A new report points out that South Korea got more economically competitive on the global stage this year.
This is a rare glint of light amid gloomy employment and income figures released in recent months.
Lee Seung-jae reports.
In the latest World Economic Forum competitiveness index report released on Wednesday,... South Korea's overall ranking rose two notches to 15th,... thanks to an improvement in the nation's macroeconomic environment and a high-level of information technology.
While Asia's fourth largest economy ranked relatively high out of the 140 countries surveyed,... the report said this year's gains were tempered by challenges in the country's labor sector and certain structural issues.
The World Economic Forum changed some items it reviewed,... and the rankings were based on the new evaluation scheme.
South Korea's rankings in terms of its institutions and infrastructure came in at 27th and 6th, respectively.
However, the nation topped the list in both ICT adoption and macroeconomic stability.
The report had South Korea at 19th and 27th in terms of health and skills,... while the numbers for product market, labor market, financial system,... and market size ranked 67th, 48th, 19th and 14th, respectively.
In addition,... the report says the nation leads the ICT adoption pillar,... boasting some of the world's highest penetration rates,... but it added that, while South Korea is a global innovation powerhouse,... it struggles with the less tangible drivers of innovation.
The World Economic Forum noted South Korea's two weakest pillars are its product market,... mostly due to the lack of domestic competition and labor market, caused by its rigidity and sub-optimal utilization of human capital.
Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.