1m 34s | 84 view | 0 rating

And a recent study highlights changes in China and Japan as major factors causing that drop in Korean exports. Kim Ji－yeon reports. Korea′s competitiveness in the global export market has dipped，... mainly due to China′s technological advancement and unfavorable currency conditions. CitiGroup Research says China′s technology made big improvements last year. In fact， the institute predicts China will be on par with Korea′s advanced technology in less than a year－and－a－half. The weakening Japanese yen is also putting a dent in Korea′s price competitiveness… as many export items overlap. The Korean won is now at 896－point－6 won against 100 yen， an appreciation of eleven－point－six－percent on year. The yen is expected to depreciate further as Japan pursues policies to accelerate recovery and lower inflation prices. 22 out of 36 global financial institutions tracked by Bloomberg predict Japan will pursue additional quantitative easing measures this year. To boost competitiveness， experts say Korea needs to advance into the Chinese consumer market with products that require innovative technology. The service sector is most promising，... according to the Hyundai Research Institute... and adds Korea needs to increase research－and－development investment... in order to diversify its current pattern of trading intermediate materials and components， such as steel and machinery，... to China. Kim Ji－yeon， Arirang News.