Professional Services under the KORUS FTA , February 2014

From February 2014

Demand for Professional Services Grows under the KORUS FTA

 
The KORUS FTA is also opening new avenues for professional services, including specialized business and management consultants, as U.S. businesses expand into the dynamic Korean marketplace. Between 2008 and 2012, U.S. business, professional and technical services exports increased 51 percent. Many success stories on U.S. Korea Connect point to the importance of understanding the Korean marketplace and finding the right Korean business partner as ways of increasing company's likelihood of success, making specialized consultants an increasingly important asset. In the United States, companies are also hiring Korean workers and discovering immediate value in their expertise and existing professional networks.

Korea's economy expanded at the fastest pace in nearly two years in the third quarter of 2013, and Bloomberg ranked Korea first among all nations in its Global Innovation Index. In addition, the creative economy developing in Korea is fueling a renewed spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation. All of these combined factors under the KORUS FTA create a highly lucrative environment for entrepreneurial U.S. consultants with specialized expertise, which is highly valued by Korean companies.

Don Southerton, a consultant specializing in supporting and launching U.S. brands in Korea and Korean brands in the United States, believes the comprehensive services section of the KORUS FTA breaks open the Korean market and is a game changer.

"The KORUS FTA provides groundbreaking changes for the services sector that is oftentimes overlooked. Services professionals and business consultants with highly specialized expertise are in an ideal position to penetrate a ripe and flourishing Korean market and should actively explore the opportunities in the Korean market and capitalize on the open services trade framework provided in the KORUS FTA." - Don Southerton, CEO, Bridging Culture Worldwide


For more on US Korea Connect go to: http://www.uskoreaconnect.org

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