Foreign Investment Incentives

• Foreign Investment: Businesses with a minimum foreign investment of KRW 100 million, or with foreign investors owning the largest ratio or more than 10% of the total shares
• Registration Procedure: Foreign Investment Report → Foreign-Invested Company Account Setup → Corporation Establishment Registration → Foreign Investment Company Registration
• Support Types
  • Individual Foreigner Investment Zone: Land purchased with budget from the central, provincial, or municipal governments in the area that foreign investors consider
  • Besides the individual foreigner investment zone, support is given in an applicable category of the support categories below

Requirements: The ratio of foreign investment is more than 30% or the first stockholder is a foreigner

Support Categories

• Land Support
  • Applicable Site: general industrial complex, agricultural industrial complex, areas foreign investors want
  • Support Content: Reduction of National Property Rent (50∼100%)
    • 100% Reduction: Businesses with a minimum foreign investment of USD 20 million or an average of 300 employees or more per day
    • 75% Reduction: Businesses with a minimum foreign investment of USD 10 million or an average of 200 employees or more per day
    • 50% Reduction: Businesses with a minimum foreign investment of USD 5 million or an average of 100 employees or more per day

Individual Foreigner Investment Zone

• National public property is rented through a private contact in the area foreign investors consider (rent fee exemption for 50 years)
  • Specified Conditions: Manufacturing businesses with a foreign investment of more than USD 30 million, etc.
  • Move-in Limit: investment of double the purchasing price of the land, facilities taking up 12% of the total construction site
  • Specified Procedure: The provincial government designates and notifies the contract following a resolution by the Foreign Investment Committee of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.


• Employment Subsidy (the Small and Medium Business Administration)
  • Requirements: A foreign-invested company that has over 20 new local regular employees after its registration
  • Support Content: Up to KRW 1 million a month per person for 6 months for the extra workers when a foreign-invested company hires more than 20 new employees (limited to a total of KRW 600 million per company)


• Training Subsidy
  • Requirements: A foreign-invested company that hires and trains more than 20 new employees
  • Support Content: Up to KRW 1 million a month per person for 6 months (limited to a total of KRW 600 million per company)


• Cash Grants
  • Support Usage: land purchasing cost, construction cost, facilities and equipment purchasing cost, etc.
  • Support conditions: A business’s job creation effect, economic contribution to the area and other aspects are taken into consideration when the Investment Attraction Committee deliberates and decides.
  • Support content: Up to 20% of the investment amount


• Tax Reduction
  • Requirements: high-technology business and industrial support service business, businesses in the foreign investment zone
  • Tax Reduction Content
    • Corporate Tax and Income Tax: 100% for 5 years, 50% for the next 2 years (Tax Restriction and Exemption Control Act article 121 of 2)
    • Acquisition Tax: 100% for 5 years, 50% for the next 2 years (Tax Restriction and Exemption Control Act article 121 of 2)
    • Property Tax: 100% for 10 years, 50% for the next 5 years) (Gyeongju Ordinance on Tax Reduction article 7)