The Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE) reported on all ministries' plans for expanding foreign investment in the third emergency economic measure conference. According to the plans, each ministry must directly dig up a promising project in their own sector and improve their systems by removing obstacles to foreign investment.
The government focused on three segments. The first, called M&A Style, is the privatization of public companies and private companies who use public funds. The second, called Greenfield Style, involves new large-scale projects like regional development projects and projects which can be linked to the national growth strategy like new growth engines. The third, called Non-arrival Projects, means projects which have already reported investment but couldn't be realized because of regulations.
With the M&A Style segment the government will especially focus on how to minimize the negative connotations to foreign investment like job layoffs and technology drain in order to increase liquidity. The government will try to promote a strategic project mainly which can be linked to foreign industry cooperation or secure export lines.
In improving their systems, each ministry will analyze their own regulations in advance and prepare good revisions, and cooperate affirmatively with other ministries to solve each other’s problems.
In addition, the government plans to audit each ministry’s results in attracting investment and improving regulations in every quarter, and it will affect the evaluation of ministers and ministries at the end of the year.
Foreign direct investment can give the Korean economy many benefits such as assuring foreign currency liquidity and creating good jobs. The MKE currently plays the main role in attracting foreign investment in cooperation with local autonomous entities such as Invest Korea and the Foreign Trade Authority. Then, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and other ministries focus on the foreign investment environment and revision to the law. This current system, however, has problems providing all of the rapid data needed for investment decisions and the relevant authorities have no incentive to solve investor complaints about regulations.
The government announced: “We are going to choose preferential projects among those we already know about, organize TF, and arrange concrete plans for attracting investment in each project in February. On the other hand, we plan to find ways to expand foreign investment at the root such as easing restrictions, and then thoroughly examine them.”
