The U.S. Heritage Foundation has assessed South Korea as the twenty-ninth freest economy in the world,... dropping two notches from 2018.
South Kora ranked 7th among countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
Kim Hyo-sun reports.

South Korea ranked 29th out of 180 countries in terms of economic freedom,... down two spots from last year.
According to the Index of Economic Freedom released Monday by the Heritage Foundation,... South Korea scored 72-point-three points,... one-and-a-half points lower than 2018,... with declining scores for judicial effectiveness, tax burden and labor freedom.
The foundation evaluates countries in a total of 12 areas in four categories - rule of law, regulatory efficiency, government size and open markets.
It also explained that South Korea ranked 7th out of 43 countries in the Asian Pacific region,... outpacing the regional average of 60-point-six and global average of 60-point-eight.
Although South Korea has become a developed country thanks to decades of rapid economic development,... the Heritage Foundation also said the country now faces challenges including an aging society, and its high dependence on an export-oriented economic model.
This year,... Hong Kong was top of the list,... followed by Singapore, New Zealand and Switzerland.
North Korea ranked rock bottom at 180th place,... for the 25th consecutive year since 1995 when the list was first compiled.
The foundation said the despotic military regime is the world's most centralized and closed market.
Kim Hyo-sun, Arirang News.