(1) Since the last decade, the economic cooperation between ASEAN and Korea has been increasing in various fields such as commodity trade, joint ventures, and technological cooperation. In particular, Korea is totally dependent on the ASEAN countries ...
(1) Since the last decade, the economic cooperation between ASEAN and Korea has been increasing in various fields such as commodity trade, joint ventures, and technological cooperation. In particular, Korea is totally dependent on the ASEAN countries for some basic natural resources such as saw logs, rubber and tin. Korea has become an important market for other primary products and manufactured goods as well. thus, ASEAN and Korea are becoming increasingly important to each other.
(2) the mutually beneficial aspects of the Korea-ASEAN trade can be viewed from two angles, First, any increase in the trade will meet the common objectives of both Korea and ASEAN in their efforts to diversify their respective market base.
Secondly, the Korean and ASEAN economies show a high degree of complementality for each other's main exports
With the steady increase in Korea-ASEAN trade opportunities for the broadening of economic cooperation such as investment, technology transfer, construction and human exchange will arise.
(3) Since Korea's technology export to ASEAN is still very small, it is difficult to generalize the patterns of the technology transfer Nonetheless, the following statements can be made based on the limited information we have.
First, looking at direct investments and licensing agreements, the projects involved were more labor intensive and the products and processes were more suitable for smaller markets and smaller companies
Secondly, the facts that Korean construction companies are very active in the area supports our contention that Korea's technology transfer is more human embodied than machine-embodied. In other words, the projects which are skill intensive and also require accompanying managerial and marketing knowhow seem to provide opportunities for Korean companies in the area.
But language and cultural gaps are major obstacles in this type of transfer mode. Being more similar in terms of the degree of industrialization. Korea could provide more vivid and practical solutions to the problems ASEAN.
(4) We have seen that Korea has comparative advantage in the manufactures goods and ASEAN countries have comparative advantage in the primary resources is the trade between Korea and ASEAN.
Resource-rich ASEAN countries need to export more primary resources and this export promotion will be made easier by expanding economic cooperation with Korea that promotes development of available resources in those resource-rich countries.
(5) Especially, the geographical adventages between the ASEAN and Korea has made a significant contribution to the growth of the ASEAN-Korea economic relations. Therefore, it must be emphasized that shortening the psychic components of the ASEAN-Korea distance through the promotion of the political, social and cultural exchange will definitly contribute to the expansion of the ASEAN-Korea economic cooperation.