We bring the World to Korea, and take Korea to the World.

With exceptions of digestives, cold medicines, vitamins, etc., you need a doctor’s prescription for drugs and medicines. More and more local hospitals are providing interpretation services to foreign patients. You can call Seoul Health Center at 119. Interpretation services are provided in English, Chinese, Japanese, Mongol and Vietnamese. The center provides consultation, medical, and ambulance service.

Korea is known for its well-developed medical care system. Korean nationals pay monthly National Health Insurance (NHI) fee and receive generous aid when they get ill. Foreigners also can enjoy Korea’s medical care system. However, there has been recent changes made in terms of qualifications. Foreigners could apply and become a member of National Health Insurance if he or she had stayed in Korea for at least 3 months. However, in October 2018, the Ministry of Health and Welfare has increased the minimum period of stay to 6 months. Also, only the spouse and under-aged children are covered with a foreigner’s insurance. Once you have stayed in Korea for 6 months, you can apply for NHI membership as an employee or as a local resident.

Meister Schools are high schools founded and run to meet industrial demands. Its curriculum is focused on vocational and technical education. When students graduate from Meister schools, they find jobs in various fields of industries instead of going directly to college. Since its curriculum is rigorous and practical and the applicants are

those with relatively high grades during middle school, Meister school graduates are competitive labor prepared for jobs in the field of their expertise. The cost of labor is relatively low for Meister school graduates due to high college graduation rate in Korea, but their expertise and work ethic distinguish them in the labor market. They may meet the

needs of foreign entrepreneurs looking for competent local labor. 

There is a total of 47 Meister schools across the country and each one of them is specialized in a specific field of industry. The following is the list for some of those categories.

Machinery, Automobile, Shipbuilding, Steel, New Media, Biotech, Semiconductor, Electronics, Mobile, Nano technology, Energy, Medical devices, Aerial, Logistics, Global business, Maritime, Robot, Eco-friendly agriculture•stockbreeding, Fishery• marine products processing, Food products, Petrochemistry, Horse industry, Overseas

construction •Plant, Off-shore plant, Software, etc.

For online recruitment, there is several locally well-known job matching sites. They are Jobkorea, Saramin, Job planet, Alba.co.kr, Albamon, Worknet, Incruit, etc. Pearson & Partners makes public announcements for recruitment on behalf of foreign-invested enterprises. We collect resumes and accumulate a pool of local labor in the process.

We also use our local connection with college/universities, Meister schools, on/offline job-seeking community, and talent pool in the start-up scene.

There are a total of eight Free Economic Zones in Korea. Most of them are waiting to be officially launched in 2020. Companies with business in FEZs are eligible for tax credits under the Foreign Investment Promotion Act. Each zone has strengths in different types of industries. The following is the list of FEZs in Korea.

FEZ / Area / Prospective population

• 1: Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ) / 123.9km² / 536,000

• 2: East coast Free Economic Zone (EFEZ) / 8.95km² / 13,000

• 3: Yellow Sea Free Economic Zone (YESFEZ) / 4.39km² / 34,000

• 4: Chungbuk Free Economic Zone (CBFEZ) / 7.21km² / 50,000

• 5: Saemanguem-Gunsan Free Economic Zone (SGFEZ) / 28.4km² / 31,600

• 6: Daegu-Gyeongbuk Free Economic Zone (DGFEZ) / 18.93km² / 76,000

Source: FEZ Planning Office (http://www.fez.go.kr)

It is a group of technologies prescribed by the Presidential Decree No. 27848(Feb 2017). The following is the list for some of those technologies (11 categories).

1. Future vehicles: Autonomous vehicles, electric vehicles

2. Intelligent information: IoT, cloud, big data, wearable smart appliances, IT convergence

3. Next-generation software & security: Software technology, convergence security

4. Content: Realistic content, cultural content

5. Next-generation electronic information device: Intelligent semiconductors and sensors, materials for semiconductors, etc., OLED, 3D printing

6. Next-generation broadcasting and telecommunication: 5G mobile telecom, UHD

7. Bio & health: Biologic medicine, compound medicine, medical devices, healthcare products, biotechnology for agricultural, marine and food products

8. New energy business, environment: ESS, new & renewable energy, enhancement of energy efficiency, greenhouse gas reduction, carbon capture and sequestration, nuclear energy

9. Composite & integrated materials: High performance textiles, ultralight metal, hyperplastic, titanium

10. Robot: High-tech manufacturing robots, medical robots, service robots, robots in general

11. Aerospace: Unmanned vehicles, space technology

OASIS is the Overall Assistance for Startup Immigration System. In short, it is a government support program to help foreign entrepreneurs acquire D-8-4(Technology and Business Startup) visa. The following is a brief summary of the requisites to acquiring D-8-4.

