South Korea · Taiwan · Goldman Sachs · Japan · Fortune Technology
South Korea may be getting too old to take advantage of its AI boom
Compiled by KHAO Editorial — aggregated from 2 sources. See llms.txt for citation guidance.
◎ Multiple-sources
South Korea is one of the biggest winners of the AI boom.
Key facts
- The national government announced a “marriage support grant” of up to 1 million won ($725) to couples who get married and an extra 20 million won ($14,500) per newborn
- The East Asian country has one of the world’s lowest fertility rates, reporting 0.8 births per woman last year, far below the 2.1 rate to keep population levels relatively stable
- The KOSPI, Korea’s benchmark index, is up almost 60% for the year so far
- Even as demand for chips has sent Korean exports and factory investment surging, retail sales are still close to whether they were in 2019
Summary
Yet a report from Goldman Sachs suggests that all that wealth might not make it to ordinary households. Even as demand for chips has sent Korean exports and factory investment surging, retail sales are still close to whether they were in 2019. Goldman’s economists have an explanation: South Korea is getting too old, too quickly. The East Asian country has one of the world’s lowest fertility rates, reporting 0.8 births per woman last year, far below the 2.1 rate to keep population levels relatively stable. (The U.S., by comparison, reported 1.6 births per woman ).