In many ways, the 19th century continued until the outbreak of World War I. The 20th century ended with the fall of Lehman Brothers. In confusing times such as these, it is natural for people to draw parallels as a way to understand current events surrounding us. They hope to gain some insight on an uncertain future. Here are some examples: A recent issue of BusinessWeek suggested that America of 2009 may learn from Japan of the 1990s. In Korea,
Continue readingCategory: Korean Market Entry
Business Opportunities in Korea for Entertainment Companies
I just read a blog post by my friends over at the China Law Blog that motivated me to write the following post. Korea is an excellent testing ground to determine the feasibility of your business for other Asian markets such as China or Japan. The country has, also, proven more profitable, for many businesses, than the often too hard to catch “Chinese Middle Class.” The following is a list of some industries that are successful in Korea: 1. Franchises.
Continue readingNegotiating a Joint Venture Agreement in Korea: Shareholder Agreements in Korea
We recently had a client with a myriad of joint venture issues. The issues were caused, primarily, because of the joint venture agreement being drafted, only, in English without a review my client or a competent lawyer and most of the negotiations occuring through a translator. For example, the American company believed that the joint venture agreement mandated that all disputes were to be handled via arbitration in Hong Kong. The American company SEVP noted this to the interpreter as
Continue reading12 New Items Prohibited from Export from Korea by Overflow of Core National Technology Law of Korea
The following is the list of the 12 new items that have been newly prohibited from export from Korea without an export license/acceptance of report of export from the Ministry of Knowledge Technology of Korea. The export prohibition was implemented by the Overflow of Core National Technology Law of Korea. The prohibition takes affect from the beginning of 2011. Electric /ElectronicProducts Foundry process & device technologies of less than 31 nms. Design/process/manufacturing technologies of AMOLED panels (except for module assembly
Continue readingNine Musts for a Succesful License Agreement in Korea
License Agreements in Korea are too often, simply, a spinning of license agreements used in the West. Your foreign license agreement, in most cases, is not adequate for your needs in Korea. Our 9 Musts before Engaging in a License Arrangement in Korea 1. Due Diligence Say it three times and read my posts: Doing Business in Korea: Due Diligence, Agreements, Attorneys and Street Smarts 2. Royalty Clause Include in your license agreement a royalty clause. The clause should detail,
Continue readingFinding a Korean Distributor: Top 10 Things to Know Before you Jump into Bed with an Agent in Korea
Too often we deal with clients looking to collect on unpaid invoices to distributors/customers in Korea and resolve IP and other disputes between these distributors/customers because of clients rushing into relationships without vetting out the anticipated distributor or having a very poorly drafted distribution agreement. Many distributors in Korea are fantastic, while, others are nothing more than order processors -they, simply can’t or don’t want to sell. Additionally, in these tough economic times, too many companies, in Korea, are struggling
Continue readingIs K-Pop Sustainable? Tom Coyner by IPG’s Senior Adviser
For the past five years I have monitored with detached interest how Hallyu, or the Korean Wave has grown from a local pop phenomenon into an international trend. There is no denying it. The Korean Wave is huge. But by living in Korea, one could easily get the impression that the Korean Wave has taken the entire planet by storm and there is no telling where Korean culture will make its next global impact. But is this really the case?
Continue readingSales of Imported Cars Increase in Korea: American Cars Still Not Popular in Korea
The sale of imported cars increased over 16% percent in August of 2012 when compared to August of 2011 in Korea. The increase is attributed to the aggressive sales promotions by local dealers and increased interest in luxury foreign cars. The free trade agreements may have, also, made more mid-income consumers consider purchasing a foreign cars. The U.S. (7.1% of foreign car market in August) is still lagging way behind European (77.9%) and Japanese (15%) competitors even, though, American car
Continue readingWhy do Some Foreign Companies Fail and Some Companies Succeed in Korea?
