South Korea Maintains 26th Spot on Global Competitive Index

by YuGee / Sep 29, 2016 10:27 AM EDT

Foreign currency dealers work in front of electronic boards displaying the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi), left, and the exchange rate between the South Korean won and U.S. dollar, second left, in a dealing room of KEB Hana Bank in Seoul, South

For third straight year, the competitiveness of South Korea remains unchanged. It maintained its 26th spot on a global index of the world's economies, the Korea JoongAng Daily reported.

The report also indicated that the country placed after Malaysia (ranked 25th) this year on the World Economic Forum's Global Competitive Index. The yearly ranking results from the organization were released on Tuesday.

One of the analyses of the report reads, "Reflected in the evolution of the CGI score since the 2007-2008 edition, the overall competitiveness trends for the region are overwhelmingly positive: 13 of the region's 15 economies covered since 2007 achieve a higher score today, with Cambodia, China, and the Philippines posting the largest gains. The only exceptions are Korea and Thailand, though for the latter the loss has been small and from a high base."

Korea's competitiveness in basic requirements and efficiency enhancers went down. Because of this, the report emphasized the need for the country to enhance its innovation capacity and not let the education sector to decline.

Primary education ranked 29th while higher education and training went down two points and placed 25th. The result of the organization's research shows that there is a great need for additional vocational training and secondary education to enable people to work in complex, digital environments.

The report also noted, "The region's advanced economies need to further develop their innovation capacity. Japan and Singapore are the only economies in the region among the world's top 10 innovators, ranking respectively eighth and ninth in the innovation pillar. Japan, Korea (which has dropped from eighth to 20th in the pillar since 2007), and to a lesser extent Chinese Taipei (11th), have experienced a steady erosion of their innovation edge since 2007."

Due to government-initiated financial programs, South Korea improved in areas such as labor market efficiency and financial market development.

An official from the Finance Ministry said, "Korea's competitiveness rank will be able to go up if we secure the common traits of the top ranking countries like more efficient labor market and innovation capacity through bold and swift reforms."