The population of South Korea in 1999 was estimated at around 47.8 million people, with a growth rate of 0.6%. The economy of South Korea was largely driven by its manufacturing sector, which accounted for around 40% of the country’s GDP. This was supplemented by the services and agricultural industries. Foreign relations in 1999 were largely positive, with the country having strong ties to many Asian nations as well as the wider international community. Politically, South Korea had been a multi-party democracy since 1987 when it formally adopted a democratic system. The ruling party at this time was the Grand National Party (GNP), which had been in power since 1997. In 1999, Kim Dae-jung was President and had been since 1998. See ethnicityology for South Korea in the year of 2018.
Yearbook 1999
South Korea. Visit Countryaah official website to get information about the capital city of South Korea. South Korea’s economy has recovered significantly faster than expected, following the financial crisis of 1997 and 1998. Growth in gross domestic product is estimated to be at least 8% in 1999, compared with a decline of nearly 6% in 1998. Increased demand, both domestic and international, has contributed to the success. Despite the hopeful economic situation, unemployment is still high, following the mass redundancies that were the result of corporate austerity and the crisis settlement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 1998. In June 1999, the official figure was still 6.4%, compared to the record level of 7.9% in December 1999.
- Also see Abbreviationfinder.org to see the acronym of SKR which stands for South Korea and other definitions of this 3-letter abbreviation.
South Korea’s national trade union federation KCTU (Korean Confederation of Trade Unions) announced a general strike in the spring in protest of mass unemployment, but the turnout was weak. However, the disappointment among the many South Koreans who are unable to take part in the economic upswing is great and is taking place, among other things. expression in a reduced support for the president, Kim Dae Jung. He announced in May a major government transformation when eleven of the eighteen ministers were replaced, which is interpreted as a way of giving continued importance to economic reform.
One of the most pressing reforms is the restructuring of the large corporate conglomerates, the so-called chaebols. In August, the president announced plans to reduce the power of conglomerates, not least their influence in the financial markets. Several conglomerates were severely affected by the Asian crisis, and their debt burden is one of the most serious obstacles to continued economic recovery. During the autumn, Daewoo’s largest lenders presented a restructuring plan for the company, which aims to remove all activities that are not related to car manufacturing.
The government coalition between Kim Dae Jung’s party NCNP (National Congress for New Politics) and Prime Minister Kim Jong Pil’s ULD (United Liberal Democrats) in July postponed the planned constitutional reform that is supposed to give the president less power. The motivation was that economic reforms and relations with North Korea should be given priority.
The relaxation policy towards North Korea continued, and in addition to the United States, the President sought support from the Russian Federation. Kim Dae Jung visited the Russian Federation in May, and in September the Russian Defense Minister visited South Korea.
Relations with China were also strengthened, as the first meeting of the two defense ministers took place in China’s capital Beijing in August. Relations with North Korea consisted in the usual order of both peace messengers and incidents. In February, 17 North Koreans were released from prisons in South Korea, this time without having to renounce communism and assert their loyalty to South Korea.
Architecture. – In the years following the 2002 World Football Championships, urban development in the R. di Korea has experienced a notable impetus, aimed at positioning the country at the center of economic and industrial growth in East Asia. In several cases, the ambitious development programs have resulted in the foundation from scratch of entire urban agglomerations, as in the case of Songdo, a settlement built near the Incheon airport, in the metropolitan area of the capital Seoul. The neighborhood, planned by the American studio Kohn Pedersen Fox, was conceived according to the criteria of the smart city, thanks to the implementation of latest generation digital technologies and principles of environmental sustainability (see city). The intervention is aimed at providing large multinational companies with a sufficiently attractive research and innovation environment to encourage them to choose the city as an operational base for the region.
Other similar initiatives, albeit on a smaller scale, have led to the creation of thematic settlements, such as Paju Book City, dedicated to publishing houses, and Heyri, a colony for artists, both in the vicinity of Seoul. The new city of Sejong, destined to relocate part of the public administration that weighs on the capital, was built 120 km south of it: completed in 2012, the transfer of government activities will be completed in 2015.
Parallel to the numerous new towns, a symptom of an economy that has enjoyed strong and constant growth since the early 1980s, all major Korean cities have launched ambitious urban regeneration programs. In Seoul, between 2002 and 2005, the Cheong Gye Cheon urban park was built, bringing to light an artificial canal dating back to the founding of the city, closed for hygienic reasons in the 1960s and covered by an elevated highway. The project, which introduced a 5.8 km long linear green area into the urban center, was greatly appreciated by the residents of Seoul, a city which is also poor in green spaces. In the wake of this success, a major redevelopment plan, still underway, has been launched for the banks of the Han River, which divides the city in two.
