The World Economic Forum on Aug. 24 published a column by Jim O'Neill, chair of the British think tank Chatham House, titled "South Korea's economy is doing better than any other OECD country." (Yonhap News)
By Kim Hyelin and Lee Jihae
As the world struggles with a financial crisis caused by COVID-19, a British analyst says Korea serves as a global benchmark for advanced economies.
The Switzerland-based World Economic Forum on Aug. 24 posted the column "South Korea's economy is doing better than any other OECD country."
The column was written by renowned economist Jim O'Neill, formerly chairman of Goldman Sachs and commercial secretary to the British Treasury and now chair of the London-based think tank Chatham House.
"While OECD countries are, on average, seeing a GDP contraction of 7.6%, forecasts for South Korea have been revised at only -0.8%," he said. "The country has long been a role model for other developing economies, and it is now increasingly becoming one for more 'advanced' economies like the United States and the UK."
"South Korea’s 2020 contraction is nothing compared to what the country experienced following the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis."
"In the event, both Italy and the UK went on to suffer especially deep crises," he said, lauding Korea's economic response to the pandemic.
O'Neill attributed Korea's response to COVID-19 to the country's economic development over the past decades, adding, "South Korea has not only grown; it has also climbed the economic ladder by embracing technology."
He said Korea's advanced technology has greatly helped stem the spread of COVID-19, and its adoption of technology for economic growth has resulted in a big difference with the responses of other countries to COVID-19.
"South Korea today is a technologically intensive society, and that has almost certainly made a difference in the context of the pandemic, particularly when it has come to monitoring localized risks and containing the spread of the virus," he said.
"The data for July show that its export performance has improved notably," he added. "It is time for everyone to start learning from South Korea."