South Korea's Garment Industry Seems To Have Signs Of Rejuvenation

In 2000, the Korean garment industry began to decline due to the influence of cheap wages in mainland China. Most of the practitioners were changing careers. But recently, because of the continuous rise in labor costs in mainland China, the price competitiveness of Korea rose again, and the number of small garment orders gradually increased, and the garment industry seemed to have some signs of rejuvenation.

Korean garment makers said that the recent increase in the wage and price of the tailoring unit due to wage increases in mainland China was not much different from the price in mainland China or Korea. In addition, the garment manufacturers in mainland China, which had been growing rapidly for nearly 10 years, preferred to accept large scale orders from global enterprises and demanded a high price for small orders. However, some operators believe that the increase in the number of garment orders is part of the plan to shift factories from mainland China to the temporary temporary stops in Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam and Kampuchea. At present, there is no sound production infrastructure in South Korea. If there are no basic countermeasures, this will not be long-term.

At present, the operational difficulties faced by Korean garment makers mainly include unstable source of orders, rising wages and shortage of talent, difficulties in capital turnover and price rise of materials in the plateau. Therefore, the Korean clothing industry suggests that the government can provide financial support, relax loan restrictions, support 4 major insurance, support training personnel, provide clothing industry related information and set up garment industrial parks, and strengthen the implementation of marking system in the implementation area, so as to improve the competitiveness of Korean garment industry.