ANATOMY OF KOREAN GENERAL TRADING COMPANY

Abstract

With the unprecedented economic growth of about 10% per annum in the 1960s and the 1970s led by the even more impressive export growth of over 40%per annum in the same period, Korea has become the second most developed country in Asia after Japan, and within immediate reach of joining DECD.

Korean General Trading Companies (KGTCs), since their establishment in 1975, have been a symbol of this economic success in Korea, and frontrunner of the Korean businesses in their move toward multinationalization. Accordingly, foreign businessmen interested in seeking business opportunities in or with Korea want to know more about KGTCs. These foreign businessmen who in most cases have had experiences of dealing with Japanese General Trading Companies (Sogoshosha) may tend to regard KGTCs similarly as their Japanese counterpart. Indeed, KGTCs were modeled after the Japanese example, thus there are many aspects of KGTCs operations which are very similar to those of Japanese General Trading Companies.