South Korea's Trade Research Articles

Turning the tide on big cat trade: Expert opinion on trends and conservation lessons from the Republic of Korea.

Unsustainable trade in big cats affects all species in the genus, Panthera, and is one of the foremost threats to their conservation. To provide further insight into the impact of policy interventions intended to address this issue, we examine the case study of the Republic of Korea (South Korea), which in the early 1990s was one of the world's largest importers of tiger (Panthera tigris) bone and a major manufacturer of tiger-derived medicinal products. In 1993, South Korea became a Party to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and introduced a ban on commercial trade in CITES Appendix I-listed big cats a year later. We used an expert-based questionnaire survey and an exploration of the CITES trade database to investigate what has since happened to big cat trade in South Korea. Expert opinion suggested that big cat trade has likely substantially reduced since the early 1990s, as a result of the trade ban and broad socioeconomic changes. However, illegal trade has not been eradicated entirely and we were able to confirm that products reportedly derived from big cats were still publicly available for sale on a range of Korean online marketplaces, sometimes openly. The items most commonly reported by respondents from post-1994 trade and supported by expert-led evidence were tiger and leopard (Panthera pardus) skins and tiger bone wine. Although South Korea may provide a useful case study of a historically significant consumer country for tiger which has made strong progress in addressing unsustainable levels of big cat trade within a short period of time, there remains a need to address recalcitrant small-scale, illegal trade. We also recommend further investigation regarding reports of South Korean nationals being involved in illegal trade in tiger-derived products in Southeast Asia.

ICOOP puzzle: localistic practices, internationalism values, and Fair Trade in South Korea’s cooperative movement

ABSTRACT This article illuminates an intellectual puzzle of how South Korean cooperative movements attempt to overcome the dilemma between localistic practices and the value of internationalism. Moving beyond anti-capitalistic debates of building links globally, the cooperative movement brings Fair Trade products from developing countries to consumer cooperatives in South Korea, resulting in a scaling up of community economies globally and forging real international solidarity. Engaging with feminist theories put forward by Gibson-Graham and their collaborators, this article calls upon an expanded feminist politics that challenge the “spatial bounding” of community economies that are often joined with localistic practices. Born as one of the most significant forms of community economies to address the economic precarity of grassroots farmers and workers during the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997, iCOOP was set up as a consumer cooperative federation to support local Korean producers with alternative market linkage. Through Fair Trade movement, iCOOP serves as an interesting case to overcome localistic practices and nurture the value of internationalism. This article develops an expanded feminist politics of community economies to confront the tendency of localistic practices by providing four layers of analysis: value, campaign tactics, new governance structure, and scaling solidarity.

South Korea's Trade Diplomacy Strategy towards the Netherlands in Dealing with Japan's Semiconductor Raw Material Protection Policy during 2019-2022

The objective of this study was to elucidate South Korea's trade diplomacyendeavors in augmenting trade and investment in the Netherlands during the timeframe of 2019-2022. The author employs the notions of economic diplomacy and trade diplomacy from the Okano-Heijmans conceptual framework to elucidate the essence of the research. During the 2019-2022 timeframe, South Korea has implemented trade diplomacy efforts aimed at enhancing its potential to export products, particularly semiconductors. The implementation of a safeguard policy for Japanese semiconductor raw materials is a response to constraints in the availability of raw materials, as well as the trade conflict between the United States and China, which has repercussions for South Korea's trade ties with Japan. To enhance exports, the South Korean government is implementing several trade diplomacy initiatives, including engaging in commerce through Foreign Trade Agreements and promoting investment through bilateral relations focused on both government and private sector involvement, particularly with the Netherlands. In addition, South Korean representatives visited ASML, a Dutch company that manufactures semiconductor production machinery. Nevertheless, South Korea must confront some obstacles in order to succeed in the semiconductor trade battle, particularly the imperative for quality advancement. In this paper, the author will also explore the investment prospects of South Korea for the Netherlands.