The Chosun Ilbo posted an interesting article on why some multinational companies fail in the Korean market. The article notes, in part, that: Struggling in Korea. Swiss multinational Nestle has achieved stellar performance in global sales of its mainstay coffee and powdered milk. Not so in Korea, where the market for coffee mix is worth around W1.3 trillion (US$1=W1,128). Nestle entered the Korean market in the 1980s with its Taster’s Choice brand of instant coffee and maintained the No. 2
Continue readingKorea’s GDP Per Capital Reaches USD 30,000 PPP
Hyundai Research Institute has announced in its report “Nominal Income 20,000 (U.S.) Dollars, Standard of Living 30,000 Dollars,” that “Korea’s per-capita GDP without considering price levels was 22,778 dollars last year, but its per-capita GDP based on purchasing power amounted to 31,714 dollars.” Thus, the report notes that because of the lower cost of living in Korea compared to other industrial nations, Korea standard of living is on par with the most developed nations in the world. From my perspective,
Continue readingNo Court Apprasial Necessary in Korea for In-Kind Contribution to Company
The Presidential Decree of the amended Korea Commercial Code notes that an appraisal by the Korean courts is no longer necessary when issuing equity stocks in exchange for an in-kind contribution in a company if: 1. The amount of the in-kind contribution is less than KRW 50,000,000 and accounts for less than 20% of the entire equity of the company;2. The value of the in-kind contribution is less than the book value listed in the balance sheet of the issuing
Continue readingImporting and Selling Wine in Korea Just got a Little Easier
The Korea Times has posted an article about changes in the Korean wine market because of changes in Korea’s distribution law and the implementation of free trade agreements with the United States and the European Union . We have seen more interest from major wine producers in the Korean market and we expect to see a few of the major players in the market enter the market soon. The Korea Times notes that: Korea’s wine boom peaked in 2008 when
Continue readingUnderstanding the Korea-U.S. Alliance by Tom Coyner
Given that it has been almost a year without significant anti-American demonstrations, this may be a good time to disclose some surprising realities in United States-Korea relations. Otherwise, in the heat of future demonstrations, the following could be misconstrued as some kind of knee-jerk defense by an American. So, allow me to try to set up and knock down some misconceptions about the South Korea-U.S. relationship. Myth: Anti-Americanism is a significant force within the Korean political and social environment. Reality:
Continue readingKorea’s Starting a Company in Korea: Read:Economic Forecast by the European Chamber of Commerce in Korea and SERI
The European Chamber of Commerce in Korea published a great article by Mr. Chang-mok SHIN of the Samsung Economic Research Institute. The article is very useful for companies wishing to establish an business in Korea and have based their feasibility study on less reliable forecasts. SERI is not perfect, but they tend to be neutral and candid. Mr. Shin predicts, in short, that: Korean Growth Rate in 2011 will be 3.6%. This “low growth” rate will be caused by the
Continue readingMaximize Benefits of Korea’s FTAs with U.S. and EU via Legal and Business Consultants in Korea
IPG Legal is happy to announce the formation of the first team of professionals dedicated to providing clients advice and representation on how to maximize the benefits of the KORUS and KOREU FTAs for EU, U.S. and Korean companies. IPG has compiled a team of Korean and international attorneys, senior company executives, patent attorneys, accountants, recruitment professionals, business consultants, custom agents and other professionals to provide services to American and EU companies doing business in Korea under the KOREU and
Continue readingFTC of Korea: All Bark and No Bite?
The Korea Times published an article, last week, on Korea’s Fair Trade Commission (FTC) that sheds light on a business and, also, consumer-friendly program offered by the FTC. The FTC has been, strongly, criticized by the main-stream for using the powers of the Commission to fight inflation in Korea in order to appease the Administration and the citizens. Some of the most liberal, now, are even claiming that the FTC is not going far enough. The FTC has no friends
Continue readingBeware the Grey Market Trap in Korea: Due Diligence, Agreements and Street Smarts
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
Continue readingKOR-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 readingAcquiring Shares in Closed Korean Corporation in Exchange for Product at Discount: Don’t Forget the Due Diligence in Korea
I just received a phone call from a prospective client with a wonderful product that has been offered a sweetheart deal. Whenever I hear that someone has received a no risk or sweetheart deal in Korea, a red flag immediately goes up in my head and I immediately request the client to let me do a couple of weeks of due diligence. The, ubiquitous, sweetheart deal is ownership of shares in company in exchange for some benefit from the foreign
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
Continue reading
You must be logged in to post a comment.