The development of Korea’s service industry from a global historical perspective

Abstract

Korea’s economic structure has changed in a trend toward that of an advanced economy. Although the manufacturing sector has been dominating and a source of economic growth for a long period, there has been a recent shift toward the service industry. The sector’s share of both production output and employment is still rising. However, Korea’s service industry, despite its great significance in terms of employment and value-added, is not considered fully advanced. While its role is increasing, its economic share and rate of productivity growth is relatively slow compared with that of other countries. Thus, advancement of the service industry is essential in order to achieve a more prosperous economy. This paper presents the characteristics of Korea’s service industry and suggests strategies for its development.

Female outsiders in South Korea’s dual labour market: Challenges of equal pay for work of equal value

“…Employment in the service sector also increased over this time period, with the contribution of services to the economy rising rapidly in the late 1990s and remaining at over 60% since then (Phan and Jeong, 2013: 192). This shift in the industrial structure towards a service economy is thought to be closely related to the expansion of irregular work, as it is often low-skilled service workers who are assigned this status (Baek, 2008; Eichhorst and Marx, 2012).…”