 dollars” per capita income level: Collective selfishness is all the rage despite the fact that the Korean economy still has a long way to reach its goal. People are more concerned about having their own share of the pie rather than cooperating with each other to help society in a general way. Over-voiced labor unions have also caused a dent in the previous dynamic wherewithal of Korean businesses.

This has led to decreased motivation to work hard while this generalized downward spiral is further facilitating a sharper slump in the economy. Political leadership, supposed to serve a major role in mediating and controlling societal conflicts, does not seem to be that effective either.

“The nation is at a critical mass as to whether it will be able to achieve the 20,000 dollars per capita income level or suffer from another economic crisis. This increasingly depends on its performance in the next decade,” said Wang Yoon-jong, a researcher at Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP). “If the current situation continues, the latter is more likely to occur.”

“The South Korean economy is caught between that of a developing country and that of an advanced country, with its industrial competitiveness and economic efficiency slipping away,” said president of Seoul National University Jung Woon-chan. “There is a possibility that we may lose the next decade to long slump economically.”

Experts emphasize the importance of creating an atmosphere where major economic players such as corporations and workers work hard in order to gain access to the age when average income is 20,000 dollars per person.

“It would be wrong of Korea to follow in the footsteps of Europe, which failed to grow further due to too much emphasis on social welfare,” said Robert Vero, a professor at Harvard University. “This would endanger the Korean economy.”

“Under current conditions where the economy can grow at 4 to 5 percent per year at the most, possible only with valuable resources such as labor and capital, it would be very difficult to welcome in that golden era of 20,000 dollars in GNP,” said Han Jin-hee, a researcher at Korean Development Institute. “If we can form a new social atmosphere where everyone works hard while attracting more capital and technology, that era would be at our doorstep.”