Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Suwoner10]

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aRsJAhtt2w3Y&refer=asia

[articulate_ink]

I read that article earlier today and was thinking the same thing. The Koreans are reaping what they've sown.

[thepeel]

Korea is a very, very difficult place to do business. They need to change this to have a shot at competing with a value-chain climbing China. China is only a few years away from being able to offer the high-end technology research and products that Korea offers now. LMB knows this, I assume.

[bassexpander]

Which is why he's giving the chaebols more power to get involved in banking?

Seriously, I feel another IMF situation coming up in the next 5 years.

[thepeel]

[GoldMember]

Foreign involvement in the banking industry has actually added some stability, prudent management and strength to the banking industry.
The Korean government has been critical of the foreign way of doing business here.
The government has this attitude that banks MUST lend to business, no matter how idiotic the business idea, or how high the risk. The foreign banks work on the unpatriotic business model of risk analysis, and good credit management.
The new president would rather have banks owned by corrupt dishonest Korean chaebols, than prudent foreigners. Just wonder how much his view reflects the views of his constituency.
Oopps I said something negative (honest) about Korea! The apologists here are going to be very upset.

[jeffkim1972]

Sorry to break it to you guys, but your experiences at a Hagwon are not indicative of the investment climate here.

As far as international contracts go, the Koreans are actually very trustworthy.

The only reason manufacturing investment is down is because the labor costs are very expensive compared to neighboring countries.

[flummuxt]

I'm a bit puzzled.

How could foreigners possibly invest in countries that make clearly inferior products?

Don't they know that Korea makes the best of everything in the world?

[VanIslander]

[thepeel]

[jeffkim1972]

[Beej]

[thepeel]

Yeah, that is absolute nonsense.

Every country has a unique set of problems associated with doing business as a foreigner. In Korea, the assumption that profits are inherently owned by Korea and that how much profit should be extracted depends not on rational taxation but the Gusts of Popular Feeling is one such problem. Another is the near inability to hire outsiders for jobs other than teaching. Koreans like to piss and moan that they don't get "quality foreigners" and yet only permit the hiring of the ESL'ers and the like.

It is also very, very difficult to purchase all but the most unprofitable companies and without an elderly Mr. Kim hanging around the office it is damn near fully impossible to get the bureaucracy to do anything but stand still.

That said, you have much less a chance of fraud in Korea than you do in China, Vietnam and others. You probably will get shaken down in some way but not to the extent that the Chinese will simply take your stuff and use their brother in the CCP to make sure you can't get it back. Also, you are more or less able to hire who you want (that is Korean), unlike Malaysia and the United States (where hiring can be a very legalistic task). Korea has ups and downs. But right now, compared to the rest of the world, her downs are at least perceived to be worse than her ups are better. So FDI is shrinking.

The labour relations situation is appalling as well.

[mistermasan]

do all those koreans moving to shandong and setting up factories there count for anything?

[Ilsanman]

Good luck President Lee.

Sparkling!!