The Federation of Korean Industries(FKI) assessed that South Korea outpaced Japan in key economic indices during the past three decades but remains behind in technological competitiveness. 

Marking the upcoming Liberation Day this weekend, the federation released on Thursday results of its analysis that compared the economies and competitiveness of South Korea and Japan regarding since 1990.

The FKI said that South Korea came in 23rd in the World Competitiveness Ranking compiled by the International Institute for Management Development in 2020, outpacing Japan which ranked 34th. The federation noted that in 1995, South Korea ranked 26th and Japan fourth. 

The federation also found that South Korea outperformed Japan in terms of sovereign credit ratings, per-capita gross domestic product in terms of purchasing power parity as well as competitive industrial performance.

However, South Korea was found to lag far behind Japan in terms of science and technology. Among the world’s top one-thousand companies that invested in research and development, Japanese firms outnumbered those of South Korea by more than five times.
 
South Korea’s deficit with Japan in parts and materials, an indicator of competitiveness in the field, nearly doubled from eight-point-three billion dollars in 1994 to 15-point-four billion dollars in 2020.