History of Economic Development in South Korea

Abstract

South Korea is a new industrialized economy that has taken advantage from its technological development, thereby serving as an economic model for emerging economies. The South Korean government has applied a sequence of industrial and technological policy initiatives across different stages of its economic development. The focus of the South Korean industrial plan strategy has been redirected from a consumer industry to a heavy and chemical industry, and then to a technology intensive industry. The government’s intervention has changed from direct and sector-specific involvement to indirect sector-neutral functional support system. South Korea is completely energy import dependent, it has no crude oil production. It is placed as the fifths country with the biggest import of crude oil worldwide. As a consumer of crude oil South Korea is on place nine. The South Korean government has developed a set of five-year plan for rational utilization of energy since 1993. A basic national energy plan covers 2008–2030 was announced in an attempt to reduce the energy use intensity by the end of 2030. This Chapter provides details about the energy consumptions in the industry sector and their development over time, focusing on the energy consumption in the South Korean industrial sector, and sheds lights on the energy intensity and energy use efficiency programs, it further provides a detail description of the current status of the energy demand in the South Korean industrial sector.