{"id":2199932,"date":"2023-01-20T09:06:49","date_gmt":"2023-01-20T09:06:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nknews.org\/koreapro\/?p=2199932"},"modified":"2023-04-05T16:10:19","modified_gmt":"2023-04-05T07:10:19","slug":"south-korea-must-change-how-it-views-africa-for-economic-ties-to-flourish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/01\/south-korea-must-change-how-it-views-africa-for-economic-ties-to-flourish\/","title":{"rendered":"South Korea must change how it views Africa for economic ties to flourish"},"content":{"rendered":"
Africa\u2019s massive population, which is also the <\/span>youngest in the world<\/span><\/a>, makes the continent a prime target for South Korea to direct its famous export-oriented energies. And President Yoon Suk-yeol deserves credit for showing <\/span>interest<\/span><\/a> in Africa relatively early in his term.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Recent developments in the ROK\u2019s relationship with Ghana, for example, show that if South Korea is sincerely interested in maintaining a long-term presence in the region and benefiting from the potential economic growth on the continent, it must first look at Africa\u2019s economic potential in a more comprehensive manner.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The ROK must also devise a strategy that moves away from a strategy that is so heavily export-oriented and focused on commodity imports. But doing so will require corrections to common misperceptions about the continent as a whole within South Korea.<\/span><\/p>\n RELATIONS WITH GHANA<\/b><\/p>\n When Ghanaian trade minister Alan John Kyerematen visited Seoul in Dec. 2022, he <\/span>noted<\/span><\/a> the massive benefits Ghana received from its electronic customs clearance system based on South Korea\u2019s <\/span>UNI-PASS<\/span><\/a>. This system computerizes and automates customs and clearance procedures.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Ghana began to implement its UNI-PASS system in 2020, which helped it to overcome the decrease in international trade volume that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/span><\/p>\n The ROK signaled high hopes for its relations with Ghana by dispatching Prime Minister Han Duck-soo to <\/span>visit<\/span><\/a> Accra, making him the highest-level South Korean official to visit Ghana in 45 years. Given that the South Korean government <\/span>regards Ghana<\/span><\/a> as an economic hub in West Africa, Seoul hopes bilateral cooperation in fields such as nuclear energy can boost the ROK\u2019s economic standing in this region.<\/span><\/p>\n However, South Korea is still unable to look past the economic model of exporting finished goods while importing natural resources.<\/span><\/p>\n Korea Customs Service data reveals <\/span>several trends<\/span><\/a> in South Korea\u2019s trade with African countries: a decadeslong trade surplus for the ROK side, a notable discrepancy between the narrowing gap in terms of the dollar value of imports and exports and a consistently large gap in the quantities of imports versus exports.<\/span><\/p>\n TRADITIONAL OUTREACH<\/b><\/p>\n The average dollar value of South Korea\u2019s exports to Africa has increased over time. When the Roh Moo-hyun administration <\/span>shifted<\/span><\/a> South Korea\u2019s economic strategy from a mercantilist stance to an export-oriented position and <\/span>made special efforts<\/span><\/a> to strengthen the ROK\u2019s relations with Africa, South Korea\u2019s average annual exports to Africa jumped from $3 billion to $8 billion.<\/span><\/p>\n Under the subsequent Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye administrations, the value of exports to Africa generally remained <\/span>above average<\/span><\/a>. Under Moon Jae-in, whose administration was <\/span>relatively slow<\/span><\/a> to implement a serious Africa policy compared with his predecessors and successor, the dollar value of exports to Africa largely remained below average, albeit not to a statistically significant degree.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n