Vietnam - South Korea Trade and Investment Cooperation: 30-Year Milestone and Orientation

Vietnam - South Korea Trade and Investment Cooperation: 30-Year Milestone and Orientation

A Stochastic Frontier Analysis of Trade Efficiency for the Sino-Korea Trade

Purpose – This paper intends to make theoretical analysis and empirical test on the factors influencing China s export to South Korea, and draw conclusions about China s export efficiency and trade potential. Based on the conclusions, the reasons for China s trade deficit with South Korea are found, and a solution is put forward for solving the problem of China s trade deficit with South Korea. Design/methodology – Based on the data of 2004-2017 years in China, this paper uses the stochastic frontier gravity model to analyze the influencing factors of China s export to South Korea, as well as the export efficiency of each province and the export potential that can be explored. Findings – First, in terms of the factors affecting China s export trade to South Korea, the GDP of the provinces and cities in China, the FDI of South Korea to the provinces and cities in China, the GDP of South Korea, the population and education level of provinces and cities in China can significantly promote the export scale of Chinese provinces and cities to South Korea. The distance between Chinese provincial capitals and the South Korean capital significantly hinders Chinese exports to South Korea; Second, in terms of export trade efficiency, the trade exchange rate of the economically developed cities along the eastern coast of China and several provinces that are close to South Korea is higher than that of the cities in the central and western regions; Third, economic globalization makes trade more convenient, the average export trade efficiency of China s exports to South Korea showed an upward trend. However, under the influence of the 2008 global financial crisis, the export trade efficiency declined from 2008 to 2009, indicating that the impact of the financial crisis on the trade efficiency cannot be ignored. Originality/value – This paper finds out the influencing factors of China s export to South Korea, analyzes the export efficiency of different provinces and cities, excavates the export potential, and puts forward some suggestions for the balanced development of China and South Korea trade in the next step.

Not all oil shocks on the trade balance are alike: Empirical evidence from South Korea

AbstractThe primary interest in the present article lies in the contribution to the existing literature by investigating the impacts that three components of oil shocks—oil supply shocks, aggregate demand shocks and oil‐specific demand shocks—have on three measures of South Korea's trade balances—oil, non‐oil and total trade balances. We reveal that aggregate demand shocks have significant impacts, while oil supply and oil‐specific demand shocks have negligible impacts. Additionally, the overall impact of the three oil shocks on South Korea's trade balances appears to rely on the response of the non‐oil trade balance.

Effects of exchange rates and invoiced currencies on trade: Evidence from South Korea

AbstractThis study examines the relationship between exchange rates and South Korea's trade flows considering invoicing currencies in line with the dominant currency paradigm. We use the trade weight data of South Korea's total and bilateral trade with its major trading partners. Our analysis of the elasticities of South Korea's trade with respect to bilateral exchange rates shows that a strong US dollar—the dominant invoiced currency—is associated with a decline in South Korea's imports, regardless of the country of origin. We also show that the Japanese yen, as the other dominant invoicing currency in bilateral trade between South Korea and Japan, has a similar effect to that of the US dollar. In addition, fluctuations in the invoicing share of dominant currencies improve the statistical significance of the effect of exchange rate changes. We also report the results at the sectoral level. Overall, our results are consistent with the dominant currency paradigm. Finally, according to the South Korea pass‐through results, which show that US dollar rate fluctuations affect both import and consumer prices immediately, South Korean importers seem to react quickly by changing trade quantities and domestic sales prices.

Analysis of carbon emissions embodied in South Korea's international trade: Production-based and consumption-based perspectives

Growing international trade is likely to become a major obstacle in reducing carbon emissions. Research that estimates trade-related emissions and analyzes the sources will be important to overcoming this obstacle. With this in mind, the current paper investigates carbon emissions embodied in South Korea's trade during 2000–2014. Using multi-regional input-output analysis, we find large increases in emissions embodied in exports (production-based emissions) and imports (consumption-based emissions) which drove increases in Korean emissions. Over time, Korea's net carbon exports grew alongside its net value-added exports, implying a greater trade-off between the environmental costs and economic benefits of trade. However, emission intensities of exports and imports both fell which suggests improvements in emission efficiencies at home and abroad. Analysis of bilateral trade shows that growth in trade with China accounted for the largest share of increases in Korea's embodied emissions. Analysis at the sectoral level shows high levels of emissions relative to value added in basic materials and transportation services but low levels of emissions relative to value added in electronic and mechanical equipment and transportation equipment. Lastly, structural decomposition analysis indicates that improvements in emission intensities limited growth in emissions, while rising levels of final demand expanded growth in emissions. As the first extensive study to analyze the drivers of changes in Korea's carbon emissions embodied in multilateral exports and imports, this paper recommends various abatement policies to effectively reduce emissions.

