Doing Business in Korea
Exporting to Korea
President Obama announced the National Export Initiative (NEI) http://www.export.gov two years ago, with the goal of doubling exports by 2014. U.S. embassies are committed to supporting U.S. companies to start exporting or grow their exports to Korea. In this section, you’ll find an quick description of Korea as an export market and some suggestions for getting started.
Getting Started
1.Visit www.export.gov/southkorea to get an overview of economic conditions and opportunities. Access the U.S. Commercial Service Market Research Library containing more than 100,000 industry and country-specific market reports, authored by our specialists working in overseas posts.
The Library Includes:
- Country Commercial Guides (PDF - 654KB)
(read latest “Doing Business In” guides) - Industry Overviews*
- Market Updates*
- Multilateral Development Bank Reports*
- Best Markets*
- Industry/Regional Reports*
2.Contact your local U.S. Export Assistance Center for advice and support on exporting to Korea . Contact a Trade Specialist Near You (http://export.gov/eac/index.asp)
3.Contact your local Small Business Development Center (SBDCs). Starting a business can be a challenge, but there is help for you in your area. Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) are partnerships primarily between the government and colleges/universities administered by the Small Business Administration and aims at giving educational services for small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs.
4.Contact in-country business support organizations such as the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea or the U.S.-Korea Business Council
5.Make use of business matchmaking services
Investing in Korea
This section provides information for current and
potential investors in Korea.
Potential
investors: Getting Started.
If you are considering investment in Korea, here are some steps you may wish to consider as you get started:
- Register with the U.S. Embassy – If you are planning a visit to consider investment, let us know by sending an email to the contact addresses on this page.
- Visit host country resources, such as Invest Korea http://www.investkorea.org/
- Contact local U.S. business support organizations, such as the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea http://www.amchamkorea.org/ or other related organizations (Korea’s Importer’s Association http://www.koima.or.kr, U.S.-Korea Business Council http://www.uskoreacouncil.org)
- Subscribe to our embassy Facebook page <https://www.facebook.com/usembassyseoul> or Twitter feed <http://twitter.com/#!/usembassyseoul>
Current
investors: Staying Connected.
If you are a current U.S. investor in Korea, the U.S Embassy wants to stay in touch. Here are a few steps you can take to keep the channels of communication open:
- Register with the U.S. Embassy – If you are active in Korea, let us know by sending an email to the contact addresses on this page.
- Add us to your mailing lists – we are always happy to stay informed
- Subscribe to our embassy Facebook page <https://www.facebook.com/usembassyseoul> or Twitter feed <http://twitter.com/#!/usembassyseoul>
- Set up a meeting with our
economic or commercial team to discuss any issues that arise
Working in Korea
In this section you will find information on business visas, travel advisories, and anti-corruption tools.”
Then have a sub-section on Business visas with the
current text from Visas.
Business Visas
Visa Requirements for U.S. Citizens
- No visa needed for a stay of up to 90 days.
- A stay of over 90 days requires a visa.
If planning to stay more than 90 days or for any purpose other than tourism or business, U.S. passport holders must obtain a visa prior to entering Korea. Americans coming to Korea for activities such as employment, teaching English, or study must obtain a visa at a Korean embassy or consulate abroad.
For more information about Korean visa and entry requirements, please see the Korean Ministry of Justice's website at http://www.moj.go.kr/HP/ENG/index.do.
For
information about visas to Korea, please see the Korean Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and Trade website at http://www.mofat.go.kr/english/visa/apply/index.jsp
Travel
Advisories
Make sure to check the current State Department travel advisory http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_1764.html for Korea
FCPA
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) is an important
anti-corruption tool designed to discourage corrupt business practices in favor
of free and fair markets. The FCPA prohibits promising, offering, giving
or authorizing giving anything of value to a foreign government official where
the purpose is to obtain or retain business. These prohibitions apply to
U.S. persons, both individuals and companies, and companies that are listed on
U.S. exchanges. The statute also requires companies publicly traded in the U.S.
to keep accurate books and records and implement appropriate internal
controls.
More
information on the FCPA can be found here: http://www.fcpa.us/
A party to a transaction seeking to know whether a proposed course of conduct would violate the FCPA can take advantage of the opinion procedure established by the statue. Within 30 days of receiving a description of a proposed course of conduct in writing, the Attorney General will provide the party with a written opinion on whether the proposed conduct would violate the FCPA. Not only do opinions provide the requesting party with a rebuttable presumption that the conduct does not violate the FCPA, but DOJ publishes past opinions which can provide guidance for other companies facing similar situations.
More
information on the DOJ opinion procedure can be found here: http://www.morganlewis.com/documents/fcpa/
FCPAOpinionProcedureReleases.pdf (PDF - 135KB)
Contact Address:
U.S. Commercial Service, Korea
US Embassy in Seoul
188 Sejongdaero, Jongno-gu, Seoul 110-710
Tel: 82-2-397-4535
Email: Office.Seoul@trade.gov
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CONTACT US
-
Commercial Service Korea
U.S. Embassy Seoul
Tel: 82-2-397-4535
Fax: 82-2-739-1628
Email: office.seoul@trade.gov