South Korean Automotive Industry

North Korea’s economy is very different then the United States’ economy. Even though one dollar in American money doesn’t seem much to us Americans, it is worth nine-hundred dollars in their currency. North Korea’s main sources of income are military products, machine building, electrical power, chemicals, mining, metallurgy, textiles, food processing and tourism. North Korea’s overall condition of the economy is not good.

As well as the fact that their trade deficit is 4,899 USD millions, with a reasonable interest rate and inflation of 1.8% economically they are doing quite well when being compared to the U.S. As a matter of fact their inflation rate is not the same but with-in the same range for most years throughout the last 10 years. (Trading Economics, South Korean Balance of Trade, n.d) (Aneki.com, Ranking and Records, United States vs. Korea South) (Inflation.eu, Worldwide Inflation Data, Inflation South Korea 2012, n.d) (Global Rates Com, Fed Federal Funds Rate, American Central Bank’s Interest rate, n.d) (UN Data. A World of Information, Per Capita GDP at Current Prices USD, South Korea) (Index Mundi, Unemployment Rate South Korea, Historical Data Graphs per year) (U.S. Inflation Calculator, Current U.S. Inflation Rate 2003-2013,) (Inflation.eu, World Wide Inflation Data, Historical Inflation south Koreas – CPI Inflation)

The Woodbridge Group is a private, Canadian owned company, where co-founder and chairman, Robert Beamish, holds the majority stake. In 1978, Robert Beamish and Bob Fitzhenry purchased Monsanto Company’s polyurethane foam operations in Canada. The Woodbridge Group, was subsequently established and consisted of one facility located in Woodbridge, Ontario. Over the past 30 years, the company has grown from one local Canadian plant, to over 60 locations in 17 countries. The Woodbridge Group is a presently considered a global leader in polyurethane foam seating products. The purpose of this project is to evaluate the feasibility of extending the company’s molded polyurethane foam operations into the thriving automotive manufacturing region of South Korea.

"South Korea is a country with a population of 50,924,172 and counting" ("The World Factbook: KOREA, SOUTH"). It is a nation that has been the center of many tug-of-wars. It is a nation that has had to fight in order to survive independent. Years ago, no one thought much of this country. So what is it about this little place now, that sets it apart and breaks it out of the mold of just another Asian country? Though South Korea may be a small country, the style of cuisine, community culture, and generosity are just

South Korea has been able to grow as a strong state thanks to its strong leadership like General Park Chung Hee, but also due to its “industrial soldiers.” The term industrial soldiers was coined during the 1960s when General Park took office in 1961. General Park and his administration knew that in order to dig Korea out of poverty, “South Koreans needed to focus on developing human skills and then put them to unceasing use. ” Since Korea was not well developed in the ‘60s, General Park knew the best strategy to improve their new export oriented economy was by having low wages and intensive labor. Therefore,

Thanks to the globalization, Asian economy is drawing more and more the attention of the rest of the world. Nevertheless, when we talk about economic growth in Asia, we think mostly about China, India or Japan whereas South Korean economy is staying quite unknown in Belgium. However, since the war in the Korean peninsula and the formation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (South Korea) in 1948, South Korea has becoming a major economic

The economy of South Korea is ranked at fifteenth place in the world. In terms of its relation with the United States, South Korea is the seventh largest trading partner. South Korea is well known for its high level of growth in economic field. Before 1960, South Korea was just another poor third world country and hardly known regionally as well as internationally. Its economic booming has elevated South Korea in the eyes of international cooperation especially the Organisation for Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The automotive industry is widespread globally with a wide range of organizations involved in the following: development, marketing, manufacturing, designing, and sales. This analysis will take a further look at automakers in the industry, more specifically General Motors (GM), Volkswagen (VLKAY, Honda, Nissan, Toyota. Beginning around the 1890s, the automotive industry has evolved and undergone shift changes in consumer trends, product development, marketing, and industry competition shifts. Some of the major changes have been the result of: Regulatory, Safety, Economy, Reliability, and Environmental.

