The Success and Shadow of Seoul-Sized Singapore

Singapore is a small city-state with a territory about the size of Seoul, located between the powers of Malaysia to the north and Indonesia to the south. When it became independent in 1965, it was merely a fishing village and a very poor country.

He stressed that young elites must run the state without corruption, and he identified corruption as the biggest obstacle to developing countries. He also prioritized community order over individual freedom and established social order through strict law enforcement.

After independence in the 1960s, Singapore fostered labor-intensive industries and developed the western Jurong area into an industrial estate. In the 1990s it shifted its industrial structure toward entrepot trade, and after the 2000s it intensively nurtured finance and IT industries. Today it has developed into an IT powerhouse where numerous startups are active.

In 1991 the Singapore government announced the 'Shared Values' and emphasized national priority. The principle treats the nation as more important than the individual and regards the family as the foundation of the state and of society. This was an effort to resolve conflicts that can arise in a multiethnic country and to achieve social integration.

Lee Kuan Yew argued that Asian values are as important to Asian society as Western Christian ethics. He pointed to Confucian thought, which values community, as their core, meaning a value system that prioritizes the group over the individual. These Asian values led to a line of emphasis on individual sacrifice for national development, but after the 1997 Asian financial crisis they also faced criticism.

Singapore maintains heavy punishments such as caning and holds firmly to strict punishment. In the past, even when citizens of Australia or the United States committed crimes in Singapore, caning was carried out, which nearly caused a diplomatic problem. This shows Singapore's strong commitment to placing the maintenance of its principles and order above all else.

On the surface this may look very high, but the Singapore government is not borrowing because it lacks money. Because of the special way the Ministry of Finance operates its current and fixed expenditures, the purpose of its borrowing differs from that of typical countries.

The main reason the Singapore government borrows is not a shortage of funds but reinvestment. The government reinvests the costs incurred from issuing bonds. It also creates debt to manage funds for the CPF (Central Provident Fund), a compulsory savings system, and issuing government bonds to supply safe assets as a financial hub is also one of its important purposes.

Singapore does not simply hold the foreign exchange reserves accumulated at its central bank; it reinvests them efficiently. It runs them by issuing securities corresponding to the foreign exchange reserves and entrusting the funds to fund managers the state has hired.

When Singapore expands large social infrastructure such as the MRT subway, it increases national debt to raise the large costs involved. Laws related to infrastructure investment are strictly managed and regarded as core investments for the country's long-term development.

Compressed growth led by the government has left Singapore with several aftereffects, the most representative of which is income inequality. Despite efforts to resolve the housing problem, housing inequality continues.

Singapore's education system is elite-centered, with paths separating from primary school on the basis of grades, such as university entrance or technical education. This imbalance in educational opportunity is increasing parents' dissatisfaction and raising concern about the state deciding a child's future path early on.

Along with this, the birthrate has also declined, falling to 0.97 in 2024, and the low birthrate problem is deepening.

'Kiasuism' is a phenomenon pervasive in Singapore society, referring to an extreme fear of falling behind others. This competition-first mindset strengthens extreme individualism, such as monopolizing library seats, and is leading to social harms.

Singapore's People's Action Party (PAP) has held power for a long time, effectively hardening into a one-party dictatorship. As a result, plurality is lacking, and the limits of failing to reflect the voices of marginalized classes are becoming evident. The PAP is very likely to retain its ruling position going forward.

It stresses principles that do not waver under external pressure, to the point of saying the state would collapse if strong penal systems set by the state were not kept. Maintaining caning and strengthening punishment can be understood in this context.

After the COVID-19 pandemic, however, supply shortages from construction delays combined with surging demand from single-person households and an influx of foreigners pushed housing prices up sharply. This is leading to a serious housing shortage in Singapore.

In particular, the housing problem is linked to territorial disputes over land reclamation caused by the limited land area, so a complex solution is needed.