Business efficiency, infrastructure gains drive rise despite weaker economic performance Containers awaiting export are stacked at a port in Busan on June 1. (Newsis) South Korea ranked 21st among 70 economies in the Institute for Management Development's World Competitiveness Ranking, rising six rungs on the ladder and marking its second-highest position since it was first included in 1997, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said Thursday.The latest results put South Korea behind only the United States among the "30-50 club" of economies with per capita income of more than $30,000 and a population of over 50 million. The US ranked 10th overall, followed by Korea at 21st, Germany at 23rd, the United Kingdom at 24th and Japan at 30th.The ministry said the improvement was mainly driven by stronger scores in business efficiency and infrastructure. South Korea's ranking in business efficiency rose 10 notches to 34th, while its infrastructure ranking advanced six places to 15th.All five subcategories under business efficiency improved from a year earlier. Productivity and efficiency rose to 34th from 45th, the labor market to 45th from 53rd, finance to 29th from 33rd, management practices to 49th from 55th and attitudes and values to 18th from 33rd.Infrastructure has also improved across most areas. Basic infrastructure rose to 28th from 35th, technological infrastructure to 27th from 39th, health and environment to 29th from 32nd and education to 21st from 27th. Korea especially maintained a strong position in scientific infrastructure, ranking second.Yet, offsetting overall improvement was a weaker economic performance. South Korea's ranking in the category slipped to 14th from 11th, as lower scores in the domestic economy, employment and prices outweighed modest gains in international trade and investment. The ministry said annual growth indicators were affected by weak performance in the first half of 2025, despite a rebound in the second half.The decline in economic performance was partly linked to weaker growth indicators. According to the ministry, South Korea's annual real GDP growth stood at 1.1 percent in 2025, as sluggish conditions in the first half outweighed a stronger rebound later in the year. The domestic economy category fell to 10th from eighth, while employment slipped to seventh from fifth and prices dropped to 40th from 30th.Government efficiency remained unchanged at 31st. Tax policy, institutional framework and societal framework improved, while public finance and business legislation declined.The IMD ranking evaluates economies across four main factors, 20 subfactors and 341 detailed indicators, including statistical data and executive opinion surveys. The annual assessment serves as a benchmark for gauging how well economies support business activity and long-term competitiveness.