تغییرات ساختاری و عوامل رشد صنعت فناوری اطلاعات و ارتباطات در کره: 1995-2009  Structural changes and growth factors of the ICT industry in Korea: 1995–2009

1. Introduction Pushing for export-oriented industrialization through six successive 5-year economic development plans implemented between 1962 and 1996, Korea achieved expeditious economic growth and advanced industrialization. Korea’s GDP, which was a mere 352 billion won (current prices) in 1962, increased over 1300 times in one-third of a century. GNI, $87 (current prices) in 1962, grew by over 140 times during the same period. However, although the Korean economy continued to thrive, it experienced negative growth (–5.7%) in 1998 in the wake of the foreign exchange crises that occurred at the end of 1997. Furthermore, the economy is currently encountering a critical situation because of the global financial crisis that began in the latter half of 2008. In response, the Korean government has committed to establishing policies that make the information and communication technology (ICT) industry a driving force to overcome the economic crisis. Moreover, the government cares deeply about inter-industrial convergence to ensure that the ICT industry is positioned to lead national economic growth (Shin et al., 2012). Korea has proven that it is the strongest ICT leader in the world, ranking 1st on the ICT development index for the past 4 years (ITU, 2011, 2013); the index is a comprehensive assessment based on ICT readiness, ICT intensity and ICT capability. However, Korea’s position is not as positive in the IT industry competitive index, which is based on a comprehensive analysis of the R&D environment, the business environment, the support of the resources for the ICT industry’s development, the ICT infrastructure, human resources and legal resources; it took a nosedive to the 19th position 5 years after it was ranked 3rd in 2007 (BSA, 2011). It is naturally difficult to accept this deteriorated ranking in the IT industry competitive index as a genuine competitive devaluation of the ICT industry in Korea. However, this drastic decrease can be interpreted as a wake-up call that the ICT industry needs to implement an overhaul. In this regard, it is necessary to examine the structural changes and growth factors in the ICT industry in an effort to create new growth engines for the ICT industry. To understand changes in the socioeconomic structure, it is essential to analyze their impetus or sources. Input–Output Structural Decomposition Analysis (I–O SDA hereinafter), a method of analyzing structural changes through the comparative static transformation of various socioeconomic factors, has been widely used to assess the effects of economic growth and how changes in sectors and technologies affect socioeconomic factors within a nation or among nations (Hoekstra & van den Bergh, 2003). Initially, such studies primarily concentrated on changes in the economic structure at the national level. Representative studies include those conducted by Feldman, McLain, and Palmer (1987), who examined changes in the economic structure in the U.S., and by Skolka (1989), Dewhurst (1993) and Liu and Saal (2001), who performed structural decomposition analyses on the economies in Austria, Scotland and South Africa. Thereafter, researchers began focusing on structural transformation at an industrial level.