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A Study on the Satisfaction of Foreign Investment Firms with Korean Government Policies

Hong, Seonghun

Published: January 2002 · Vol. 31, No. 4 · pp. 975-991
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Abstract

Since the 1997 IMF crisis, the Korean government has implemented aggressive policies to attract foreign direct investment in order to overcome the foreign exchange shortage and high unemployment. This paper investigated the level of satisfaction that foreign firms currently engaged in manufacturing activities in Korea have with Korean government policies. According to the analysis of the survey results: (1) foreign firms showed the lowest level of satisfaction with subsidy policies; (2) overall satisfaction with government policies was most significantly influenced by labor policies and tax exemptions; (3) small-scale foreign firms and Japanese firms showed relatively lower satisfaction levels; and (4) foreign firms located in regional industrial complexes showed relatively higher satisfaction levels. Therefore, the Korean government should secure sufficient financial resources for subsidy provision, implement flexible labor policies, provide adequate administrative support services to small-scale foreign firms, and actively develop regional industrial complexes that are essential for the successful operation of foreign-owned factories.