Economists feel Seoul has fallen too far behind Asian rivals
THE Hermit Kingdom has embarked on a three-pronged drive to loosen its tightly-bound financial markets.
Five-year programmes already under way will open the financial industry to foreigners, remove controls on capital inflow and outflow, and dismantle the tight regulatory framework in which the financial markets are enmeshed.
Earlier this month, the South Korean Government unveiled plans to expand foreign direct investment, which is slowly picking up after falling from its 1988 peaks.
The move is an acknowledgement of South Korea's need for foreign investment and the problems - such as high production costs and labour strife - which have traditionally deterred funds.
It is also linked to the country's bid to join the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 1996.
Under the scheme - which advances relevant clauses drafted in the Five-Year Foreign Investment Liberalisation announced last year - the government aims, in the medium to long term, to provide equal opportunities for investment and competition to Koreans and foreigners.
