Korea's high-tech economy threatened by Chinese catch-up

Seoul

SOUTH Korea is famous as a high-tech powerhouse, from Samsung's smartphones, the world's fastest Internet connection speed to world-beating innovation.

And while presidential hopefuls are laying out plans to develop new technology to drive the economy over the next five years, here is a reality check: the advantage of Korean companies over their Chinese competitors is closing fast.

In five years' time there'll be little difference between the tech of Chinese and Korean companies in most sectors, including high-end smart phones, wearable devices, memory chips, and smart …