Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that, coupled with President Park Geun-hye’s scandal crisis, Korea’s key supporting industries are suffering a landslide that has put the Korean economy into a deeply troublesome condition. Korea’s shipbuilding industry is critical to the lifeline of the economy, yet, since June, the three major shipbuilders have added a headcount of 25,000 to the nation’s unemployment total. So far the shipbuilding industry has suffered a 13 percent decline year-over-year. Another major collapse was in the electronics industry, brought on by the explosions of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 cellphones. Samsung alone provides 20 percent of Korea’s GDP and tax income. Korea’s electronic industry has a 20 percent share of the nation’s total exports. Some experts have expressed the belief that Korea’s GDP growth will drop to 2.2 percent, which is close to the low point of the 1998 Asian Financial Crisis.
Source: Sina, November 2, 2016
http://finance.sina.com.cn/stock/usstock/c/2016-11-02/doc-ifxxneua3926096.shtml