Is Korea, the world’s 14th largest economy celebrated for its hard-working people, now unsafe to do business in?

That was undoubtedly the question that popped up at many a corporation, especially multinational companies with offices here, as tension escalated between the two Koreas, possibly to dangerous levels.

So far, the answer is “no,” according to multiple industry sources.

“Look, geopolitical or political risks alike, there are always going to be regional risks when we do business abroad, and Korea is no exception. We, for one, don’t believe in ringing false alarms, and for now, we don’t see any reason to believe that danger is imminent,” said one high-ranking official at a top global firm based in North America.

He added that the firm has notified employees of its opinion to help prevent further spread of unjustified fears.

European companies also are being calmed by their Korean business representatives.

“The heads of top European business people recently met, and we reached the conclusion that it’s yet early to panic or do anything rash,” said one executive at a German-based company.

None of the embassies have expressed any real concern, and they conveyed these thoughts to their companies in Korea, embassy sources said.

Inter-Korean relations have recently deteriorated, as the new Park Geun-hye government has come at odds with North Korea’s hot-blooded young leader Kim Jong-un. Pyongyang is now threatening military action on Seoul, to which South Korea and its ally the U.S. are reacting in a measured but hawkish manner.

Amid the growing geopolitical fears, General Motors’ chief Dan Akerson recently remarked that GM would seek measures to cope in case of an emergency in Korea.

Akerson had stated the obvious, replying to questions about how GM would react in case of more risks on the Korean Peninsula. He also stressed that immediate changes to vehicle production in response to North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un’s threats would be difficult, which the media chose to downplay.

A spokesperson from GM Korea on Sunday said, “We are watching this situation closely. Are we making contingency plans? Absolutely. We would be irresponsible not to. However, other than to say we are committed to upholding the safety of our employees and assets and focused on continuity in our supply for customers, we are not in a position to comment on those plans."

As he noted, all global companies are equipped with contingency plans, which are to be carried out accordingly to the level of threat.

The same goes for Korean companies, many of which are increasingly global, such as Samsung and LG, when they do business abroad.

“We have these same kinds of contingency plans, of course, and our philosophy is that we try to maintain continuity and not make split-second decisions,” said one LG official.

Another executive at a multinational corporation commented that most global firms are more firmly anchored in Korea than people imagine, mostly because they have been localized to the extent that they have become minted as Korean companies.

“It’s hard to do business as a branch, and not a full-fledged Korean-based corporation, operating according to Korean laws,” said a spokesperson for one of the imported carmakers here.

This means that few of the executives are foreigners with their homes abroad.

The bottom line is that the multinational community in Korea is refusing to panic without cause, behavior that is recommended for anyone living and doing business in Korea.

By Kim Ji-hyun (jemmie@heraldcorp.com)