FDI refers to an investment made in order to forge lasting economic relations with a corporation of the Republic of Korea or a company run by a national of the Republic of Korea

Under the Foreign Investment Promotion Act, FDI should meet the following conditions

• The amount of investment should be 100 million won or more.
• A foreigner should own 10 percent or more of either the total number of voting stocks issued by a Korean corporation or a company run by a national of the Republic of Korea, or its total equity investment

• Acquisition of the stocks or shares of a Korean company
• A foreign parent company’s provision of long-term loans with a maturity of five years or longer to a foreign-invested company
• A foreign national’s contribution to a non-profit organization.

It is regulated by the Foreign Investment Promotion Act and other related laws.

There are three ways by which foreigners(foreign corporations) can enter Korea for business purposes

• Establishing a local corporation
• A local branch
• A liaison office

Foreign investment procedures consist of the following:
foreign investment notification, remittance of investment funds, registration of incorporation & business, and registration of foreign-invested company.

The procedures applied to foreigners are basically the same as the ones applied to Koreans with the exception of two additional steps

• Foreign investment notification
• Registration of foreign-invested company.

Where a foreign investor registers a privately-owned business, ‘registration of incorporation’ is not required.