South Korea's Trade with the Countries of Central Asia in the 21st Century

South Korea's Trade with the Countries of Central Asia in the 21st Century

South Korea trade during COVID-19 pandemic: perspectives on value chains and US-CHINA trade war

South Korea trade during COVID-19 pandemic: perspectives on value chains and US-CHINA trade war

부가가치 무역 확대를 위한 산업별 경쟁력 연구 : 기술무역특화지수를 중심으로

각국의 산업화 초기에는 제조업과 이를 바탕으로 한 상품무역 중심의 양적 성장이 주된 목적이었으나 최근 글로벌 4차 산업혁명기에는 질적 성장, 즉 기술과 지식재산 등 실질적인 부가가치를 기반으로 하는 무형재의 부가가치 무역이 매우 중요한 시대이다. 이에 본 연구는 우리나라 주요 기술수출입 국가들과의 세부산업별 기술무역특화지수분석을 통해 주요 기술수출 및 기술도입 국가 간 세부산업별 기술무역 경쟁력 분석을 그 목적으로 하였다.<BR> 분석결과, 기술무역수지 상위 6개국과의 무역에서 흑자국과 적자국 대부분의 산업에서 기술경쟁력이 약한 것으로 분석되었다. 그럼에도 불구하고 흑자국 중 기술수출 규모가 가장 큰 베트남과 중국의 경우 세부산업별 3-5개 산업에서 2011년에 비해 큰 폭으로 경쟁력이 상승한 것으로 나타나고 있다. 가장 대표적인 기술무역수지 적자국인 미국과는 2011년에 비해 2018년 기술경쟁력이 강화된 3개의 산업이 도출되었다.<BR> 따라서 본 분석을 통해 나타난 바와 같이 기술흑자 및 적자국 중 기술경쟁력을 확보한 세부 업종들은 여타 다른 국가로의 기술수출도 적극 고려하는 것이 부가가치 무역 확산에 기여할 수 있겠다는 판단이다. 이에 기술경쟁력이 강화되고 있는 산업과 그렇지 않는 업종들을 각각 구분하여 기업과 정부의 R&D투자 및 방향성이 세분화된 전략으로 재편되길 기대한다.

South Korea under the United States–China rivalry: dynamics of the economic-security nexus in trade policymaking

With the advent of the Trump administration and the subsequent U.S.–China trade conflict, South Korea's trade policy is under immense pressure. The KORUS FTA has been pushed for renegotiation while the China–South Korea trade relations have stumbled after the THAAD deployment to South Korea. This challenge can be characterized by the economic-security nexus shifted from positive to negative: that is, South Korea is compelled to either sacrifice its economic benefits in favor of security interest or vice versa. In contrast to Japan that seeks to retain TPP as a way of benefitting from a regionwide trade integration and balancing both Trump unilateralism and Chinese mercantilist influence, South Korea is forced to play a more complex game. Given its deep yet asymmetric economic interdependence with China and North Korean security threats, South Korea needs to accommodate China while at the same time courting US engagement in resolving the North Korean nuclear problems.

Factors Influencing the Preparation of Manuals for Emotional Labor and the Provision of Programs Depending on Type of Trade in South Korea

Factors Influencing the Preparation of Manuals for Emotional Labor and the Provision of Programs Depending on Type of Trade in South Korea

