Südkorea und die EU Die europäische Finanzkrise aus asiatischer Sicht

Abstract

Europe has long been a role model in Asia as far as political and economic integration is concerned. Most countries envy the European Union’s success in this respect. The interest in European integration is particularly keen in South Korea where the media make detailed reports on every development in Europe. This is understandable, because South Korea has strong economic ties with Europe and fears that the European economic crisis may have a negative effect on its foreign trade. Can the crisis-laden European Union continue to be a model? An empirical study of South Korean media shows that the image of the EU is now turning bad. This article examines how the political and economic elites in South Korea regard current developments in the EU, and more specifically, what negative impact they are worried about and what kind of prospects they expect. According to one survey, 73 percent of the respondents said that the financial crisis in the EU was having very negative effects on the South Korean economy. The export industry in South Korea seems to be affected most of all. The development in trade between South Korea and the EU confirms this. The Korea-EU FTA, which became effective in July 2011, brought no encouraging results, contrary to expectations: South Korean exports to the EU decreased by 7.2 percent in the period from July 2011 to June 2012, whereas imports from the EU increased by 5.5 percent. As for the future development of the European economy, 53.3 percent of respondents said they expected a weak euro and economic stagnation for a while.