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Korea is expected to become the world's ninth country to top the $1 trillion mark in annual exports next year by chalking up a double-digit gain.

In a report to President Lee Myung-bak, Wednesday, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE) disclosed its target, which the ministry says should not be that difficult to achieve.

"We aim to achieve $513 billion in outbound shipments next year, up 10.3 percent from this year's estimate of $465 billion. Imports are projected to be $488 billion for the overall trade volume of $1 trillion," an MKE official said.

"To enable the double-digit growth in exports, we plan to focus on our traditional cash cows such as memory chips, automobiles, shipbuilding, flat-panel displays and steel while nurturing next-generation growth engines like bio-similar products."

Up until now, only eight countries have reached the milestone of $1 trillion in trade - the United States, Germany, China, Japan, France, Italy, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

When the country gained independence from Japan’s colonial rule in 1945, its yearly exports were less than $4 million with the destinations limited to nearby China and Japan.

By seeking export-oriented policies thereafter, Korea attempted to overcome its lack of natural resources - it does not produce a drop of crude oil.

The efforts worked as exports rocketed 100 times in 15 years from $100 million in 1964 to $10 billion in 1977. After the figure surpassed the $100 billion plateau in 1995, the pace has not shown signs of slowing down.

Thus far, large-sized corporations including Samsung Electronics and Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group have spearheaded the ultra-fast growth, which is envied by many developing countries.

The former is the world’s largest maker of memory chips and flat-panel displays and the latter is the No. 5 automaker.

While maintaining the competitive advantage of conglomerates, the MKE is looking to find another locomotive in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) to spearhead the country's next leap forward.

Under a project dubbed "world class 300," the ministry looks to pick 30 small-sized companies with global competitiveness during the first quarter of next year and will help them expand into overseas markets.

By 2020, the Seoul administration plans to increase the number 10 fold to 300.

In addition, the government is scheduled to channel 750 billion won during the next seven years into half a dozen businesses, which can underpin the nation over the long haul.

By Kim Tae-gyu(voc200@koreatimes.co.kr)



# The Korea Times [DECEMBER 16 2010]