Doing Business in South Korea September 15, 2008 [Your Name]

South Korea Facts and Figures Official Language: Korean Capital: Seoul Currency: Won GDP Total (2007 est.): $1.266 trillion GDP per capita: $24,800 Population: 49 million

Importance of the first contact Prefer to meet face to face Use last names and titles Have interpreter available Have business cards and all materials written in both English and Korean Be punctual and respectful

Cultural Differences that affect business In South Korea, businessmen start with a contract and negotiate from there. In South Korea, large industrial business is generally male dominant. American businesswomen may find this uncomfortable.

When “Yes” doesn’t mean “Yes”…or “no” Reluctance to say “no” directly. May say “yes” when they actually mean “no” Rather than say “no” they may say “That will be difficult” or “I will need to think about that”

Corruption Perceptions Index 10 is the highest and best score 0 is highly corrupt 5 is the border between countries that do and do not have a corruption problem. South Korea scored a 5.1

References Kim, Eun Y. Let’s Make a Deal Part 3. Executive Planet. South Korea. Retrieved August 17, 2008 from _a_Deal%21_-_Part_3 Kim, Eun Y. Executive Planet. South Korea. Retrieved August 17, 2008 from Info Please. The 2006 Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index. Retrieved August 16, 2008 from NationMaster. Oil refining ability by country. Retrieved August 17, 2008 from US Department of State. March South Korea. Retrieved August 17, 2008 from