Posted July. 07, 2009 08:22,
Is Korea one of the worlds 10 largest economies? Renowned economic experts and leading Korean officials frequently say so, though the answer is no.
In his opening address June 22 at the World Banks ABCDE Conference, Strategy and Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun said the country is among the worlds top 10 economies.
A day later, President Lee Myung-bak at the World Korean Community Leaders Convention said in a congratulatory speech, Korea, which was one of the worlds poorest nations, has grown into one of the worlds 10 largest economies.
The truth is, however, that Korea is not one of the worlds 10 biggest economies. The closest it got was 11th in 2002 and 2003. Since then, it has continuously been outpaced by emerging nations and fell to 15th last year.
The World Bank released statistical data on the economies and national income of 186 countries yesterday. Koreas nominal GDP was 929.1 billion U.S. dollars last year for 15th place. GDP fell several notches to 14th last year, as India overtook Korea in 2004, Brazil in 2005, and Russia in 2006.
Australia last year also overtook Korea.
What explains Koreas fall in the rankings is the sharp drop in the economic growth rate last year. In the wake of the global financial crisis, the rate fell from 5.1 percent in 2007 to 2.2 percent last year.
Worse, the economy contracted at the worlds fastest pace last year, declining 5.1 percent in the fourth quarter from the third.
Foreign exchange rates and growing inflation have also affected Koreas poor performance. Kwon Sun-woo, head of macroeconomic research at Samsung Economic Research Institute, said, The World Banks statistical data is based on the U.S. dollar. That means a decline in the won-U.S. dollar rate results in a fall in dollar-denominated GDP.
The won fell 26.1 percent against the U.S. dollar from late 2007 to December last year, far higher than the Australian dollars depreciation of 9.6 percent against the greenback over the same period.