The outcome of an analysis shows that Korea's three major IT export items - semiconductors, LCDs and mobile phones - will keep dominating the global market for at least six months. This analysis was released on Sept. 16 as the result of a survey of 92 economic analysts by the Federation of Korean Industries, an association of large conglomerates.
In the survey, no respondents predicted that the competitiveness of any of the three IT items will be threatened within six months. Some 37.5 percent of respondents said that the competitiveness of Korean semiconductors and LCDs will be threatened between six months and a year later, while 62.5 percent said Korean mobile phones will continue to maintain competitiveness until that timeframe.
Some 37.5 percent said semiconductors will keep maintaining competitiveness for more than three years, while 25 percent and 12.5 percent predicted LCDs and mobile phones, respectively, can maintain competitiveness for such a long period.
Most respondents attributed such high export competitiveness to "foreign exchange effects" in most of the IT items. Some 33.3 percent of respondents said that Korean semiconductor manufacturers can maintain competitiveness thanks to "innovations," while 25 percent attributed their competitiveness to "increased production efficiency."
Some 28.6 percent said Korean LCD makers maintain competitiveness through "increased production efficiency." Meanwhile, it was found that "innovations," including development of new designs and improved quality, played a larger role, than the weak won currency, in enhancing the competitiveness of Korean shipbuilders and mobile phone makers. In case of the auto industry, marketing strategies, as well as innovations, played an important role in enhancing competitiveness.
