Crisis an opportunity for ROK's economic recovery

The Republic of Korea has been taking heavy economic blows following the dramatic collapse of its largest shipping company, Hanjin Shipping Co, and Samsung Electronics Co's decision to stop the production, sales and replacement of its fire-prone Galaxy Note 7 smartphones.

Hanjin, the world's seventh-largest container shipper, had a debt of more than $5.9 billion when it filed for bankruptcy protection at the end of August. Shares of Samsung, which accounts for nearly 17 percent of the country's GDP, plunged after it stopped the sales of Note 7, which cut $17 billion from its market value. And recent strikes at Hyundai Motor Co, the country's largest automaker, might deal another blow to the already struggling ROK economy.

On Oct 13, the ROK's central bank revised down next year's growth forecast from 2.9 percent to 2.8 percent. Its unemployment rate rose year-on-year to 3.6 percent in September because of a slowdown in manufacturing and export. Factory output in August, too, fell 2.4 percent from July, the fastest decline in 19 months.