South Korea North Korea 1996-97
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COUNTRY PROFILE South Korea North Korea Our quarterly Country Report on South Korea and North Korea analyses current trends. This annual Country Profile provides background political and economic information. 1996-97 The Economist Intelligence Unit 15 Regent Street, London SW1Y 4LR United Kingdom The Economist Intelligence Unit The Economist Intelligence Unit is a specialist publisher serving companies establishing and managing operations across national borders. For over 40 years it has been a source of information on business developments, economic and political trends, government regulations and corporate practice worldwide. The EIU delivers its information in four ways: through subscription products ranging from newsletters to annual reference works; through specific research reports, whether for general release or for particular clients; through electronic publishing; and by organising conferences and roundtables. The firm is a member of The Economist Group. London New York Hong Kong The Economist Intelligence Unit The Economist Intelligence Unit The Economist Intelligence Unit 15 Regent Street The Economist Building 25/F, Dah Sing Financial Centre London 111 West 57th Street 108 Gloucester Road SW1Y 4LR New York Wanchai United Kingdom NY 10019, USA Hong Kong Tel: (44.171) 830 1000 Tel: (1.212) 554 0600 Tel: (852) 2802 7288 Fax: (44.171) 499 9767 Fax: (1.212) 586 1181/2 Fax: (852) 2802 7638 Electronic delivery EIU Electronic Publishing New York: Lou Celi or Lisa Hennessey Tel: (1.212) 554 0600 Fax: (1.212) 586 0248 London: Moya Veitch Tel: (44.171) 830 1007 Fax: (44.171) 830 1023 This publication is available on the following electronic and other media: Online databases CD-ROM Microfilm FT Profile (UK) Knight-Ridder Information World Microfilms Publications (UK) Tel: (44.171) 825 8000 Inc (USA) Tel: (44.171) 266 2202 DIALOG (USA) SilverPlatter (USA) University Microfilms Inc (USA) Tel: (1.415) 254 7000 Tel: (1.800) 521 0600 LEXIS-NEXIS (USA) Tel: (1.800) 227 4908 Copyright © 1996 The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited. All rights reserved. Neither this publication nor any part of it may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited. All information in this report is verified to the best of the authors and the publishers ability. However, the EIU does not accept responsibility for any loss arising from reliance on it. ISSN 1351-4431 Symbols for tables n/a means not available; means not applicable Printed and distributed by Redhouse Press Ltd, Unit 151, Dartford Trade Park, Dartford, Kent DA1 1QB, UK 1 October 18, 1996 Contents South Korea 3 Basic data 4 Political background 4 Historical background 5 Constitution and institutions 5 Political forces 8 International relations and defence 11 The economy 11 Economic structure 12 Economic policy 15 Economic performance 17 Regional trends 18 Resources 18 Population 19 Education 20 Health 21 Natural resources and the environment 22 Economic infrastructure 22 Transport and communications 23 Energy provision 25 Financial and other services 27 Production 27 Manufacturing 28 Mining and semi-processing 29 Agriculture and forestry 29 Construction 30 The external sector 30 Merchandise trade 33 Invisibles and the current account 35 Capital flows and foreign debt 36 Foreign reserves and the exchange rate 38 Appendices 38 Sources of information 39 Reference tables EIU Country Profile 1996-97 © The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 1996 2 North Korea 56 Basic data 57 Political background 57 Historical background 59 Constitution and institutions 60 Political forces 61 International relations and defence 62 The economy 62 Economic structure 63 Economic policy 66 Economic performance 67 Regional trends 68 Resources 68 Population 69 Education 70 Health 71 Natural resources and the environment 72 Economic infrastructure 72 Transport and communications 73 Energy provision 74 Financial services 74 Other services 75 Production 75 Industry 76 Mining and semi-processing 78 Agriculture and forestry 79 Construction 79 The external sector 79 Merchandise trade 81 Invisibles and the current account 81 Capital flows and foreign debt 83 Foreign reserves and the exchange rate 84 Appendices 84 Sources of information 86 Reference tables EIU Country Profile 1996-97 © The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 1996 South Korea: Basic data 3 South Korea Basic data Land area 99,314 sq km Population 44.85 million (mid-1995 estimate) Main towns Population in 000 (1990) Seoul 10,628 Pusan 3,798 Taegu 2,229 Inchon 1,818 Kwangju 1,145 Taejon 1,062 Climate Continental, with extremes of temperature Weather in Seoul Hottest month, August, 22-31°C (average daily minimum and maximum); (altitude 87 metres) coldest month, January, minus 9-0°C; driest month, February, 20 mm average rainfall; wettest month, July, 376 mm average rainfall Language Korean Measures Metric system. Some local measures are: 1 chungbo=0.992 ha 1 suk=100 