South Korea is one of the strongest economies in the Asia. Economic growth is mainly driven by manufacturing and exports. Exports include automobile, semiconductors, computers, steel and petrochemicals. Imports include heavy machinery, steel and oil. According to Economy Watch, South Korea is the world 's 5th largest importer of oil, with 3 million barrels per day (4).

At the end of World War II, Korea was a poor former agricultural colony of Japan. But the rapid growth of Korea’s industrial economy has been remarkable. The economy of South Korea is now the third-largest in Asia and the 13th largest in the world by GDP as of 2007. To trace back the economic development of South Korea, the former president Park Chung-Hee played a pivotal role, and was credited for shifting its focus to export-oriented favoring a few large conglomerates. Unlike his predecessors, Park showed a strong commitment to economic development, believing good economic performance as a primary means for enhancing his political legitimacy. Under the President Park Chung-Hee’s era, the government played a dominating role in a

KIA, which means “arise from Asia” in Korean, started out making bicycles prior to World War II (Kia Motors Corporation, 2008). The company developed the manufacturing of steel bicycle tubing into a multi-national corporation producing cars and trucks. Prior to merging with Hyundai in 1998, Kia was the second largest producer of vehicles in South Korea (Kia Motors Corporation – Company Profile, Information, Business Description, History, Background Information on Kia Motors Corporation, 2008). Examining Kia’s transformation in a country lifting itself out of the

South Korea was a case of successful late development under state authoritarianism. During the period of early industrialisation, the state was perceived as a highly corrupt due to the strong relationship between the state and Chaebol (big business). The era of rapid industrialisation and the strong relationship between the state and the Chaebol contributed to the uncertainty of the state-business relationship between social circles (Thirkell-White: 2002). As the Chaebol and the state were heavily interdependent; the Chaebol were significant providers of welfare, in return for financing the political functions of the state. Eventually, the Chaebol began to question the returns it got from supporting state institutions, and the relationship began to disintegrate (Thirkell-White: 2002). Suspicion of corruption led to the adoption of more ‘transparent’ and ‘liberal’ growth policies, known as the segyehwa, or globalisation policy (Thirkell-White: 2002). Given access to higher productivity and growth, the Chaebol gained more power independent from the state. This led to extensive market liberalisation, focused on short term gains financed by the state which produced disastrous consequence, evident in the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997 (Thirkell-White: 2002). The point is that during the time of Korea’s rapid industrialisation, the capitalist class was largely a product of the state (Thirkell-White: 2002). The state had leverage over the economy, rather than the economy having

1To have a thriving and growing economy you have to have a strong manufacturing base that is outputting quality goods in large quantities. In the case of the United States much of the economy in the past has been built on housing sales and the automotive industry. America 's modern automotive industry is being hurt by two things: Unionized labor and cheaper imports from Asia. Why build cars in North America where unionized automotive wages are $20+/hour when you can build them in Asia for less than $4/hour and still get the same quality? And in some cases more quality, if you want to consider the amazing durability and reliability of cars

This paper examines the Japanese automobile industry, using as example the case of Toyota in comparison with other automobile manufacturers and the way it has retain its competitive position as a multinational corporation in the international context. In order to do so, focus will be directed on management strategies, human resources, development of existing ideas, stability in the foreign market and the role of the government.

In June 1984, General Motors and the Daewoo Group of Korea signed an agreement that called for each to invest $100 million in a South Korean-based 50/50 joint venture, Daewoo Motor Company, that would manufacture a subcompact car, the Pontiac LeMans, based on GM's popular German-designed Opel-Kadett (Opel is a wholly owned German subsidiary of GM). Much of the day-to-day management of the alliance was to be placed in the hands of Daewoo executives, with managerial and technical advice being provided by a limited number of GM executives. At the time, many hailed the alliance as a smart move for both companies. GM doubted that a small car could be built profitably in the United