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Korea's Fine Chemicals Industry
Industry Overview (2006)
| Description | Unit | Total |
|---|---|---|
| No. of Companies | 2,540 | |
| No. of Employees | 80,381 | |
| - Production | 44,061 | |
| - Office/Others | 34,555 | |
| Production Amount | KRW billion | 27,179 |
| Size of Domestic Market1) | 〃 | 34,136 |
| Global Market Share2) | % | 2.2 |
| Amount of Shipments | 〃 | 26,963 |
| R&D/Sales3) | 〃 | 1.25 |
| Value Added Labor Productivity | KRW billion/person | 170 |
| Export | US$ million | 5,136 |
| Import | 〃 | 12,093 |
| Balance | 〃 | -6,9574) |
Source: Korea National Statistical Office (NSO), Statistical Survey Report on the Mining Industry (2007); Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST), Survey Report on Science and Technology R&D (2007); Korea International Trade Association (KITA) database.
Notes:
- 1) Production amount+import-export.
- 2) As of 2005
- 3) Based on the entire chemical industry (including petrochemical)
- 4) ^refers to deficit (-).
Size by Item in the Global Fine Chemicals Industry
| Sector | Market Size (US$100 million) |
Ratio (%) | Japan (US$100 million) (B) |
Ratio of Korea to Japan (%) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Korea (A) | Global | ||||
| Total | 269 | 11,884 | 2.2 | 850 | 31.6 |
| Dye·Pigment | 15 | 260 | 5.8 | 3 | 500.0 |
| Paint·Ink | 42 | 292 | 14.4 | 85 | 49.4 |
| Surfactant | 7 | 147 | 4.7 | 16 | 43.8 |
| Adhesives | 12 | 218 | 1.9 | 20 | 60.0 |
| Photo Compounds | 7 | 626 | 1.1 | - | - |
| Drugs | 94 | 5,180 | 1.8 | 545 | 17.3 |
| Cosmetics | 35 | 1,395 | 2.5 | 133 | 26.3 |
| Pesticide | 13 | 380 | 3.4 | 28 | 46.4 |
| Others | 44 | 3,386 | 1.3 | 20 | 220.0 |
Source: Korea Specialty Chemical Industry Association (KSCIA), Fine Chemical Vol. 95 (March 2008)
Notes :
- Ratio of Korea to Japan = A/B * 100
Trend by Year
| Year | No. of Companies |
No. of Employees |
Amount of Shipment (KRW billion) |
Export (US$ million) |
Import (US$ million) |
Balance (US$ million) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 2,388 | 81,055 | 24,582 | 3,956 | 9,370 | -5,414 |
| 2005 | 2,379 | 79,331 | 24,828 | 4,536 | 10,681 | -6,145 |
| 2006 | 2,540 | 80,381 | 26,963 | 5,136 | 12,093 | -6,957 |
Source: NSO, Statistical Survey Report on the Mining Industry (2007); KITA database.
Major Companies in the Fine Chemicals Industry (2007)
(Unit: KRW million, %)
| Company Name | Sales | Operating Profit |
R&D/ Sales |
Key Business Areas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LG Chem | 10,795,320 | 220,099 | 2.0 | Petrochemicals, Construction Materials, Electronics Materials (polarizer film, etc.) |
| AmorePacific | 1,357,005 | 248,627 | 0.40 | Cosmetics |
| Samsung Fine Chemicals |
829,350 | 29,138 | 1.6 | Electronics Materials, General Chemicals, Methyl Cellulose, DMAC, PTAC, etc. |
| LG Life Sciences | 256,402 | 25,622 | 23.1 | Intermediate Materials of Pharmaceuticals |
| SKC | 848,059 | 40,945 | 3.15 | Shadow Masks, Photo Masks, Lead Frames, and Other LCD-related Materials |
| SKC | 665,831 | △1,127 | 5.3 | Shadow Masks, Photo Masks, Lead Frames, and Other LCD-related Materials |
| Cheil Industries | 3,112,401 | 224,062 | 2.45 | Textiles·Garments, Electronics Materials, PVC Compounds, etc. |
| Donga | 635,934 | 72,449 | 6.23 | Pharmaceuticals |
| Hyosung | 5,425,100 | 238,358 | 1.12 | Heavy Industries, Industrial Materials, Chemicals, Textiles, Construction, Trade, etc. |
| Kolon | 1,541,031 | 70,420 | 1.85 | Raw Threads, Industrial Materials, Chemicals (Light Diffusing Film (LDF) used as Backlight Unit (BLU) for TFT-LCD TVs, Electronics Materials, etc.) |
Source: Business reports posted at http://dart.fss.or.kr/html
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