Mark Benton

For the practical purposes of the foreign investor, there are two main forms of corporate entity in Korea – the jusik hoesa (pronounced ju shik hway sah) and the yuhan hoesa (pronounced yoo han hway sa). The vast majority of subsidiaries of foreign companies in Korea are set up as a chusik hoesa (stock corporation),…

In simple terms, the following forms of business organisations are commonly used by foreigners in Korea: Liaison Office, Branch Office and Subsidiary. A Liaison office is one which is established by a foreign company for the purposes of prospecting for business / assessing the market. The other two forms are for actually generating revenue. General…

The last piece was a very brief outline of Korean political and economic history. It alluded to a dichotomy. On the one hand, it is open for business; on the other, it is dominated by the chaebol and there also remain less obvious barriers to entry which can be significant. Likewise, it has a highly…

This is the first in a series of short articles on doing business in Korea. The series will focus introduce important issues faced by foreign investors wishing to do business here including the foreign investment promotion laws, the types of corporate presence foreign investors can have, business models, visas and taxation.Korea – A historical background…

One of the areas in which we specialise in providing advice is in Foreign Direct Investment. Korea continued the process of opening up its markets particularly in the wake of the Asian Financial crisis at the end of the 1990s and continues to do so apace with its accession to one free trade agreement after…