Economic misery

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Economic misery

Published: 30 Jun. 2008, 21:23

The livelihoods of people in the center of Seoul are under threat now that downtown has been transformed into a site for illegal demonstrations and violence.

Economic growth is dwindling and consumer prices are skyrocketing, while overall production and sales are on the decline.

Few people are excited about investing at the moment and consumer spending is dormant.

Amid the economic gloom, the only factor keeping the Korean economy afloat seems to be its exports. But it is difficult to say for how long.

Economic indicators now point to the country remaining in a stagnant state for the foreseeable future.

A more pressing problem is that the Korean economy is not showing any sign, or hope, of improving. The economic indicators all point to instability, which is why the consumer sentiment index is showing a rapid downward spiral.

The country’s business survey indexes, regardless of company size, are all weakening as well.

All economic sectors say that the economy is in such a state of disrepair that they are worried that life is only going to get worse before it starts to show even a flicker of life again.

Among different sectors and economic brackets, self-employed workers and workers in the low-income bracket have been hit hardest.

Their collective cry as the economy implodes before us makes the rest of us gruesomely aware of the dire state of the Korean economy.

Restaurants say that their sales have tanked more than 30 percent, while laundromats, public baths and other small businesses are struggling to make any kind of profit.

Many say that the country is in a worse state financially than during the Asian economic crisis in the late 1990s.

Even if the country is suffering and hope for recovery looks dim, we must not quit. As the Korean government is now in a feeble state, it is up to the public to face this situation and try to pull through this ordeal.

The best step forward is for Korea’s companies to start investing in its workforce and embrace its employees.

This is the time for Korea to show the world that it is capable of climbing up the slippery slopes of this financial crisis, just like it did before at the end of the last decade and sit once again on a more even plateau.