dai=180.39 litres 1 kwan=1,000 don=3.75 kg Currency Won. Average exchange rates in 1995: W771.3:$1; W1,217.5:£1 (cross rate). At the end of September 1996 the rates were W820.8:$1 and W1,284.8:£1 Time 9 hours ahead of GMT Public holidays January 1-3; March 1, 10; April 5; May 5; June 6; July 17; August 15; October 1, 3, 9; December 25; Buddhas birthday (May); Thanksgiving (September) EIU Country Profile 1996-97 © The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 1996 4 South Korea: Historical background Political background Historical background The divided Korean An ancient civilisation which had enjoyed many centuries of unity and political peninsula independence, Korea was unable to preserve that independence in the era of colonialism, coming under Japanese rule effectively in 1905 and formally in 1910. Japanese colonial rule was harsh, and culminated for the last decade before 1945 in an attempt to wipe out Korean identity by imposing Japanese religion, language and names. At the end of the Second World War, a US proposal to use the 38th parallel as a temporary dividing line for taking the surrender of Japanese forces in Korea was accepted by the Soviet Union. In the event, this division hardened into two separate states. In 1948 the Republic of Korea (South Korea) was proclaimed, and this was quickly followed by the formation of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (North Korea) as a communist state modelled on the Stalinist pattern. Both republics claimed sovereignty over the whole of the Korean peninsula, each claiming to be the only legitimate national government. In July 1950 North Korea, under the leadership of Kim II-sung, attempted to unify Korea by force, launching an invasion of South Korea with the un- announced backing of Stalin and the Soviet Union. The north had overrun virtually all South Korea when UN forces led by the USA counterattacked. The UN then overran almost all North Korea, which was in turn rescued by Chinese intervention. Stalemate resulted. The present border between North and South Korea, the Demiltarised Zone (DMZ), is the line along which fighting stopped in 1953, and is not very far removed from the 1950 line. Decisive events, 1990-95 1990: Right and centre-right groups form the Democratic Liberal Party (DLP) with two-thirds of National Assembly seats. Diplomatic relations are established with the Soviet Union. 1992: Legislative elections cost the DLP its working majority. Diplomatic relations are established with China. Kim Young-sam (DLP) is the first civilian president to win free and fair elections. 1995: Provincial governors and city mayors are directly elected for the first time. 1996: Former presidents Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo are convicted of mutiny and corruption. No longer a military For most of its history South Korea has been ruled by a succession of authoritar- regime ian regimes, civilian in the case of Syngman Rhee (president in 1948-60), mili- tary in the cases of General Park Chung-hee (1961-79) and General Chun Doo-hwan (1980-88). But although Roh Tae-woo was the military nominee of his military predecessor, he was elected president in 1988 in a relatively fair and free election, and South Korea passed a milestone in its political history when he handed over power in 1993 to an elected civilian successor, Kim Young-sam, EIU Country Profile 1996-97 © The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 1996 South Korea: Constitution and institutions 5 following an election in December 1992 which was again tolerably clean. A further milestone, the transfer of power by an elected president to a successful opposition candidate, has yet to be reached but is no longer inconceivable. The influence of the military, which for long tended to view opposition to the government as disloyalty to the regime, is no longer paramount. That the polit- ical power of the military has been definitely broken is clear from the remark- able spectacle of both Mr Chun and Mr Roh being tried, convicted and sentenced for their coup of 1979-80 and subsequent corruption. Constitution and institutions National Assembly The present constitution was agreed between the government and opposition parties in September 1987 and approved by the National Assembly and by referendum in October of that year. The new document replaced Chun Doo-hwans 1980 constitution (which stipulated indirect presidential elections and allowed the president a seven-year term) and provided that the president be directly elected in a first-past-the-post system to serve a single five-year term. As before, there is a single legislative chamber, the National Assembly, whose elected members serve a four-year term. Thus the sounding of public opinion in a presidential election can be as close as three months away from a legislative election once in a 20-year cycle, but it can be as far away as 21 months; the system therefore makes it fairly likely that the presidency will be under different political control from the legislature.