Woosang Hwang, University of Toledo, whwang@UTNet.UToledo.Edu

Paul Hong, University of Toledo, Paul.Hong@utoledo.edu

On April 2, 2007 South Korea and USA (KORUS) has agreed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that binds two nations for better economic collaboration. This reflects major changes in market reality that drives manufacturing firms to reexamine their strategic priorities, business capabilities and performance outcomes. Since this new market reality suggests both opportunities and risks, a careful analysis on this new development is very timely and relevant.
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of KORUS FTA agreement on Korean manufacturing industries. This paper presents (1) a theoretical framework; (2) a review of historical trends of Korean manufacturing; (3) the current issues of the four particular manufacturing industries (i.e., electronic, steel, automobile and shipbuilding); (4) the analyses of the impacts of KORUS FTA on these four particular Korean manufacturing industries; (5) prospects for the future in terms of manufacturing strategies, capabilities and performance outcomes.