Last updated in February 2022.

South Korea
Walking the policy normalization tightrope
A1
LOW RISK for enterprise
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Economic risk
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Business environment risk
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Political risk
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Commercial risk
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Financing risk
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Economic risk
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Business environment risk
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Political risk
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Commercial risk
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Financing risk
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GDP | USD1642.383bn (World ranking 12, World Bank 2019) |
Population | 51.7mn (World ranking 28, World Bank 2019) |
Form of state | Democratic Republic |
Head of government | Yoon Seok-youl (President) |
Next elections | 2027, presidential |

- Advanced economy with high per capita income
- Sound financial sector
- Solid external position (low external debt, ample foreign exchange reserves, etc.)
- Strong business environment
- Firmly established democracy

- Geopolitical risk stemming from North Korea
- Economic vulnerabilities due to dependency on external demand
- Slowly improving but still weak corporate governance
- Aging population
Trade structure by destination/origin
(% of total)
Exports | Rank | Imports |
---|---|---|
China
25%
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1 |
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United States
13%
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2 |
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Hong Kong
7%
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3 |
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Vietnam
7%
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4 |
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Japan
5%
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5 |
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Trade structure by product
(% of total)
Exports | Rank | Imports |
---|---|---|
Electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances, n.e.s.
19%
|
1 |
14%
Petroleum, petroleum products and related materials
|
Road vehicles
13%
|
2 |
13%
Electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances, n.e.s.
|
Telecommunication and sound recording apparatus
7%
|
3 |
4%
Telecommunication and sound recording apparatus
|
Other transport equipment
7%
|
4 |
4%
Specialised machinery
|
Petroleum, petroleum products and related materials
5%
|
5 |
4%
Metalliferous ores and metal scrap
|
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