Yoon Seok-yeol 2nd place due to ‘exclusion of own housing expenses’ due to inflation 47th place in long-term labor total production
At a cabinet meeting broadcast live on the 26th, President Yoon Seok-yeol said, "The Economist, a world-renowned economic magazine, evaluated our country's economy second among 35 OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries by comprehensively evaluating prices, employment, growth, and stock prices." “I owe it to the people and business people who trusted and cooperated with the government, which has been working hard to restore finances and the collapsed market economy,” he said, but the Economist pointed out ‘Korean workers’ long working hours’ and ranked Korea 47th in total production relative to labor.
President Yoon directly addressed the Economist report at the Cabinet meeting on the 19th and said, “This is an evaluation of our government’s efforts to restore a private-led, market-oriented economy under the sound fiscal policy that has been maintained.”
In an article published on the 17th by the British weekly magazine The Economist titled ‘Which country’s economy did well this year?’, they compared the inflation rate and economic growth rate of 35 OECD member countries and ranked the Greek economy first, while Korea ranked second due to its low inflation rate despite its low growth rate. Above, the United States ranked third with a higher inflation rate than Korea.
Applying the international price index calculation method, most European countries were pushed to the back of the rankings due to high inflation rates, with Germany ranked 27th and the United Kingdom ranked 30th, where the inflation rate was higher than that of the United States, Russian-dependent energy prices soared due to the war in Ukraine, and the U.S. security umbrella was lifted.
The Economist said, “Germany has been hit by energy price shocks and increased competition from Chinese imported cars, and the UK is still affected by Brexit (the Conservative Party’s withdrawal from the European Union).”
Among European countries, Greece, which was in crisis due to its high debt ratio, ranked first with this year's cheap core price index of 3.4% and price-reflected stock price return of 43.8%, while Korea ranked first with core price index of 3.2%, GDP growth rate of 1.6%, and stock price return of 43.8%. At 7.2%, the US core price index is 4.0%, GDP growth rate is 2.3%, and stock price return is 4.3%.
These figures are based on indicators submitted by each country's government, and Korea completely excluded 'own housing costs', which the United States and Japan include, from prices, making the inflation rate lower than usual by about 20-30% and institutionalizing this as an economic development policy. .
The Economist article stated, “Korea and Japan prevented prices from rising,” and “Korea was able to achieve this performance thanks to a preemptive interest rate increase.” However, the index provided by Korea excludes the cost of owning a home, which the Korean government has repeatedly attempted to do. did not disclose.
In the issue of The Economist on the 15th, the article 'The Richest Countries in 2023' compared per capita income of 178 countries, ranking Korea 31st in the world with per capita gross domestic product (GDP) of $32,300 based on market exchange rates, and purchasing power parity considering the price level ( Based on the PPP) exchange rate, the GDP per capita was 50,100 dollars, ranking 30th, and applying the working hours to the purchasing power parity exchange rate, the drastic change in the per capita gross domestic product of 35,900 dollars was indicated, and the ranking was recorded as 'Korea 47th', and "Korea “Workers are enduring particularly long working hours,” he said.
The article stated that production per person based on working hours was $38,400 in Japan and $44,700 in Turkey.
At the first cabinet meeting of the new year on January 25, President Yoon said, “This year, in 2023, let us normalize the country and change the government system to a ‘global standard’ for a first-class country.” “Normalization means making this country a first-class country.” However, international standards exclude the inclusion of own housing costs in the price index.President Yoon continued, “If the UAE invests its sovereign wealth fund, the private sector, including the Asian headquarters of companies, will follow,” adding, “Many ministries and companies will participate in establishing a Korea-UAE investment cooperation platform. He instructed ministries to boldly open and prepare in line with global standards, including regulatory reform.
President Yoon said in his live address to the Cabinet meeting on May 16, “Our government has changed its tone from the anti-market economic policy that was obsessed with populism and ideology in the past to a market-centered, private-led economy based on a free market economy.”
In his speech to the National Assembly on October 31, President Yoon said, “Over the past year and a half, the government has been implementing economic policies with market-centered economic fundamentals in mind and fiscal sustainability in mind,” and “The government has implemented policies based on fairness and common sense.” “We have been promoting labor reform to create a labor market that promotes the rights and interests of all workers,” he said.
In his speech to the National Assembly on May 16 last year, President Yoon said, “In order to improve competitiveness and create many jobs in the process of a major transformation of the global industrial structure, labor reform that meets global standards is necessary,” and “Pension reform, labor reform, and education are necessary.” “If reform is not pursued now, the sustainability of our society will be threatened,” he said.
<The main culprit of inflation is Korea’s own housing costs, which strengthens the crisis by excluding the price index, June 13, 2022> <Statistics Korea’s comprehensive real estate tax offensive by excluding consumer prices of ‘houses are speculative goods’, dated December 24, 2021> <Production prices hit the highest level for 12 consecutive months Prices 'close to the United States', dated November 19, 2021>