Korea lags far behind advanced countries in the protection of property rights, an international survey showed yesterday. According to the Property Rights Alliance, Korea received a score of 5.8 out of possible 10, and ranked 25th among 70 nations in its international property rights index.
Norway ranked first with a score of 8.3, with the majority of advanced economies in the top 20. In Asia, Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong were notches ahead of Korea, all ranking between 12th and 17th.
The property rights index is the first international comparative study to measure the significance of both physical and intellectual property rights and their protection for economic well-being. The Center for Free Enterprise, a Seoul-based institute, took part in the survey from Korea.
While Korea received a relatively poor score of 4.9 in the legal and political environment category, it fared well in the protection of intellectual property rights.
"The study shows that Korea needs to improve the legal and political setting to better protect property rights," the CFE said in a statement.

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