Diverging development paths of the electronics industry in Korea and Taiwan

The electronics industry is the largest manufacturing sector and also forms the largest export industry in both the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and Taiwan. However, the industry's development process and present makeup differ greatly in the two economies. The author shows that in its initial stage the electronic industry in both South Korea and Taiwan followed a similar development process until the mid-1970s. They had a dual structure where a domestic demand sector co-existed with an export sector. The author discusses the differences that arose between South Korea and Taiwan in the mid-1970s and examines the mechanism for the formation of such differences. He argues that such developments reflected differing government policies. (DÜI-Sen)