Thoughts on Korean Business by Don Southerton

Commenting on the impact of the Trump election on Korean trade for the past weeks — Korea-facing trade an area of my expertise — I have been hesitant as a Westerner to offer my views on the indictments against South Korean President Park. Nevertheless, impeachment seems a growing likelihood. Politicos now predict the National Assembly will secure the required two-thirds majority vote needed to pass an impeachment bill. To this point, I feel the compelled to share what “next steps” we may see unfold. Pouring over scholarly updates including my longtime friend Professor Steph Haggard’s insightful “ Park Unraveling” series https://piie.com/blogs/north-korea-witness-transformation , I present a number of “If’s,” in short of President Park stepping down and resigning. The “If’s.” 1. If the National Assembly moves forward and passes an impeachment bill, the Constitutional Court is then responsible for deliberating the case. In addition, President Park’s powers would be suspended wit...

“Trump?”—a question that surfaced often while I attended the 2016 LA Auto Show Media Days. I fielded questions from both Korean and American auto industry leadership on the impact of the election. Many had been following my daily posts and recent commentary. See http://brandinginasia.com/trump-nafta-south-korea/ Assessing what next to share, I see several actions by the incoming U.S. administration. First in contrast to the president-elect’s bold statements to take on NAFTA, I find the U.S. is less likely to purse extreme actions such the withdrawal from or a major renegotiation of the KORUS FTA. That said, the U.S. is likely to strengthen “policy” measures that could restrict imports by imposing anti-dumping tariffs or countervailing duties. This is not new. For example, after a repeated pattern of pricing below cost by Samsung and LG on clothes washers over the years the Korean brands now pay hefty anti-dumping duties to offset margin and price advances over manu...

Everything Korea: November 14 Episode:  Trump and South Korea Trade I would not be fitting without sharing my thoughts on the recent US presidential election and its potential impact on US Korea global business. To many in Korea the election results are troubling… another layer of stress and concern amid a downturn in Korean exports.   Trade agreements, US military support for South Korea and dealing with North Korea top the list.  On the trade agreement front, I was a supporter of KORUS FTA both prior to its ratification and contributing a number of high profile articles on the benefits of the treaty. From 2012 https://bridgingculturekorea.blogspot.com/2012/05/korea-facing-business-2012.html From 2013 http://www.uskoreaconnect.org/blog/2013/04/trade-in-ideas-a-hidden-benefit-of-korus-fta/ From 2014 http://www.uskoreaconnect.org/news-events/newsletter/newsletter-3-2.html More so, I’ve commonly referred to KORUS FTA is news articles, i...

One of my passions is mountain trail running—the more demanding the terrain--the better. It’s the same in my consultancy –I enjoy tackling tough challenges – and providing sound solutions and a work through. Over the past few days, I’ve had inquiries on resources to help western managers and teams better work with their Korean counterparts. As I’ve mentioned, for example, we’re seeing local teams increasingly in daily correspondence and on calls with Korea HQ teams, so practical skills and insights can help traverse the cross-cultural challenges. In addition to my weekly vodcasts, now with more than 100 videos on the BCW YouTube Channel and over 20,000 views, I'd like to share another web-based resource –Issuu—where I’ve uploaded 22 publications. Subjects are wide ranging from my 10 insights into Hyundai Motor Company culture to articles in Forbes, Chief Executive (Korean language), The Economist, The Korea Herald, Yonhap New Agency, FSR Magazine, and US Korea Connect to...

Collaboration. We hear the term promoted both as a core value and expectation in Korean global business. For me, it’s building a solid relationship with Korean teams—one by one. In fact, whenever I take on a new Korea facing project, I seek out a team member, first as a point of contact and then someone I can strengthen the relationship building trust and mutual understanding. This can include daily chats by phone, email and Kakao. In most cases, over time I add layers of support … understanding they are in a tough place… at times having to relay requests and demands they themselves may not clearly agree but nevertheless need to communicate. In particular, I’ve found they may not be familiar with the project nuances—in contrast the experienced Western team. In my role, and to build the relationship I work as the go-between, mentoring and even share (confidentially) how to best frame their company’s issues and avoid if handled poorly what could result in an impasse. Coll...