Korean Companies Created 6 Times More Jobs Abroad than Foreigners did at Home

The Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry said in its report on May 3 that the number of jobs provided abroad by South Korean companies more than tripled from 0.53 million to 1.63 million for the past 10 years whereas the number of jobs provided by foreign companies in South Korea increased from 200,000 to 270,000 during the same period. According to the report, the gap between the two jumped from approximately 250% to 600% between 2005 and 2015.

“Companies going abroad for more business opportunities and higher market growth potentials cannot be blamed,” the organization explained, pointing out that the problem is the current situation in which an increasing number of South Korean companies are going abroad and less and less companies are moving into South Korea after weighing advantages against disadvantages.

Between 2011 and 2015, South Korea attracted a foreign investment of US$46.4 billion, ranking 37th in the world. The amount fell 2.8% in comparison to the previous five years while the global average increased by 2.3%. The ratio of investment outflow to its GDP jumped from 4.3% to 20.2% between 2005 and 2015. During the same period, the ratio of investment inflow to its GDP edged up from 11.7% to 12.7%.

These days, the United States, Japan, Germany and many more countries are encouraging reshoring by means of deregulation and a variety of business support measures. For instance, the United States is planning to cut its corporate tax rate from 35% to 15% and remove two regulations every time it adopts one new regulation. Under the circumstances, Alibaba, Softbank, American automakers such as GM and so on are increasing their investment in the United States.