E. KIM, PhD in Philosophy In February 2008, the new President of the Republic of Korea (ROK), Lee Myung-bak, took office. The ten-year period in power of the center-left forces has ended. The country's highest post was taken by the leader of the Conservatives. Before making predictions about possible changes in the country's domestic and foreign policy, it is necessary to assess the state in which Lee Myung-bak took over the country from his predecessor. RESULTS OF THE LAST FIVE YEARS Over the past five years, under the 16th President Roh Moo-hyun, South Korea has experienced many remarkable events. Having completely overcome the consequences of the 1997 crisis, the country had a budget surplus for all these years, reached the level of $ 20 thousand per capita, and restored its credit rating. In 2006, GDP reached more than $ 930 billion at currency purchasing power parity1, and foreign trade more than doubled in five years, reaching more than $ 700 billion in 2007. The capitalization of companies has increased significantly. For example, the market capitalization of the company "Hyundai Heavy Industries" has grown from 1.5 billion rubles. up to $ 27.8 billion 2 Capitalization growth in certain sectors of the economy was: construction firms - by 618.4%, pharmaceutical companies-by 401.3%, medical institutions - by 385%, ferrous metallurgy-by 374.4%, construction machinery-by 353.8%. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Korean economy has increased significantly. Thus, if a total of $ 138 billion was attracted to the country in the period from 1962 to 2007, then almost 40% of it - $ 51.5 billion-was invested in the country's economy during the years of President Putin's rule, i.e., during the period from 2003 to 2007.3 During the same period, Seoul has signed free trade agreements with Chile, Singapore, and the United States, almost agreed on the same agreement with the European Union, Canada, and is negotiating with China, a group of Latin American countries that a ... Read more