1 AIT Asian Institute of Technology

Korea's trade with Southeast Asia

AuthorSong, Hyun-min
Call NumberAIT RSPR no. SM-01-108
Subject(s)Korea--Commerce--Asia, Southeastern

NoteA research study submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business Administration, School of Management
PublisherAsian Institute of Technology
Series StatementResearch studies project report ; no. SM-01-108
AbstractKorea and Southeast Asia have now been struggling to break out of an economic catastrophe known as the Asian financial crisis that resulted from the shortage of international liquidity beginning mid 1997. As a means of recovery from the crisis, regional economic cooperation is intensively discussed. From the viewpoint of the Korean economy, the importance of Southeast Asia cannot be overemphasized. Accordingly, mutually beneficial trade expansion is indispensable to further economic cooperation with the region. In this context, this research attempts to analyze trade patterns between Korea and Southeast Asia by examining various trade statistics, including comparison with China and Japan. This research studies intra-industry trade between Korea and the region. Results from the study indicate some important facts. Firstly, Southeast Asia's average annual trade growth in the past decade, compared to world average or Asian average, is great and Korea's trade with Southeast Asian countries has increased more than with most other regions of the world. Secondly, when comparing Korea, Japan and China in trade on Southeast Asia, Korea and Japan enjoy a high level of overlapping comparative advantages but not so between Korea and China, or between Japan and China. Korea's global comparative advantages are more intensively used in the Southeast Asian market, while those of Japan and China are not so intensively used in Southeast Asia. This Korea's trend in the region further increased even after the economic crisis began and seems to be influenced in part by a high level of intraindustry trade between Korea and Southeast Asia. Thirdly, the degree of Korea's intra-industry trade with Southeast Asia is high from a variety of yardsticks. Korea's degree of intra-industry trade with the region is higher than that of Japan. Korea's intra-industry trade becomes stronger over time in Southeast Asia than in other regions of the world. Moreover Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines are among top eight countries whose trade with Korea recorded at more than 30 in the GL intra-industry index. Finally, the most influential item or industry to dominate intra-industry trade between Korea and Southeast Asia is SITC 776(transistors, valves, etc). Korea and four Southeast Asian countries (Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines) are all found to have RCA in the item. This supports the fact that Korea's trade with Southeast Asia depends on more mutually beneficial patterns in the form of intra-industry trade than most other regions of the world.
Year2001
Corresponding Series Added EntryAsian Institute of Technology. Research studies project report ; no. SM-01-108
TypeResearch Study Project Report (RSPR)
SchoolSchool of Management
DepartmentOther Field of Studies (No Department)
Academic Program/FoSMaster of Business Administration (MBA) (Publication code=SM)
Chairperson(s)Tang, John C.S.;
Examination Committee(s)Swierczek, Fredric W. ;Sununta Siengthai ;
DegreeResearch Studies Project Report (M.B.A.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2001


Usage Metrics
View Detail0
Read PDF0
Download PDF0