Kim Mangi, Co-Chairman of the Seoul Youth Policy Committee (Image courtesy of wowkorea)
A "red light" has lit up in the export-led growth of Korean industry. Immediately after the 1992 China-Korea diplomatic relations, I have never been disappointed as I am today, studying abroad in China, doing business in the field in China, and learning about China while educating at universities and companies. The relationship between China and South Korea, which began with an economic win-win relationship, is now threatened by the future industry of South Korea in its competitive relationship. The breakthrough of Chinese companies with technological capabilities and cost performance has made South Korea's industrial competitiveness an "emergency situation." Starting with Samsung's number one share of the global market for mobile phones, the Hyundai Motor Group's entry into the top global sales volume and the rise in K Beauty's brand power are dazzling achievements. Unfortunately, however, its performance in China, which has emerged as the world's largest consumer market, is disastrous. Samsung's smartphone, which once boasted a 20% occupancy, is now less than 1%, and its presence has disappeared. The Hyundai Motor Group once recorded sales of about 1.8 million units, but by 2020 it has plummeted to about 500,000 units. Korean cosmetics, which had the highest market share of imported cosmetics in China, are being driven by Japanese and French products in the Chinese market, and are also being overtaken by local Chinese brands. Korean cosmetics are no longer included in the teenage brands that occupy the basic cosmetics market in China. South Korea is in a "sandwich" state between products from developed countries with brand power and Chinese products with quality, design and cost performance. Regarding the reason for the qualitative decline in the Chinese market, one says, "It is a boycott of Korean products after the deployment of THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense)." It is true that the damage caused by the third is undeniable, but it is impossible to blame the third alone. Tesla Apple Starbucks is fighting well in the Chinese market during the US-China trade war. Nissan, Honda, and Toyota are still alive in the deterioration of Japan-China relations. "We should reduce our dependence on exports to China and diversify our markets to avoid risk," said another. Diversification of exports is necessary, but avoiding competition in the Chinese market and looking to other markets does not solve the underlying problem. Competitive Chinese companies like Xiaomi and Huawei are also pursuing the global market. China is overtaking the electric vehicle, battery and display (LCD) field, which is Korea's future industry and has the world's highest technological capabilities. It is overtaking the United States in the core fields of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, such as artificial intelligence, big data, self-driving cars, and quantum computers. China is now relatively crashing South Korea as an already overtaker rather than a South Korean chase. South Korean politics is calling out to "create jobs for young people" and "leading country of the Fourth Industrial Revolution", but there is no concrete alternative to strengthen Korea's industrial competitiveness. It is doubtful that it will be possible to create jobs for young people and become a leader in the Fourth Industrial Revolution without increasing industrial competitiveness.Kim Mangi, Co-Chairman of the Seoul Youth Policy Committee
