Companies doing business in Korea have shared their best practices and lessons learned amid the pandemic in a seminar hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea on Friday.

On the day, AmCham hosted the “Doing Business in Korea Seminar 2020,” which was attended by around 100 distinguished guests, including officials from the US and Korean governments and CEOs of foreign companies.

In his congratulatory remarks, AmCham Chairman & CEO James Kim highlighted the need for collaboration on the road to economic recovery.

“Korea has already set a positive example in handling COVID-19. With a continued partnership between the Korean government and the global business community, Korea can continue to lead the world in economic recovery.”

Industry Minister Sung Yun-mo said, “The Korean government will take the lead in helping the global economy flourish in the post-corona era. We will lead strong cooperation with the international community.”

The first-panel discussion delved into the results of a survey on AmCham members’ perspectives of the impact of the pandemic on revenue, employment and investment. The survey of 117 member companies showed that the biggest business risks among foreign firms are disruptions of travel and event plans (90 percent) and declines in purchases by customers or clients (56 percent). In terms of government support needs, the respondents said they need corporate tax reduction or refund (51 percent) and emergency support for heavily impacted industries (38 percent).

Representatives of iconic US brands, including 3M Korea, the Estee Lauder Companies Korea, Costco Wholesale Korea and Lime Korea, shared their best practices and lessons learned.

The second-panel discussion featured a dialogue about necessary regulatory reform in the era of the Korean New Deal with representatives from IBM Korea, Airbnb Korea, GE Renewable Energy Korea, KOTRA and Macoll Consulting Group. This session covered the role of global multinational companies in the Korean New Deal as well as the easing of regulations to help businesses recover from COVID-19.

By Shin Ji-hye (shinjh@heraldcorp.com)