South Korea Ranked Fourth in Doing Business 2018

The Ministry of Strategy & Finance announced on November 1 that South Korea ranked fourth in the list of good business environment countries among out of 190 countries, which was revealed by the World Bank’s Doing Business 2018 report. South Korea had come in fifth last year. This year, the list was topped by New Zealand, Singapore, Denmark, South Korea and Hong Kong, which formed the top five for the fourth consecutive year.

The Doing Business 2018 report is divided into 10 evaluation categories. South Korea ranked first in Enforcing Contracts, second in Getting Electricity, fifth in Resolving Insolvency, and ninth in Starting a Business. Lower litigation costs and efficient litigation procedures led to its top place in Enforcing Contracts. The United Arab Emirates beat South Korea and took the top spot in Getting Electricity.

South Korea ranked 28th in Dealing with Construction Permits, 33rd in Trading across Borders, and 55th in Getting Credit. Its ranking in the Dealing with Construction Permits category rose from the 31st based on procedure simplification but its low score in building quality and safety management repeated itself this year.

“The result of the assessment shows that business environments are improving in South Korea based on the government’s efforts for deregulation and regulatory reform,” the ministry explained, adding, “We will further accelerate this trend by promoting fair competition and innovative growth.”