1. Bachelor’s degree

2. Incorporation of a local company

3. 80 points or more earned out of the total 360 points of the OASIS program

Intellectual property (patent/utility or design) registration, co-inventor of registered intellectual property rights, stayed in Korea on E-3 (research) visa for more than 3 years, OASIS 1•2 •4 •5 •6 •7 •9, invested capital of KRW 100 million, doctoral degree from a Korean or foreign university, bachelor’s or master’s degree from a Korean university, TOPIK (Test of Proficiency in Korea) level 3 or higher / completion of Korea Immigration and Integration Program.

OASIS Program & Points System

The duration of stay in Korea is recognized in two ways in legal terms.

• Short-term stay: 90 days or less 

• Long-term stay: 91 days or more 

Foreigners staying in Korea for 91 days or more must perform alien registration in their first 90 days. 

Korean locals over 17 years of age are issued Identification Cards. Alien Registration Card is an equivalent of the ID card for the foreigners. All foreigners must have their Alien Registration Cards issued for long-term stay with the exceptions of the following. 

• Foreigners and their family who currently work for international agreement, diplomacy, and international government affairs. 

• Foreign people who currently participate in the field of national defense and their family. • Other foreigners who are appointed by the Minister of Justice. 

• Canadians who have D-1, D-6, F-1, F-3, or G-1 and plan to stay in Korea for a duration of less than 6 month.

• Underage foreigners who are younger than 17 years of age. 

Foreigners will need the Alien Registration Card for the following activities in Korea. 

1. Acquisition of property (real estate registration) 

2. Overseas remittance 

3. Internet banking application 

4. Exchange of foreign driver’s license, etc.

There are five different forms of companies in Korea: General(unlimited) Partnership Company, Limited Partnership Company, Private Limited Company, Limited Liability Company (LLC, Yuhan Hoesa), and Joint Stock Company (JSC, Jusik Hoesa).

• Unlimited or limited partnership companies are rarely used in Korea. 

• Foreign investors generally use the Joint Stock Company. JSC may issue preferred shares, bonds and debentures. There is no limit to the number of shareholders. 

• However, use of Limited Liability Company (Yuhan Hoesa) by foreign investors has increased recently for its less strict obligation to disclose financial statements and stockholder’s list.

There are three types of corporate entities that foreign entrepreneurs can establish to do business in Korea. The following are few characteristics for each.

• Local corporation: Recognized as a foreign direct investment and as a domestic corporation. It is qualified for tax incentives under the Foreign Investment Promotion Act (FIPA) and the Restriction of Special Taxation Act (RSTA). It is taxed on its worldwide income. 

• Branch: Recognized as a foreign corporation and taxed only for income from domestic sources. Foreign investment incentives usually do not apply to branches or liaison offices. Notification for setting up a local branch is processed in few days. It is widely used for exports.

• Liaison office: Carrying out non-sales function such as R&D and is not subject to taxation. It does not need to undergo registration. Issued an identification number equivalent to the business registration number at a jurisdictional tax office in Korea.

If you are a foreigner or a foreign corporate entity, and you want to establish a company in Korea, you must first ask yourself whether you are a “foreign investor.”

Foreign investor is a special status granted to a foreigner or a foreign company that meets certain qualifications stipulated in the Foreign Investment Promotion Act (FIPA). 

* Qualifications for a Foreign Investor 

1. Invest KRW 100 million (approx. $90,000) or more in the local corporation 

2. Acquire 10 percent or more of the company’s stocks with voting rights Under the Commercial Law of Korea, anybody including foreigners can establish a company without any special requirements such as minimum capital. 

There is no need to acquire a visa for incorporation and business registration. However, if you are recognized as a foreign investor, you can apply for D-8 (corporate/foreign investor) visa and bring your spouse and children with F-3(dependent family) visa. 

Acquiring a visa will allow a foreigner to stay in Korea for longer than 90 days. A foreign investor will also be eligible for tax incentives in Free Economic Zones, etc.