ID :
194980
Thu, 07/14/2011 - 09:37
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Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/194980
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Korea ranks last in road length among OECD nations: report
SEOUL, July 14 (Yonhap) -- South Korea had the shortest length of roads per 1,000 people among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) last year, a report said Thursday.
According to the report by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), the length of South Korea's paved roads per 1,000 people came to 2.12 kilometers, the lowest among the 30 surveyed OECD countries.
The last-place ranking came despite the total length of the country's paved roads nearly quadrupling to 105,000 km in 2010 from 27,000 km in 1962, when the country started its economic development in earnest.
Sweden came in first with 46.17 km per 1,000 people, while the United States stood at seventh with 20.28 km and Japan placed 20th with 9.41 km.
The report also showed that South Korea's road density, the ratio of the length of a country's total road network to the country's land area and population, was 1.52 in 2010 when its per capita income reached US$20,000.
That figure lagged far behind other OECD countries, including Japan, which had a road density of 5.12 in 1987, when its per capita income topped $20,000.
The report also pointed out that the supply of social infrastructure has not met demand, citing the 4.1 percent increase in the number of registered cars on average between 2001 and 2010, although the length of road grew only 1.8 percent on average during the same period.
It said that South Korea's poor social infrastructure has raised traffic congestion costs to 26.9 trillion won in 2008 from 21.1 trillion in 2001.
The KCCI called on the government to increase the budget for social overhead capital to boost the economy and improve the country's industrial competitiveness.
"Social overhead capital is an essential factor to strengthen industrial competitiveness and promote public welfare," the KCCI said. "The government should pay more attention to improving social infrastructure as a way to cut logistics costs."
According to the report by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), the length of South Korea's paved roads per 1,000 people came to 2.12 kilometers, the lowest among the 30 surveyed OECD countries.
The last-place ranking came despite the total length of the country's paved roads nearly quadrupling to 105,000 km in 2010 from 27,000 km in 1962, when the country started its economic development in earnest.
Sweden came in first with 46.17 km per 1,000 people, while the United States stood at seventh with 20.28 km and Japan placed 20th with 9.41 km.
The report also showed that South Korea's road density, the ratio of the length of a country's total road network to the country's land area and population, was 1.52 in 2010 when its per capita income reached US$20,000.
That figure lagged far behind other OECD countries, including Japan, which had a road density of 5.12 in 1987, when its per capita income topped $20,000.
The report also pointed out that the supply of social infrastructure has not met demand, citing the 4.1 percent increase in the number of registered cars on average between 2001 and 2010, although the length of road grew only 1.8 percent on average during the same period.
It said that South Korea's poor social infrastructure has raised traffic congestion costs to 26.9 trillion won in 2008 from 21.1 trillion in 2001.
The KCCI called on the government to increase the budget for social overhead capital to boost the economy and improve the country's industrial competitiveness.
"Social overhead capital is an essential factor to strengthen industrial competitiveness and promote public welfare," the KCCI said. "The government should pay more attention to improving social infrastructure as a way to cut logistics costs."