The Abe Effect on South Korea’s Trade Policy

Prime Minister Shinzo's decision to enter talks on the Trans- Pacific Partnership (TPP) has been a game changer in the competition over Asia Pacific free trade agreements (FTAs). His move helped to create a space for multilateral, mega-FTA competition before South Korea could fully prepare and implement its FTA predicated on bilateral deals. In this article, I provide an overview of South Korea's evolving strategies toward FTAs and explore how it has responded to the Abe effect. My focus is on two challenges for South Korea in participating in the TPP: US geopolitical pressure once Japan entered negotiations, and the de facto FTA negotiations with Japan under the TPP. Dealing with Japan is an especially tall order given the troubled history of South Korea-Japan economic and political relations. KEYWORDS: Korea-Japan relations, TPP, Shinzo, strategy, security-economy nexus.WHEN ABE SHINZO RETURNED TO POWER IN DECEMBER 2012, FEW people expected that Japan-South Korea relations would hit their lowest mark since diplomatic relations between them were restored in 1965. Instead of celebrating joint accomplishments of the past five decades, the two sides attempted to improve their severely strained relations, which included failure to hold a oneon- one summit meeting since took office. History conflicts emanating from Abe's historical revisionism in regard to imperialism and colonialism have been the primary source of political strains. While South Korea's president Park Geun-hye has demanded a more explicit apology from Japan on the history issues, such as the Imperial Army's enslavement of so-called comfort women, in Japan a view is gaining strength that it has apologized enough. Increasing enmity is reflected in public opinion surveys, such as one by the East Asia Institute and Genron NPO in spring 2014. It found that nearly 70 percent of South Koreans have a negative image of Japan, while 66 percent of Japanese have an unfavorable image of Korea (East Asia Institute 2014). This trend will most likely continue throughout 2015 because, as John Delury's article in this volume argues, the odds of genuine reconciliation between and Park are very low.Abe's return to power has also made an economic impact. The best example is his decision to enter TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) negotiations on March 15, 2013, significantly affecting South Korea's trade strategy that sought middle-power leadership as a of regional and transregional free trade agreement (FTA) networks. Abe's decision means that Japan supports the TPP, the US initiative in regional trade architecture, and helps to enhance the TPP's credibility and viability as a mega-regional trade agreement within the US coalition-building strategy (Terada 2013). Abe's move prompted China's response to accelerate the pace of devising alternative FTA networks. And it created strategic dilemmas for South Korea. Because the United States, together with Japan, has taken the initiative in forging regional trade networks through the TPP while China is counterbalancing it, the FTA game is now about creating (or multilateralizing) a regional or megaregional FTA. This is a blow to South Korea's FTA hub strategy predicated on bilateral FTAs with the major economies.My article explores how South Korea has responded to the challenges caused by the major economic powers. After providing an overview of South Korea's evolving strategies toward FTAs as an FTA latecomer, I examine the country's policy toward the TPP. I then analyze the Abe effect on South Korea's global strategy. The new dilemmas facing South Korea on TPP participation are twofold. It felt strong US geopolitical pressure once Japan entered the negotiations. But should South Korea enter the FTA negotiations, it would have to deal with a difficult Japan.The Rise of South Korea in the FTA GameFTAs and the Hub Strategy in East AsiaEast Asian countries embarked on FTA initiatives in response to economic globalization, the Asian financial crisis, and competitive regionalism. …

Changes in Press Briefings of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in South Korea

Changes in Press Briefings of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in South Korea

