ИСТИНА

The report focuses on the most important internal and external factors, trends and proportions, that favored accomplishing a “big push” in South Korea’s economic development, building a competitive innovative economy, overcoming the middleincome trap and transit to the group of high-income countries. In spite of South Korea’s economic success, at present there appears to emerge a tendency of economic growth’ slowdown, caused by the exhaustion of the extensive factors that favored its high-scale phenomenal economic growth in the past. The author presents the main constraints to South Korea’s further innovationdriven growth, among which are the aging population problem, institutional problems of the education system, corporate culture and business environment. The emphasis is also made on social consequences of the existing problems.