Korea’s Product Market Regulation Index 6th-highest in the OECD

South Korea’s product market regulation (PMR) index is the sixth-highest in the OECD.

The Federation of Korean Industries announced on Dec. 16 that South Korea’s product market regulation (PMR) index is the sixth-highest in the OECD and this means PMRs in South Korea are relatively tighter.

The index was made by the OECD and the organization updates it every five years by conducting surveys. This year is the starting year of the latest version.

In the overall index, South Korea’s score is 1.71 whereas the United Kingdom took the top spot with 0.78, the average of the top five is 1, and the average of the 38 members of the OECD is 1.43.

In addition, South Korea posted an entry barrier index of 1.72, the fourth-highest in the OECD. In this category of assessment, Lithuania’s index stands at 0.57 and the averages are 0.68 and 1.21, respectively.

“South Korea came in 37th in terms of trade and investment barriers due to its high effective tariff rates,” the federation said, adding, “Besides, it stood at 36th when it comes to service and network barriers.”

As for distortion attributable to government intervention, South Korea took the 23rd place with 1.69 with the OECD average at 1.65. In particular, South Korea was ranked as low as 36th when it comes to government intervention in corporate activities. “This has to do with the South Korean government’s excessive price control and its preference for regulations to incentives,” the federation explained.