Systematic Services Offered to Foreign Firms [Korea Times]

By Kim Yon-se
Staff Reporter

In recent months, Gyeonggi Province has been unveiling ambitious policies to attract more foreign investment and upgrade the living and business environment for foreign companies.
At the center of those efforts is the implementation of a management assistance system through which diverse business-related services will be available from the first half of next year.

The new system is designed to set up a ” hub” of management services for manpower, judicial affairs, patents, accounting and taxation, which up until now have been individually rendered by public organizations or private firms. The government expects the new system to help foreign corporations reduce management costs.

Under the hub services structure, the government plans to act as an intermediary, connecting foreign-invested corporations with accounting and law firms as well as housing and tax information offices. It will also provide direct linkage with public organizations that provide employment services such as the Labor Ministry’s job centers, the Gyeonggi Province Vocational School and the Small & Medium Business Administration.

The government plans to redesign the web site as a portal system that offers real-time information designed to help foreign firms resolve various business issues. When the on-line and off-line systems are completed, they are expected to substantially reduce management costs in such areas as the receipt of consultation from law firms or in the establishment of new corporations.

Besides the new management system, the province has also sought to enhance the everyday living conditions, by building schools and opening language classes for foreign residents.

The Gyeonggi Suwon International School in Suwon City, which opened on Sept. 21, is expected to significantly enhance the educational environment for international students. The school, which provides curriculums from kindergarten to high school, started off with 195 students but the number is expected to grow three-fold.

“Gyeonggi Province will provide full support so that foreign firms can enjoy good education, housing, transportation and medical care,” Gyeonggi Governor Kim Moon-soo said.

The Aftercare Support Center for Gyeonggi-do Foreign Investment Companies, located in the Hyeongok Complex of Pyeongtaek City, offers assistance when foreign firms face legal or other difficulties.

To aid foreign workers in their acclimatization to Korean life, the province operates language classes in Korean, Japanese and English. Classes are available in Pyeongtaek and additional classes will soon be introduced in Jangan of Hwaseong City.

The province has also expanded existing bus routes to link major foreign industrial areas in Pyeongtaek to Seoul.

In addition, the province issues bimonthly newsletters in Korean, English and Japanese so as to provide practical information on such topics as cultural events and new policies to foreign companies.

For more information, call the Gyeonggi Provincial Government’s Foreign Investment Promotion Division at 031-249-2735 or visit its Web site at www.invest.go.kr.

(Source: www.koreatimes.co.kr)