Many of my clients operate, in Korea, through relationships with agents. The local agent, normally, holds an exclusive right to sell the client’s product in Korea. For example, one of my clients sells medical lasers. The company has relationships with agents throughout Asia. The relationships guarantee the agent an exclusive right to sell the lasers in the nation the agent is located in. The agent, also, is responsible for managing technical, warranty and other after-sale matters in the jurisdiction. One Korean company approached my client and noted
Continue readingCategory: Korean Market Entry
KOR-US FTA Passed the Korean National Assembly Today
Great News. The Korea-United States Free Trade Agreement (KOR-US FTA) passed the Korean National Assembly today. The Agreement, previously, was passed by the U.S. Congress. The Agreement will be implemented on January 1, 2012. I will write more on the specifics of the Agreement over the next few weeks.__________SeanHayes@ipglegal.com
Continue readingKorea: “Connected Yes, Competitive Maybe.” Korea – Beware of the Dragon to the North.
Sang-Hun CHOE posted a great article in the New York Times quoting IPG’s Senior Commercial Advisor Tom Coyner in an article entitled – Connected Yes, Competitive Maybe. Mr. CHOE emphatically notes that: But being hyper-connected is not the same as being hyper competitive. Connectivity on its own does not bring productivity or happiness. It does not necessarily even bring foreign investment. And for all its positives, Seoul’s connectivity comes with some downsides. For starters, the city is home to the headquarters of global hardware giants like Samsung
Continue readingSelecting The Right Korean Partner by Tom Coyner
Most foreign companies in Korea, for practical reasons, must partner with a local company to market, sell and support their products and services. While once upon a time there were legal requirements to do so, now Korea has a relatively free market in this regard. Nonetheless, unless the foreign company is willing to make a very substantial investment up front, it almost always makes sense to partner. Frankly speaking, finding a Korean partner company can be ridiculously easy. Finding a successful partnership, however, can be surprisingly difficult.
Continue readingLimited Liability Companies under the Amended Commercial Code of Korea
Yuhan Hoesa is a form of a company in Korea similar to a Western Limited Liability Company. It has only been utilized, to date, by small privately held corporations and some financial companies under the Korean Asset-Backed Security Act, Korean Capital Markets Act, or the Korean Financial Investment Services Act. The revised Korean Commercial Code (KCC) allows for the more efficient and effective utilization of the Yuhan corporate entity. I will be advising the use of this company form for some of my clients. In the past,
Continue readingForeign-Capital Invested Companies in Korea Subsidies for Employing New Workers in Seoul, Korea
The Seoul Government has issued the following official notice in order to inform foreign-capital invested companies of a program to partially subsidize the wages of newly hired Korean employees. We have recently advised clients eligible for this program in our quarterly legal update. We have also advised on the numerous other new tax holiday, incentive, and other programs available to foreign businesses operating in Korea and will be posting some of these updates on this blog over the next couple of weeks. We think this program is
Continue readingKorea Due Diligence: Not So Different From China
Steve Dickson wrote a great article entitled China Due Diligence. Not Optional – that I will steal and copy at length. His article appears on the China Law Blog. Most companies are not aware that due diligence is required whenever you do any kind of business with a Chinese company. If you do not already know the Chinese company with which you will be conducting business, you must confirm that the company really does exit and that you are dealing with the actual company and not an
Continue readingEnter the Korean Market – Then Enter China and Japan
Secretary General Jean Jacques Grauhar made many interesting comments in the EU Chamber’s August 2011 issue of Infomag. He is the most Texas looking Frechman I have ever met. The Secretary General mentioned something that I think all global businesses should recognize. He notes that: While the world focuses on the Chinese market, company executives should also try to include Korea in their itinerary whenever they visit this part of the world, because a presence in South Korea is indispensable for truly global brands and could in
Continue readingResolving Korean Joint Venture/Partner Disputes without an Attorney — Maybe
Conflicts are inevitable, but not unresolvable. Since the circumstances surrounding Korean JV/partner conflicts can vary greatly and since the personalities of the involved parties play a major role in the confrontation, there may not be any ready-made prescription for the solution. There are however, some general ideas that may help in resolving conflicts in the local business environment. Personal ConsiderationsWestern logic, alone, is not usually sufficient to influence a Korean counterpart. Re-opening or referring to the exact stipulations of a contract is not desirable; it has been
Continue readingA monkey on my back (Korea Times by Sean Hayes)
Korea ranks behind many of its developed and less developed Asian neighbors in many major economic freedoms and indices. The major monkeys on the back of the Korean economy, according to some surveys, include restrictive trade policies, a bloated bureaucracy, high tax rates, and over regulation of credit, business, labor and whatever else the bureaucracy thinks it can get its hands on. These indices are a useful guide for businesses considering entering the Korean market, however, they must never be viewed in isolation from other realities. The
Continue reading
You must be logged in to post a comment.