ABSTRACT
This chapter assess the rationale for Asia-Pacific cooperation and suggest possible scenarios for its future direction from the standpoint of Korea. The Asia-Pacific region has experienced the most remarkable economic changes in the world over the past two decades. The region has emerged as one of the world's major growth centers after many years of rapid economic growth and trade expansion. The Asian Pacific countries, however, seem to have considerably different interests in substantiating the idea of Asia-Pacific cooperation, mainly owing to the diversity in their economic situations as well as differences in sociopolitical conditions. The Republic of Korea has pursued rapid economic growth by following an outward-oriented development strategy. Korea has been trying to contribute to policy coordination by cutting its current account surpluses, which amounted to almost 8 percent of GNP in 1988, through opening up domestic markets to imports, rapidly appreciating the won, and increasing domestic aggregate demand.
