韓國重工業製品의 輸出競爭力 實態와 重工業發展水準의 分析

A Study on the Export Competitive Status of Heavy Industrial Products and the Level of Heavy Industrial Developments in Korea

In the 1980s, Korea is developing and reorganizing the heavy and chemical industry products. So, it is very important to analysis the status of comparative advantage of heavy and chemical industry products and to assess the level of development of these industries in Korea. The level of Korean heavy heavy industrialization in 1980 was lower than the current Taiwanese level or that of Japanese heavy industry in the 1960s. The signsficance of increases in export prices lies in comparision with other competitive countries-Taiwan, Hongkong, Signapore. The indices measuring the competitiveness of heavy and chemical industrial products in Korea are lower than they are in these other countries. But, the support measures for heavy industrial exports, such as tax exemptions and financial assistance are similar to those in Taiwan. The development of Korean heavy industry began its take-off in the 1970s. But, it is still behind Japan in the introduction of advanced technology and in investment for the development of new techniques. As we know, low investment in research and development limits not only the development of domestic technology but also reduces the rate of increase in productivity. Korean industrial technology, a broad-based measure which covers the planning of factories and products, the manufacturing, process the figure of defective products etc. is only 20~30% of that of the developed countries. The quality of the final products is also considerably lower. Therefore, the competitiveness of Korean heavy industrial products in the future will depend on the development of new production techniques, the level of production technology in use, on upgrading the quality of products and on increasing productivity. So, Korea has to expand investment in the development of techniques to raise the export competitiveness and to remain flexible in the face of unpredictable international conditions. It is desirable for Korea to improve the terms of trade and ensure international export competitiveness by maintaining the stability of the domestic economy through price and wage stability. To do so, it will be important to stabilize domestic commodity prices. In order to boost productivity and to strengthen the capability to compete in heavy industry products on the world market, the introduction of advanced technology and the expantion of investment in research and development will be encouraged.