ISLAMABAD, Dec 13: South Korea crafted its five-year plans in the 1960s with the technical assistance of Pakistani planning authorities, but the subsequent years yielded opposite fortunes for both countries due to the state of implementation of those targets.

This view was shared by Professor Jwa Sung Hee of Korean Development Institute (KDI) at a seminar titled “Lessons from Korean development” organised by the Planning Commission on Friday.

“While South Korea stuck to rigorous and target-focused implementation of these projects, Pakistan could not keep up the momentum for one reason or the other,” the development economist regretted.

Prof Hee said that the simple secret of South Korea’s economic development is due to ‘rewarding the performers’.

Sharing his country’s development experiences, he said that the government, corporations and markets are the elements of South Korean economic model.

South Korea capitalised on its SME sector to take the country towards fast growth trajectory, and acknowledged the need of effective economic planning with emphasis on implementation of the conceived projects, Prof Hee said.

Speaking at the occasion, Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reform Ahsan Iqbal said that Pakistan must benefit from the Korean development experience.

“The government has initiated projects to make the SME and private sectors drivers of development, and the youth business loan scheme is a practical reflection of this.”