The winter wind in 2001 seemed to be more bitter than in previous years, but this seemed a bit gentler than what South Korea had experienced this year.

Kim Dae-jung is somewhat an amazing person. During the reign of early Korean dictators such as Syngman Rhee, he has always been a spiritual symbol of active democratic fighters, and is even known as the "Mandela" of Asia. Well, compared with future Chinese public intellectuals, his combat effectiveness is not very high.

Therefore, he was a professional jail member in the early days in South Korea and suffered decades of prison. Until he was elected president of South Korea in 1998, how could such a person not cleanse the government?

In history, he has been trying to transform the South Korean government since 1998, and basically fulfilled his expectations by 2002. He enhanced the central power and introduced civil servant politics into the mainstream. The state's budget power was received by the central government, paving the way for South Korea's development to enter the fast lane.

South Korea's GDP was US$573 billion in 1996. When the Asian financial crisis broke out, the total GDP in 1998 was only US$357.5 billion. It was in such a severe situation that under the leadership of Kim Dae-jung, South Korea's GDP increased to US$561.8 billion in just two years in 2000.

From this we can see that Jin Dazhong's transformation of the government was not without a ceremonial war. This ceremonial war is his strong promotion to the national economy.

By the time he stepped down as South Korea's presidency in 2003, the total GDP of South Korea reached a height of US$680.4 billion.

Through reforms in the four major areas of finance, enterprises, public sector and labor, South Korea completed the transformation from a low-level product export economy to an information-centered high-tech economy, and was recognized by the international community as the "outstanding student" who overcomes the financial crisis.

But this "high-end student" is not very good now.

"This is a damn ghost weather." South Korean Foreign Trade and Commerce Minister Park Tae-sun waited for his secretary to push open the door of the State Adjustment Office building.

He tightened his clothes and walked in quickly. It was already 8:56. If he didn't get any faster, he would be late for the cabinet meeting this morning.

The corridors of the office building along the way were quiet. Today's cabinet meeting was not arranged in the presidential residence, but was placed in the State Adjustment Room, which made Park Tae-sun a little worried.

However, without much time to think, he had already arrived at the door of the conference room designated by the meeting, so he had to push the door and walk in.

"It's so smooth, sit down."

"Prime Minister Handong. How did today's cabinet meeting be placed on the State Adjustment Office? Is it..."

"Don't think too much." Lee Handong, one of the founders of the Korean Democratic Justice Party, has served as South Korean Prime Minister since May 2000 and is a right-hand assistant to Kim Dae-jung. In general, he is also a very capable person. He has a high status in the cabinet and is second only to Kim Dae-jung.

Li Handong pointed to his position around him and said to Park Tae-sun: "Tai-sun, you sit here, today's discussion is more important. You need to provide some explanation of the situation."

"Yes." Park Tae-sun sat next to him in fear.

Not long after, Kim Dae-jung, who was already a little old, walked into the conference room. The old man was 77 years old. Years of struggle and life in prison have destroyed his health. In 2000, he won the Nobel Peace Prize for his sunshine policy toward North Korea, and it seems that there are no regrets in his life.

"Our citizens are all very good citizens!" As soon as Kim Dae-jung sat down, he said with some emotion: "The country suffered the impact of the financial crisis in the past two years. Many citizens took out gold to dedicate it to the country, and some newlyweds no longer traveled abroad. They even took out the US dollar in their hands for the depreciating Korean won. These efforts have allowed our South Korean economy to survive the most difficult stage. This is the trust of the people."

"Everyone, I would like to ask if we can face this trust calmly? The past impact of the recent 9/11 incident in the United States is gradually emerging. In my opinion, the most serious crisis has cleared the obstacles to China's accession to the World Trade Organization. How competitive is our Korean products compared to Chinese products? This is the question I want to hear the answer today. Please discuss it."

Lee Handong is Kim Dae-jung's assistant, and the Prime Minister is originally the organizer and actual leader of the cabinet. After Kim Dae-jung set the decision, the task of presiding over the meeting naturally fell on him.

"Everyone talk about it." His eyes first fell on Park Tae-sun, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Commerce, and said, "Tai-sun, talk about it. In what industries will our competition between South Korea and China appear?"