South Korea’s Interests in the Arctic

Since the early 2000s, South Korea's interest in the Arctic has gradually grown in parallel with the acceleration of the melting of the Arctic sea ice. This interest peaked on May 15, 2013, when South Korea obtained observer status in the Arctic Council. Afterward, the headlines of newspapers were full of rosy depictions of the enormous benefits that such status would bring to South Korea. One year later, however, interest in the Arctic seems to have cooled. This essay examines South Korea's interests in the Arctic. It addresses five sets of issues: South Korea's economic interests in the Arctic, obstacles to the development of these interests, South Korea's involvement in Arctic governance, the Arctic Policy Master Plan, and the challenges ahead for the country.South Korea's Economic Interests in the ArcticSouth Korea's keen interest in the Arctic is due to the expectation that the region could become a driver of economic growth similar to the Middle East during the construction boom in the 1970s. The reasoning behind these expectation can be divided into the following four categories.1First, it is expected that South Korea's companies and experts will participate actively in the development and exploitation of energy resources in the Arctic. The U.S. Geological Survey's report that 13% of the world's oil reserves (about 90 billion barrels) and 30% of all natural gas reserves (about 47 trillion cubic meters) are held in the Arctic has certainly piqued South Korea's interest.2 As of 2013, South Korea imported 61.8% of its oil from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates and about 53.3% of its natural gas from Qatar, Indonesia, and Malaysia.3 Currently, the South Korean government provides incentives for oil imported from outside the Middle East with the goal of diversifying imports and becoming less dependent on Middle East oil. Expert analysis indicates that South Korea would save approximately $1 billion annually in transportation costs if Arctic oil replaced just 10% of Middle East oil.4Second, interest in savings generated from using the Northern Sea Route (NSR) also encourages high economic expectations for the Arctic. Current sea routes connect South Korea with northern Europe through the Strait of Malacca and the Suez Canal. The NSR would decrease the transportation distance by 40% (about 8,000 kilometers, or 4,970 miles), thereby reducing travel time by up to ten days and cutting fuel costs by 25%.5 These gains would increase the competitiveness of South Korean products on the European market. Given that 99% of South Korea's trade volume is handled via shipping and that Northern Europe is one of the country's major trade partners, opening an Arctic route would significantly benefit the South Korean economy. In order to promote use of the NSR, the South Korean government provides various incentives such as discounts on charges for port usage. Because of such measures, Stena Polaris, a freighter operated by the South Korean logistics company Hyundai Glovis, completed South Korea's first commercial freight voyage via the Arctic Ocean on October 22, 2013, after taking only 35 days to make the journey from the Russian port of Ust-Luga to the South Koran port of Gwangyang.Third, there has been an increase in demand for offshore platforms and special vessels, such as icebreakers and ice-hardened ships, since the beginning of the new era of Arctic resource development and the opening of the Arctic sea routes. South Korean shipbuilders such as Hyundai Heavy Industries, Samsung Heavy Industries, and Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) are among the most competitive companies in the world for production of these high-value-added ships. In March 2014, DSME won a $300 million order from Russia's state-owned shipping company Sovcomflot to construct an icebreaking liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier. This agreement is part of Russia's Yamal project, which is an initiative to develop the vast natural gas reserves (16. …

A Reference on the Experience of Industrial Upgrading of Processing Trade

Processing trade, a new form of trade, has been booming in South Korea, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, and other countries and regions, and has been taken after soon by other developing countries. South Korea’s export-oriented processing trade and Taiwan’s Export Processing Zone are typical forms of this trade. Since 1960s, processing trade in South Korea and Taiwan has been promoted significantly both in terms of structural upgrading and export volume, thus fostering their economic growth. This paper mainly explores the development process and experience in processing of South Korea and Taiwan, analyses into the development regularity embodied in their processing trade and thus inferring relevant experience. Key words: South Korea; Taiwan processing trade; Experience inference

The Role of Trade in Structural Transformation

This paper examines the effects of international trade in agricultural goods on structural transformation and economic growth. To do the analysis, I introduce international trade into a neoclassical growth model with two sectors, agriculture and non agriculture. A key feature of the model is the low-income elasticity of the agricultural good. Consequently, in the closed economy model, as countries get richer labor moves out of agriculture and into the other sector. International trade can accelerate this transition for countries with low agricultural productivity because it allows them to import food and thus reduce their agricultural employment. I calibrate and simulate the model to show it can match three different structural transformations: the United States in the 20th century, the United Kingdom in the 19th century, and South Korea for nearly the last 50 years. The results show that trade had large effects in the United Kingdom, and smaller but positive effects in South Korea. Agricultural production subsidies and agricultural import tariffs reduced the role of trade in South Korea. Without these policies, the volume of trade would have been larger and the country would have experienced a faster transformation as well as higher real income growth and higher welfare.

Book Reviews

Book Reviews

Book Reviews

James E. Rauch of University of California, San Diego reviews “Emergent Economies, Divergent Paths: Economic Organization and International Trade in South Korea and Taiwan” by Robert C. Feenstra and Gary G. Hamilton. The EconLit Abstract of the reviewed work begins, “Studies the business groups in South Korea and Taiwan and what their different paths of development say about economic organization. Discusses the problem of economic organization; interpreting business groups in South Korea and Taiwan; a model of business groups--the interaction of authority and market….”