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2006-09-06 |
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Korea Will Be Developed Country in 10 Years, 99% Say |
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The Korea Times, August 3, 2006
Almost all of South Koreans are positive that the country will become a developed nation within ten years, a survey has shown.
Citing a survey of 500 adults over the age of 20, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) said that 98.7 percent of the respondents believed that the country would join the ranks of economically-advanced nations with per capita gross national income reaching $30,000 by 2016.
Of the respondents, 49 percent voiced optimism over Korea becoming a developed nation in 7-10 years. Twenty-six percent said it will take five years, 20 percent seven years and 3 percent 3 years.
"Most strongly believe that Korea is one step away from emerging as a developed nation," said Yoon Chul-min, a manager at KCCI’s economic research team. "People bet Korea is ready for another economic take-off."
However, a majority of Koreans find social conflicts seriously hamper economic growth and stand in the country’s way of becoming a developed nation, according to the survey.
About 39 percent of the respondents said that social discord needs to be resolved first in order for Korea to reach a per capita income of $30,000. Otherwise, they believe that the discord will continue to negatively affect the economy, it said.
Such discord includes a wider gap between the rich and the poor, labor-management disputes, regional polarization, ideological differences and conflicts over market liberalization.
As other tasks to be tackled, 22 percent cited the need to improve the business environment, 19.7 percent said the government needed to be more competitive and 17.4 percent wanted improvements in the education system.
"We need to review the issue of social discord and find a solution by studying other countries like the Netherlands and Ireland _ how they overcame social problems and accomplished economic prosperity," said Yoon of KCCI.
The KCCI survey showed Korea’s current economic status _ as perceived by survey participants _ given 62.4 points out of 100.
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