Park Tae-sun thought for less than a minute and said, "As far as I know, China has all industries, so I am frank, all industries in our country will be industries that compete with China. Among them, our electronics, shipbuilding, tires, synthetic fiber textiles, automobiles and steel production are currently the pillar industries of our country. It can be said that in the international market of these industries, our country may face China's competition."

“So do our products have an advantage in the competition?”

"I suggest that my country give up competition with China in the crude steel field and only retain high value-added special steel production, because we basically have no advantages in this field. China's materials and labor costs are much lower than those of South Korea. Therefore, it can be expected that after China joins WTO, crude steel production will experience explosive growth. No country in the world can compete with China in this regard."

"Similarly, there are synthetic fibers and textile industries. We in South Korea have no way to compete with China in the mid- and low-end markets. It is best to focus on developing high-end markets, design and brand strategy."

"The automobile industry is much better, and it will not be possible to see the prospects of China's automobile industry within a few years."

"In the same way, the situation in the tire industry is similar, and our Korean companies can still support each other."

"The situation is the most unoptimistic now, but the electronics and shipbuilding industries that were previously highly anticipated..."

"As for these two industries, I would like to ask Minister Jiang from the Ministry of Science and Technology." Park Tae-sun kicked the ball and said: "The competitiveness of electronic products is ultimately technical ability. Whether our country's technology is advanced than China, Minister Jiang has a say better than me. Because China has not joined the WTO, the data in my hands may not accurately reflect the actual situation."

Li Handong nodded, as if he had agreed with Park Tae-sun's statement, looked at Minister Kang Jae-kyung of the Ministry of Science and Technology and asked: "Zai-kyung, how much do you know about China?"

“Electronics industry…”

Kang Jae-kyung's face looked a little ugly, and she pushed the glasses on her nose, and she was silent longer than Park Tae-sun before.

Jiang Zaiqing is a "sea turtle". He was a top doctoral student sent to the United States in the 1980s to study electronic technology. In his mind, the electronics industry in the United States is very powerful.

Of course, with its support, South Korea's electronics industry will surely surpass the United States in one day. But for now, there is still a certain gap between South Korea and the United States.

"I really want to say that my country is more competitive in the electronics industry, but it is probably not the case. And after one situation, our South Korea is likely to face the situation where the city gate fires will affect the fish."

"I don't know, have you heard of Panhan Group?"

"Fanhan Group? I remember it was a Chinese company, producing--" the Minister of Culture and Tourism thought for a while and said, "By the way, it's that mp3, right? Their products are good, but unfortunately, the patent rights are still unanimous with our Korean companies, and our companies cannot produce such interesting products."

"Yes, that's the company. In fact, mp3 is nothing to Fanhan Group."

Jiang Zaiqing said: "Fanhan Group is a much stronger company than it shows in the terminal market. It can be said that one company has completed the entire industrial chain of chip manufacturing. In this regard, it is not wrong to regard it as the world's largest semiconductor company. In terms of technology, in the past three years, the technological development of the semiconductor industry has almost always been in the market. This is a company that can compete with Intel, Microsoft, and even ibm. We are probably not a competitor."

"And I noticed that Minister Park Tae-sun did not mention the shipbuilding industry before. I know a little about this."

It seems that Kang Jae-kyung is not very satisfied with Park Tae-sun's behavior of playing the ball, so he took him back.

"Before 1997, the trend of Japan's shipbuilding industry shifting to my country was very obvious, and the shipbuilding industry is also the pillar industry of my country's heavy industry. But since 1997, the whole thing has become completely different. The total shipbuilding volume of my country's current shipbuilding is less than 10% of the world's new tonnage, and 70% of the remaining 90% are currently in China. As for the shipbuilding industry, one enterprise of China's Bohai Province Bohai Heavy Industry Group has reached four times the total output of my country."

"Minister Park Tae-sun, is this situation true?" Li Handong frowned and glared at him.

"Pretty, you guys pretend again!" Park Tae-sun's face changed, and he suddenly realized that he might be in big trouble today. Li Handong arranged himself by his side to start, which was clearly a trap against him.

"Prime Minister, please listen to my explanation. The Chinese have made breakthroughs in shipbuilding technology and have applied a technology called segmented shipbuilding method. With this technology, it can reduce the cost and time of shipbuilding to a fraction of the past! Our Korean ship companies have no way to deal with it!" (To be continued, please search for astronomy, novels are better, updated and faster!
Chapter completed!