South Korea's economy has undergone a very impressive development
experience. Through economic planning, its government modernized the
agricultural sector, established a large industrial sector, and helped
create a service sector. Its extensive regulations have largely
protected domestic enterprises from foreign competition and helped them
grow and consolidate over time. Government polices and practices,
including generous loans, have stimulated economic growth. The 1997
financial crisis damaged the South Korean economy as a whole and forced
it to contract in 1998, but the economy began its
recovery in 1999 and continued it in 2000, an indicator of the strength
of its sectors. At the beginning of the 21st century, South
Korea's smallest economic sector, in terms of contribution to
GDP, is agriculture, including forestry and fisheries. Second largest is
the industrial sector, which consists of manufacturing, construction,
and mining, a vital sector of which manufacturing accounts for the bulk
of South Korea's expanding exports. As with agriculture,
industry's share of GDP is declining while the service sector is
growing, a phenomenon consistent with the maturity of the South Korean
economy. The service sector is now the largest and the fastest growing
economic sector, accounting for the largest share of GDP.
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