I have a lot of respect for SK and what they have been able to accomplish, not only in auto production and steel, but bringing their country up to first world competitive status--and it has not been easy. Remember the days of yore when they had to almost go martial law and ask the people to be patient, and they would reap the rewards. They turned the corner to prosperity, good on them. I might even buy a Kia! But many a good economy has been wrecked by reckless government spending, etc. I'm thinking about the former "Irish tiger" economy, spurred by lowering business taxes--later wrecked by huge increases in entitlements. I hope SK can come out of this OK. But there are going to be some tide changes world wide if Peter Zeihan is to be believed, and SK won't be the only one struggling.
Concerning move by the South Korean president....
How the SK populous responds will be very interesting... how the current US administration responds (my guess is they will largely ignore this and only pay it lip service).. and how the incoming administration responds will also be very interesting...
Our economy is tied to the SK economy in several places... and we have a LOT of troops stationed in SK.. Not sure what, if any, impact we'll see directly here in the US.. but any time a "conservative" government decides its time to declare martial law.. thats going to raise some red flags all over the globe..
I would welcome current input from those in the know...
BTW, one would think SK citizens could look at the train wreck just north of them and see that NK has nothing of value to offer them.