The World Bank says South Korea is one of the easiest countries in the world to do business in.
In fact，… only Singapore， New Zealand and Denmark are better while South Korea is ahead of regional rivals，… like China and Japan.
Oh Soo－young has the details. Korea is the fourth－easiest country to do business in， according to a World Bank report published Wednesday.
Asia′s fourth－largest economy has been on a steady rise in rankings these past six years， achieving an immense leap from 19th in 2009.
Singapore maintained its first place for a tenth straight year， followed by New Zealand and Denmark.
Meanwhile， Japan tumbled from 29th to 34th while China rose 6 notches to 84th.
The annual ′Doing Business′ report ranks one－hundred－89 countries based on ten indicators， including obtaining licensing approvals， starting a business， and the ease of cross－border trading.
In terms of G20 countries， Korea ranks first， while among OECD countries it ranks third behind New Zealand and Denmark.
Korea′s finance ministry attributes the upward trend to consistent government efforts to create a business－friendly environment through improved business rules and infrastructure.
However， experts say the World Bank′s report may not reflect true business conditions as its evaluation standards are too general， overlooking certain restrictions.
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″There are a number of indirect barriers on labor， work sites and environmental conditions through market restrictions， pricing regulations， and goverment controls. These create difficulties for businesses.″
To address these shortcomings， the finance ministry says it will continue to improve rules on labor， work sites， and the environment.
It will also mitigate regulations on service and new technology industries.
Oh Soo－young， Arirang News.