The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) and the Korea Investment and Trade Promotion Agency (KOTRA) jointly held the 2015 Foreign Investment Companies CEO Forum on Nov. 25 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Seoul.
High-ranking government officials, foreign diplomats and CEOs of major foreign companies in operation in Korea attended the event, including Deputy Minister Lee In-ho of the Trade and Investment at MOTIE; Deputy Minister Kang Young-chul for Regulatory Reform of the Office of the Government Policy Coordination of the Prime Minister’s Office; Vice President Hahm Jeong-ho of KOTRA; Ambassador William Patterson of Australia; the heads of foreign business organizations; and CEOs of foreign companies in Korea, totaling some 200 altogether.
The event aimed to encourage more foreign investments by informing the foreign diplomats and business leaders of Korea’s policies on foreign investments, an improvement in the foreign investment environment, and the results of the foreign direct investments (FDI).
At the 10th annual event, the hosts provided new information and policies in the areas of labor reform, tax incentives for FDIs, information systems for regulations on foreign investments, and especially government policies to encourage FDI in Korea.
In his opening speech at the event, Deputy Minister Lee In-ho of MOTIE said the government is prepared to go a long way to encourage foreign investors to invest more in Korea, stressing the crucial importance of FDI in Korea.
In his welcoming speech, Vice President Hahm Jeong-ho of KOTRA said that the government would like to see foreign direct investments in Korea “spike,” along with foreign business activities in Korea, taking advantage of the FTAs signed with many countries, including China and the U.S., among its major trading partners.
What drew the most attention among participants was Professor John Linton’s explanation of his experiences in Korea in such key areas as culture, the Korean language and customers, as a fourth generation foreign resident in Korea whose family members first came to Korea as missionaries decades ago.
Government officials in various ministries unveiled changes to policies in the areas of their responsibilities including labor reform and the settlement of labor problems in talks with labor leaders. An official from the National Tax Service talked about the protection system for tax payers and the management of a unit to help solve tax problems for foreign business firms in Korea.
The Office of Government Policy Coordination introduced the Regulatory Information System for Foreign Investors that the office manages to listen to the foreign investors before making changes in the regulations to encourage them to make further investments in Korea.’
In spite of the liberalization of the FDI regime since the 1997 financial crisis, the magnitude of FDI in Korea is smaller than a level comparable internationally, and has declined significantly in the recent past.
To address the issue of flagging FDI in Korea, a comprehensive survey was undertaken of foreign companies in Korea. The survey results show that foreign firms undertake investment in Korea mainly to capitalize on the emerging business opportunities and that there is substantial room for improvement in the areas of government regulations and the business environment.
To further attract FDI, therefore, not only should Korea undertake an across-the-board liberalization of the FDI regime, but it should also make concerted efforts to improve the operational environment for foreign businesses.
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