The U.S. Heritage Foundation has assessed South Korea as the twenty-ninth freest economy in the world,... dropping two notches from 2018. <br />South Kora ranked 7th among countries in the Asia-Pacific region.<br />Kim Hyo-sun reports. <br /> <br />South Korea ranked 29th out of 180 countries in terms of economic freedom,... down two spots from last year. <br />According to the Index of Economic Freedom released Monday by the Heritage Foundation,... South Korea scored 72-point-three points,... one-and-a-half points lower than 2018,... with declining scores for judicial effectiveness, tax burden and labor freedom. <br />The foundation evaluates countries in a total of 12 areas in four categories - rule of law, regulatory efficiency, government size and open markets. <br />It also explained that South Korea ranked 7th out of 43 countries in the Asian Pacific region,... outpacing the regional average of 60-point-six and global average of 60-point-eight. <br />Although South Korea has become a developed country thanks to decades of rapid economic development,... the Heritage Foundation also said the country now faces challenges including an aging society, and its high dependence on an export-oriented economic model. <br />This year,... Hong Kong was top of the list,... followed by Singapore, New Zealand and Switzerland. <br />North Korea ranked rock bottom at 180th place,... for the 25th consecutive year since 1995 when the list was first compiled. <br />The foundation said the despotic military regime is the world's most centralized and closed market. <br />Kim Hyo-sun, Arirang News. <br />
