Dos and don'ts for conducting business in Korea |
Seasoned executives of multinational corporations would attest to the notion that Korea is one of the most challenging markets for foreign companies to properly enter and operate in — arguably comparable to Japan within Asia.
To begin with, similar to Japan's major conglomerates like Sony and Toyota, a short list of Korea's largest conglomerates, or “chaebol” in Korean, dominate nearly every industry in Korea, directly or indirectly shaping and influencing almost every facet of the local economic and social ecosystem.
The scale of this concentration is quantifiable: The top four largest Korean conglomerates collectively account for roughly 40 percent of Korea’s GDP, while the top 30 represent nearly 77 percent. Samsung alone is estimated to contribute over 20 percent of national GDP, underscoring the extent of economic concentration in the country.
The development and eventual dominance of the chaebol groups in Korea stems from their post-war facilitation and subsidization by the then-newly established government. These efforts were aimed at propelling the country’s industrial and global competitiveness, with a deliberate focus on core industries like manufacturing. This strategy proved extraordinarily effective. Korea today commands approximately........