Presidential Office: "World Bank Introduces Korea as a 'Growth Superstar'"

President Yoon Suk-yeol is moving to the reception room after presenting appointment letters to Supreme Court Justices Noh Kyung-pil, Park Young-jae, and Lee Sook-yeon at the Yongsan Presidential Office Building in Seoul on the 13th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Presidential Office announced on the 14th that the World Bank (WB) recently evaluated South Korea as a 'growth superstar' in its report.

The Presidential Office's Overseas Public Relations Secretariat introduced the contents of the World Bank's '2024 World Development Report: Escaping the Middle-Income Trap,' published on the 1st, through a press notice on the same day.

The report assessed South Korea as a 'growth superstar' that effectively utilized investment, technology adoption, and innovation, and described it as a 'must-read for policymakers in developing countries.'

The Presidential Office explained that Indermit Gill, the World Bank's Chief Economist who oversaw the report's writing, also stated in an interview with Japan's Nikkei on the same day that "South Korea's success is clear."

Economist Gill addressed concerns about South Korea's slowing growth, low birthrate and aging population, and fiscal deterioration, saying, "South Korea is looking to the future, but it is clear that its past has been successful," and added, "South Korea started as a low-income country and entered the high-income group in half the time it took Japan."

He also explained, "Not only income but also education, health, longevity, and female participation are outstanding."

The Presidential Office conveyed that Economist Gill introduced South Korea as a representative success case of escaping the middle-income trap in an article titled "What China and India Must Do to Join the Wealthy Countries Club," which he contributed to the economic magazine The Economist on the 12th.

In his article, he stated, "South Korea is a country that has shown remarkable achievements in all three areas (investment, technology adoption, innovation)," and added, "In 1960, South Korea's per capita income was $1,200, but by the end of 2023, it surged to $33,000. South Korea is almost the only country to have achieved such an astonishing feat."