Invest KOREA
 | |
| Republic of Korea Government | |
Key people | Kiwon Han, Commissioner |
| Products | Inbound investment support |
| Website | www.investkorea.org |
Invest KOREA, the national investment promotion agency of South Korea and a member of the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA), was established within the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency or KOTRA with the purpose of supporting the establishment of foreign business into Korea.
History
Invest KOREA's predecessor, the Korea Investment Service Center (KISC) was established in 1998 in the wake of the 1997 Asian financial crisis as part of the liberalization of the Korean investment regime. After initial success, slowing inbound capital flows made it apparent that a new method for investment attraction was needed.
Aims
Invest KOREA provides a service that allows foreign investors to join over 245 of the Fortune Global 500 who have selected Korea as an investment destination.
Structure
Based at Invest KOREA headquarters in Seoul, the head of Invest KOREA is supported by a staff comprising KOTRA employees, recruited specialists in investment-related fields, and civil servants seconded from other agencies and ministries, including the Ministry of Knowledge Economy under whose umbrella Invest KOREA falls. Invest KOREA works in collaboration with its network of 39 overseas branch offices called Korea Business Centers, which are located in the financial and industrial centers of the world. Invest KOREA implements government policies on foreign investment that have been formulated by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy and coordinated by the Foreign Investment Committee, which is chaired by the Minister of Knowledge Economy.
Invest KOREA takes a three-pronged approach to attracting foreign investment:
- the provision of information on markets and promising industries for investment through Korea Business Centers,
- services that are provided by Invest KOREA's project managers,
- post-investment aftercare, provided by the Office of the Investment Ombudsman.
Departments
Invest KOREA's departments include the Strategic Investment Planning Department, the Investment Promotion Department and the Foreign Investor Support Department. The three teams which make up the Strategic Investment Planning Department are the Investment Planning Team, the Investment Public Relations Team and the Investment Research and Analysis Team. The Investment Promotion Department consists of the Main Industry Investment Promotion Team, the Finance and Service Industry Investment Promotion Team, the High-Tech Industry Investment Promotion Team and the Investment Partnership Support Team. Three teams are part of the Foreign Investor Support Department, specifically the Investment Administration Team, the Investment Consulting Team and the Investment Service Team.
Korea Business Centers
Invest KOREA's Korea Business Centers (KBCs) are located in overseas markets which have potential as a source of foreign investment into Korea. The Centers are staffed by Invest KOREA employees who are dispatched from head office for a period generally ranging from three to four years, as well as local staff who possess insight into the local market, and connections to the regional business community. Invest KOREA's KBCs are broken down into North America, Europe, Asia and Oceania, Japan, China, the Middle East, Africa and Russia.
Invest Korea Plaza
Invest Korea Plaza (IKP) is Korea's first business incubation center devoted exclusively to the promotion of the entry of foreign business into Korea. Opened in October 2006, IKP and its nine floors offer foreign investors who are planning an investment in Korea fully furnished office facilities, receptionist services, and access to officials from Invest KOREA as well as those seconded to the building from Korea's Department of Justice (immigration service), the National Tax Service, and Korea's Customs Authority. Within Invest Korea Plaza is the Investment Consulting Center (ICC), which is dedicated to providing information and business and living services for foreign investors and their families during their time in Korea.
Office of the Foreign Investment Ombudsman
The Office of the Foreign Investment Ombudsman (OIO) was created in October 1999 as a non-profit organization within KOTRA in order to offer support to foreign-invested companies encountering difficulties during the course of doing business in Korea.
Since its establishment, more than 3,200 grievances have been filed with the OIO, with many being resolved through cooperation with government bodies. The OIO operates a "Home Doctor" system, whereby specialists in fields such as law, taxation, labor, construction and technology are assigned to foreign-invested companies experiencing investment-related grievances.
The Ombudsman's grievance resolution system has played a role in improving the daily business management activities and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency within the World Bank has benchmarked the OIO as a best practice example in its Foreign Direct Investment Promotion Center's on-line toolkit. The grievance resolution activities of the OIO were also highlighted in the 2002 World Investment Report[1] released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
Invest Korea Journal
The Invest Korea Journal has been published by KOTRA since 1983. The bimonthly periodical, with a subscription-only readership of 15,000, presents perspectives on Korea's investment trends, economy, industry, trade and culture. Invest Korea Journal subscribers include executives of foreign-invested companies, embassies and public corporations in Korea, as well as actual and potential investors and key audiences overseas. The magazine is carried on Asiana Airlines flights to and from Korea, and is placed in every room of Seoul's prime hotels.