The loss of confidence in South Korea's capital markets is of particular concern because corporate bonds worth some 60 trillion won mature next year.

ECONOMIST: South Korean corporate finance

This week, in another event of interest to the Americans, a group of government ministers from South Korea is in Pyongyang, the North's capital, for four days of talks with their counterparts, which started on Tuesday October 14th.

ECONOMIST: Roh's woes | The

If capital is lent or invested honestly, without corruption or coercion, the real story in South Korea may be the success of foreign capital in reforming the chaebol.

ECONOMIST: Letters

More developed economies, such as South Korea and Singapore, where both the rate of investment and the capital-to-labour ratio are relatively high, are probably not underinvesting.

ECONOMIST: Economics focus

Total factor productivity, which measures how efficiently labour and capital are combined, is only 42% of the level in America, or 82% that in South Korea.

ECONOMIST: Measuring productivity

Many Brazilian companies avoided capital spending in the days of protection and hyperinflation, leaving Brazil with only a third as much capital equipment a head as South Korea.

ECONOMIST: Measuring productivity