Third Sector of The Economy of the Republic of Korea: Structure and Development Trends

This paper explores the development process of the tertiary sector of the South Korean economy during the period from 1961 to 2018, covering such topics as structure of the South Korea’s tertiary sector, its role in boosting the South Korean economic growth and the issue of its underperformance in comparison to other developed countries. Within the topic, works of several authors were examined and analyzed. While most researches tend to highlight the problem of the poor performance of the tertiary sector and suggest strategies for its development (Park & Shin, 2012), others pay attention to the process of shifting of the South Korean economy to the tertiary sector’s industries (Kim, 2006). However, some studies examine the causes for underdevelopment of the tertiary sector without looking at the complex structure of South Korean service industry, thereby creating an incomplete picture. This study is aimed to address the research gap and perform full analysis of the structure and functioning the South Korea's service sector. Moreover, we will analyze recommendations of OECD for improving South Korea's tertiary sector performance and assess political and economic measures of incumbent president Moon Jae-in in terms of compliance to OECD's recommendations. We will perform secondary data collection and use content and comparative analyses in collecting and analyzing the data. The results of the paper may reveal pattern in the third sector’s development and stagnation process and become a base for further research.