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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has released its global economic outlook for this year, and there is a point worth noting heavily.

It is expected that Korea's per capita GDP will be reversed by Taiwan for the first time in almost 20 years.



Correspondent Jo Ki-ho will tell you what the reason is and what areas we should strive for in the future.



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Korea's per capita gross domestic product (GDP) projected by the IMF this year is 34,990 dollars.



It is said that it will only increase by $190 from last year, but in Taiwan, it is expected to rise by more than $2,200, or 6%, to the $36,000 level during the same period.



That's going to overtake us by more than $1,000.



Korea has been widening the gap since it first surpassed Taiwan in 2003, but it has sharply narrowed in the last five years, and eventually, it is the first time in 19 years to worry about overtaking.



It is the result of the successful development of the high-tech industry promotion policy implemented by the Taiwanese government.



When President Tsai Ing-wen, who took office in 2016, offered various preferential measures to high-tech companies, Taiwanese companies that had gone to China returned and even foreign companies.



As a result, over the past 10 years, while Korea's exports increased by 16%, Taiwan increased by 100%, and its economic growth rate also recorded the highest in the world for two consecutive years.



In particular, we made great achievements in our core industries, such as semiconductors and electrical and electronic fields.



[Professor Jun-Young Kang/Chinese Studies, Graduate School of International and Regional Studies, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies: Because we strategically selected a semiconductor foundry as the future food industry, that is, a manufacturing company, and strongly promoted it for more than 20 years…

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Even now, we are raising our competitiveness in various fields, such as nurturing 10,000 semiconductor talents every year.



[Yoonmi Oh / Researcher, Institute for Foreign Economic Policy Research: Taiwan has some shortcomings, but there are still limitations.

There is an aspect that we want to significantly strengthen both the materials and human resources areas.]



If we do not increase support in the competitive field and strive to foster new industries, this trend is likely to continue.



(Video editing: Park Ki-duk, VJ: Jeong Young-sam)