S. Korea vows reform efforts following sharp drop in global competitiveness ranking
South Korea will work to identify its weaknesses and turn them into new opportunities for future growth, Acting Finance Minister Lee Hyoung-il said Friday, stressing that the country's recent drop in the global competitiveness ranking must serve as a "turning point."
According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, South Korea ranked 27th out of 69 countries in the 2025 World Competitiveness Ranking released by the International Institute for Management Development, falling seven places from last year's record high of 20th.
The IMD, a Switzerland-based business school, has published the annual ranking since 1989. It evaluates countries based on four pillars: economic performance, government efficiency, corporate efficiency and infrastructure.
"We will thoroughly assess and analyze the identified weaknesses to turn this into an opportunity to enhance our national competitiveness," Lee said during a policy coordination meeting with related government agencies and private-sector experts.
In this year's breakdown, South Korea fell sharply in business efficiency, ranking 44th, a 21-spot drop from the previous year.
Addressing the corporate sector challenges, Lee said the government will establish an innovation ecosystem for the artificial intelligence (AI) transformation and build a talent development system.
The government also plans to coordinate closely with the private sector to address structural inefficiencies and push forward digital innovation to regain lost ground in future rankings, he added. (Yonhap)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Korea Herald
26 minutes ago
- Korea Herald
Judges' meeting on judicial independence ends without consensus
Judges divided over Supreme Court case involving President Lee A national meeting of South Korean judges ended without agreement on Monday, as members remained divided over how to respond to the Supreme Court ruling on President Lee Jae Myung's alleged election law violations. According to the National Association of Judges, the Monday meeting was to address the ongoing controversy surrounding the judiciary, sparked by the Supreme Court ruling issued during President Lee's presidential campaign. Proposals related to key issues such as judicial independence and public trust in the courts were largely opposed, and all five motions put to a vote were rejected. The judges previously decided not to pass a resolution, opting instead to continue discussions after the June 3 presidential election due to concerns that their decision could influence the election. One of the key issues was the association's commitment to ensuring fair trials by monitoring the legal procedures in Lee's case, analyzing the causes of the controversy and discussing measures to resolve it. Among the 90 judges who attended the meeting, 56 expressed the view that the proceedings of Lee's election law violation case were conducted legally, and so the association decided not to issue an additional statement on the matter. Another item on the agenda was whether judicial independence was undermined by the Democratic Party of Korea's lawmaker-led decision to summon and investigate Supreme Court Chief Justice Jo Hee-de after the ruling. While 19 judges believed that the then main opposition party's measure constituted a serious breach of judicial independence, 67 opposed the proposal. The remaining proposals were all voted down. These included proposals that would have addressed criticism directed at the Supreme Court's unusually swift handling of Lee's criminal case -- including its expedited appeal trial and selective review of the lengthy case record -- which raised doubts about the court's political neutrality. The National Association of Judges announced that it would not announce any official statement or make proposals as its members were divided, with some believing the top court's ruling undermined public trust in the judiciary, while others argued that a collective opinion on the validity of the ruling could be seen as judicial overreach. The special meeting, held by judges from courts at all levels nationwide, is convened to express opinions or make recommendations on judicial administration and the independence of the judiciary.
