Korea – Land of Opportunity

As the UK looks for post-Brexit trade opportunities where better to start than South Korea?

The attractions of this very innovative high tech market havebeen recognised by companies around the world. More than £25 billion of foreign investment poured into South Korea in the first nine months of 2021 alone.

South Korea’s readiness to welcome British investors was shown in 2019 when it became the first G20 country to sign a free trade agreement with the UK after it left EU.

Bloomberg has ranked South Korea the most innovative country in the world for each of the last six years.

The World Bank considers it to be one of the five best countries for ease of doing business.

The South Korean workforce is the best educated in the world. The country’s citizens enjoy the fastest broadband speeds of any nation.

And right now one of its government’s priorities is expansion of its wind energy capacity as part of a drive to cut its dependence on imported fuels. .

Bloomberg forecasts a sevenfold increase in global offshore wind capacity by 2030. The UK is already the world leader in developing offshore windfarms. This makes UK and South Korea a perfect fit for offshore wind development.

Now is the right moment to deploy the skills and experience which the UK has gained in the last decade in overseas markets like South Korea.

Both countries will benefit by backing an important low carbon clean energy technology. By seizing this opportunity UK businesses can help South Korea meet its net zero targets.

ENDS

17 January 2022

Note: Tim Yeo is the Honorary UK Ambassador of Foreign Investment Promotion for South Korea