South Korea

Aid

Aid quality is just as important as aid quantity, so the CDI measures gross aid as a share of GDP adjusted for various quality factors: it subtracts debt service, penalizes “tied” aid that makes recipients spend aid only on donor goods and services, rewards aid to poor but relatively well-governed recipients, and penalizes overloading poor governments with many small projects.

• Score: 1.0
• Rank: 22

• Very low net aid volume as a share of the economy (0.09%; rank: 22)
• Very large share of tied or partially tied aid (51%; rank: 22)
• Selectivity: large share of aid to less poor and worse-governed recipients (rank: 18)
• Contributes to project proliferation: small average project size (rank: 22)

Trade

International trade has been a force for economic development for centuries. The CDI measures trade barriers in rich countries against exports from developing countries.

• Score: 2.8
• Rank: 21

• Low agricultural subsidies (equivalent to a tariff worth 3.3% of the value of imports; rank: 2)

• High tariffs on agricultural commodities (100.8% of the value of imports; rank: 22)
• High barriers against textiles (9.4% of the value of imports; rank: 19)
• High barriers against apparel (10.5% of the value of imports; rank: 19)

Investment

Rich-country investment in poorer countries can transfer technologies, upgrade management and create jobs. The CDI includes a checklist of policies that support productive investment in developing countries.

• Score: 5.9
• Rank: 8

• Employs tax-sparing arrangements to prevent double taxation of corporate profits earned abroad
• Provides insurance against political risk for both domestic and foreign firms
• Does not impose restrictions on pension fund investments in emerging markets

• Does not participate in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI)

Migration

The movement of people from poor to rich countries provides unskilled immigrants with jobs, income, and knowledge. This increases the flow of money sent home by migrants abroad and the transfer of skills when the migrants return.

• Score: 1.0
• Rank: 22

• Large share of foreign students from developing countries (95%; rank: 2)
• Tuition for foreign students the same as for nationals

• Decline during the 1990s in the number of unskilled immigrants from developing countries living in South Korea (rank by share of population: 22)
• Small number of immigrants from developing countries entering South Korea (rank by share of population: 22)
• Bears small share of the burden of refugees during humanitarian crises (rank: 22)

Environment

Rich countries use a disproportionate amount of scarce resources and poor countries are most vulnerable to global warming and ecological deterioration, so the CDI measures the impact of policies on the global climate, fisheries and biodiversity.

• Score: 2.8
• Rank: 22

• High tropical wood imports ($14.29 per person; rank: 20)
• Low gas taxes ($0.83 per liter; rank: 15)
• High greenhouse gas emissions per capita (13.0 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent; rank: 18)
• High fishing subsidies ($3.40 per person; rank: 20)
• Poor compliance with reporting requirements under multilateral environmental agreements relating to biodiversity (rank: 17)

Security

Since security is a prerequisite for development, the CDI rewards contributions to internationally sanctioned peacekeeping operations and forcible humanitarian interventions, rewards military protection of global sea lanes, and penalizes arms exports to poor and undemocratic governments.

• Score: 1.7
• Rank: 22

• No arms exports to poor and undemocratic governments (rank by share of GDP: 1)

• Small financial or personnel contributions to internationally sanctioned peacekeeping and humanitarian interventions over last decade (rank by share of GDP: 22)
• No protection of global sea lanes

Technology

Rich countries contribute to development through the creation and dissemination of new technologies. The CDI captures this by measuring government support for R&D and penalizing strong intellectual property rights regimes that limit the dissemination of new technologies to poor countries.

• Score: 6.8
• Rank: 2

• Large tax subsidy rate to businesses for R&D (rank: 6)
• High government expenditure on R&D (rank by share of GDP: 4)

• Large share of government R&D expenditure on defense (1.7%; rank: 20)
• Allows patents on plant and animal varieties
• Allows patents on software programs