KOTRA and Seoul City Sign MOU to Support Smooth Settlement of Foreigners in Korea

Utilizing KOTRA's Corporate Network
Introducing Seoul City's Support Services for Foreign Settlers

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) announced on the 11th that they signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Seoul Metropolitan Government on the 8th to support the successful settlement of foreign-invested companies in Korea.

At the business agreement signing ceremony held on the 8th at the Pine Hall on the 3rd floor of the Korea Economic Association, KOTRA and Seoul city officials are taking a group commemorative photo. Kim Chang-hee, Head of KOTRA's Comprehensive Administrative Support Center for Foreign Investment, Domestic Return, and Talent Attraction (left), Lee Hae-seon, Seoul City Global Urban Policy Officer (right). Photo by KOTRA

This agreement was made to jointly utilize the infrastructure and networks of both organizations to facilitate the smooth living and settlement support for expatriates and their families belonging to foreign-invested companies. Accordingly, KOTRA will promote Seoul’s excellent foreigner settlement support services by leveraging its corporate network. Through this, it plans to expand the use of these services and share Seoul’s best practices with other local governments to raise the level of foreigner settlement environments across the country.

Following the signing ceremony, KOTRA’s Foreign Investment, Domestic Return, and Talent Attraction Comprehensive Administrative Support Center held a settlement support briefing session for foreign expatriates. The session provided information focusing on visas, finance, medical care, and education?areas where foreign-invested companies and foreign chambers of commerce in Korea have expressed difficulties. In particular, it explained know-how for handling essential administrative and financial procedures such as visa issuance and bank account opening, which foreigners must process for the first time in Korea, and introduced Seoul’s settlement support services.

Kim Chang-hee, head of KOTRA’s Comprehensive Administrative Support Center, said, "Starting with cooperation with Seoul, where the largest number of foreigners reside, we plan to increase the satisfaction of foreigners with their living and residence. This will improve the overall domestic investment environment, enhance investment attraction outcomes, and significantly contribute to attracting Asian regional headquarters of foreign-invested companies."