Korea Herald
an hour ago
- Korea Herald
Coupang makes GPU contract bid, hinting at cloud market entry
Coupang has made a surprise entry into a government-led bid to secure and operate high-performance graphics processing units, signaling potential ambitions beyond its current e-commerce focus. The e-commerce giant is among four companies — including Naver Cloud, Kakao Enterprise and NHN Cloud — that have submitted bids for the Ministry of Science and ICT's 1.46 trillion won ($1.07 billion) GPU infrastructure support project, according to industry sources Monday. Under the initiative, the government plans to purchase 10,000 high-performance GPUs through its first supplementary budget and provide GPU services to companies and researchers over five years. The final operator will be selected next month. While Coupang declined to comment on its participation, sources view the move as a strategic attempt to gain operational experience in GPU-as-a-service, potentially laying the groundwork for a future pivot into the cloud services market. "This marks Coupang's first known foray into a government tech infrastructure project of this scale,' said an industry source who requested anonymity. 'Although it has not publicly operated GPUaaS, its internal services like Coupang Play and Coupang Eats have long leveraged GPU resources, possibly helping it meet the eligibility requirements.' 'Coupang, emerging as a dark horse in the recent GPU acquisition initiative, may be strategically aiming to solidify its identity as a competitive cloud service provider through this move. … Otherwise, it's difficult to justify the company's participation in the project, especially considering the massive costs associated with data center space rentals,' the source added. The unexpected bid has drawn considerable attention, with speculation mounting that Coupang aims to evolve into a cloud service provider, much like Amazon's trajectory from e-commerce to dominance in Amazon Web Services. Industry watchers have observed that Coupang is stepping up its infrastructure push. The company is reportedly working with Singapore-based Empyrion DC to lease space at the KR1 data center in Seoul's Yangjae area, while accelerating talent acquisition in cloud and GPU operations. 'Coupang has consistently benchmarked Amazon's business model,' said a source familiar with the matter. 'It now appears to be eyeing the next frontier -- emulating AWS.' Despite the ambitions, skepticism remains. Unlike its competitors, Coupang lacks a track record of large-scale GPU service deployment. Naver Cloud, Kakao Enterprise and NHN Cloud already operate substantial GPU clusters and have established GPUaaS platforms. This could put Coupang at a disadvantage when it comes to technical evaluations. 'Coupang is not disqualified by regulation,' the anonymous source said. 'But its limited hands-on experience with GPU infrastructure could be a critical shortfall.' Stability remains a priority for the government's GPU project, the official added: 'The ability to quickly recover from system failures is key, and Coupang's capabilities in this area have yet to be publicly proven.' Industry observers are now watching to see whether Coupang can leverage this opportunity to transform into a next-generation cloud provider and challenge South Korea's established cloud service players. 'Coupang has been heavily investing in infrastructure talent,' another anonymous industry source said. 'If it can gain practical experience through a project of this scale, it could rapidly internalize GPU technology and accelerate its pivot into cloud computing.'
Korea Herald
2 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Posco pursues ‘direct lithium production' in North America for 1st time
Posco Holdings announced on Monday plans to test the viability of directly producing lithium — a key material for electric vehicle batteries — highlighting the significance of establishing a supply chain in North America amid the ongoing pressure of decoupling from China. In partnership with Anson Resources, Australia's natural resource developer, Posco will start the construction of a demonstration plant next year in Green River City, Utah. The facility will evaluate whether Posco's Direct Lithium Extraction technology is feasible for large-scale commercial production. Unlike traditional lithium extraction methods that depend on the natural evaporation of brine in large ponds, DLE is a cost-effective, innovative process designed to selectively extract lithium from low-concentration brine lakes. The project marks the first time a South Korean company has taken steps toward directly producing lithium in North America. In contrast, Posco's domestic rivals, including LG Chem, have primarily secured supply agreements with US-based lithium producers rather than pursuing local production. Earlier Monday, the two companies signed a memorandum of understanding under which Anson Resources will provide the raw materials for lithium and the construction site, where it holds mining rights for lithium brine. While the additional details of the project, including its timeline and investment volume, remain undisclosed, Posco stated: 'By successfully operating the demonstration plant in the US, we aim to commercialize the DLE technology we have developed since 2016. The company intends to leverage this technology for investment and commercialization of undeveloped lithium brine lakes across North America.' According to World Population Review, the US ranked third in the world for lithium deposits in 2023, behind Bolivia and Argentina. This initiative is in line with the company's focus to secure additional lithium resources outside China, which dominates the global lithium hydroxide market, under Posco Holdings CEO Chang In-hwa's '2 Core + New Engine' strategy, referring to focusing on its core steel and battery materials businesses, while also developing new growth engines. Meanwhile, Posco Holdings has secured an annual production capacity of 68,000 metric tons of lithium hydroxide, enough to manufacture batteries for approximately 1.6 million EVs. This includes 25,000 tons from its brine lithium plant in Argentina and 43,000 tons from its ore lithium plant in the Yulchon Industrial Complex in South Jeolla Province.
