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Economic crisis attacks Seoul: "Too dependent on foreign markets"
by Joseph Yun Li-sun
The National Bank issues the Korean trade data: worse than the Asian financial crisis of 2008. Fault is dependence on foreign markets and import-export based economy: "It risks paying for sins that are not its own”.
Seoul (AsiaNews) - The dependence of South Korea on foreign markets, in August reached the levels of the Asian crisis of 2008. According to the National Bank of Korea, "this addiction is worse than that of other nations," and this makes Seoul "more vulnerable than many others" to the next, predictable international economic shock.
Exports and imports in the first quarter of the year, reached 110% of GDP, the highest level ever reached since the last quarter of 2008, in the meantime, trade linked to the GDP came to 114.6%. This means that domestic production, and thus the national wealth, is left entirely to the benevolence of foreign markets.
South Korea is the fourth largest economy in Asia. The levels are stunning, considering that the country has undergone in the last 60 years, a disastrous civil war, heavy military dictatorship and the "commissioning" of the United States. Yet it managed to overcome these obstacles with enthusiasm. Now, however, the crisis is inculcating fear.
According to Kwon Young-sun, an economist at Nomura Securities, "Korea is more vulnerable than others because it is entirely linked to international credit markets and commodity prices. Its economy is based on the import-export and is very involved in the purchase of foreign debt. This is a very open economy, and this is good, but the crisis threatens to destroy it because of sins not its own. "