Economics

In this special episode, Korean Kontext had the opportunity to speak to South Korean Minister for Trade, Bark Taeho, during his latest visit to Washington DC. KEI’s Vice President, Dr.…

By the time you read this, the KORUS FTA will have entered the implementation stage. To celebrate, Korean Kontext caught up with two of the main movers-and-shakers behind the deal…

In this episode, Korea Economic Institute’s Director of Communications Chad 0Carroll speaks with Scott Snyder of the Council on Foreign Relations. Having written a number of publications on U.S. relations…

This episode takes us directly into the office of Ambassador Han Duk-Soo, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the United States, who shares his thoughts on the much-anticipated G-20…

Following a new report on record-low new cases on April 18, the government lifted most coronavirus-related restrictions such as social distancing and curfews that limited business hours. Small business owners welcomed the government’s decision, hoping to recover from the losses incurred in the past two years. While the South Korean government’s restrictive public health measures…

The widely publicized shortage of semiconductor chips – a remnant of the pandemic supply chain disruptions – faces new challenges from the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. Eastern Europe is the largest supplier of industrial, rare gasses that are crucial to semiconductor production in South Korea. Conflict-caused supply disruptions open the door for other nations to fill…

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is having a serious impact on the global economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. After a 3.6% drop in 2020, world GDP rebounded with 6.1% growth in 2021 (Table 1), reflecting progress in controlling the coronavirus and exceptionally strong fiscal and monetary measures to offset the impact of the pandemic. In…

Given the paucity of data on North Korea, the food prices provided by Rimjingang and DailyNK are often used for a variety of analytic purposes: to monitor seasonal fluctuations that most affect the poor; as a wider proxy for inflation; and as an indicator of larger constraints on the economy, including sanctions and the border…

As disruptions in supply chains continue, what practical steps can the U.S. and Korea take to strengthen supply chains against future crises?