Kotra holds meeting to urge foreign business expansion

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (Kotra) held a meeting Wednesday to promote the expansion of foreign businesses in Korea.

The CEOs of 13 foreign companies and the 10 leaders of foreign chambers of commerce attended the event, held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, central Seoul.

The meeting came as free trade agreements with China, Vietnam and New Zealand are coming into effect. The foreign business leaders, including representatives from Germany and Japan, made a total of 17 requests. They asked Korea to ease safety regulations on cosmetics and chemical products, clarify the definition of ordinary wages and ease regulations on bringing in foreign capital.

The Trade Ministry promised to work on deregulation, and introduce incentives and legal exemptions for foreign direct investment companies later this year.