On Thursday, January 20, the AustCham Korea team, joined by one of our Board Members, Sandra Park (Woodside Energy), attended the Australian Contemporary Art Exhibition 《경로를 재탐색합니다 𝙐𝙉/𝙇𝙀𝘼𝙍𝙉𝙄𝙉𝙂 𝘼𝙐𝙎𝙏𝙍𝘼𝙇𝙄𝘼》 hosted at Seoul Museum of Art.

Organised by the Australian Embassy, Republic of Korea, the exhibition aims to showcase diverse elements of Australian society, proposing a journey of endless recalibration to experience Australia. Instead of looking at Australia with a fixed perspective, it offers a time to think in multiple layers along the complex cultural, social and political trends that make up Australian society.

A team of 35 people, including Australian artists, collectives, and indigenous art centres is participating in the expedition and it will be running in Seoul until 6 March 2022.

Location: Seoul Museum of Art, Seosomun Main Building 1st and 2nd floors (except permanent exhibition rooms), lobby, 1st floor glass façade and SeMA Café.

Tickets: Free admission

Click here to find out more or visit the exhibition site for details.

On Tuesday, January 18, it was great to visit Seolleung to catch up with one of AustCham Korea's longstanding members, Young Cheigh, President at AskLaw Moon and International Legal Consultant at Sangsang.

Young Cheigh is currently representing both AskLaw Moon, an Australian corporation, and the International Dept. of Korea's IP/Law Firm in Korea.

The Sangsang Korean office has approximately 100 employees, including 30 patent attorneys and 30 engineers. They provide domestic and international intellectual property(IP)-related legal services such as the fund projects operated by government, local governments, major technology institutions for universities, University hospitals, and SMEs, IP-related technology valuation, IP-related banking service, business deliberation, and technology transfer.

Sangsang are one of the offices representing the largest number of intellectual property applications for SMEs among Korean IP Law firms in 2021.

In addition, for the past 15 years, Young Cheigh has traveled back and forth between Korea and Australia to develop in the field of biotechnology business. She boasts an impressive network not only the biotech field but also various technology industries in Korea.

We are looking forward to continuing to work together in 2022.

On Wednesday, January 19, the AustCham Korea team was pleased to visit The Executive Centre at the Seoul Finance Centre in Gwanghwamun.

The Executive Centre – Seoul Finance Centre, has welcomed ambitious global professionals for over 25 years. With over 150+ Centres in 32 cities in 14 countries across Asia Pacific and the Middle East, TEC helps its 38K+ Members find private and flexible workspaces tailored to their business.

The Executive Centre facilitates the growth of ambitious businesses and business professionals through high-end service, seamlessly operated workspaces, unparalleled insights from a global member network and experiences that elevate corporate culture.

Several AustCham Members have offices at the Executive Centre and we look forward to further developing synergies between our organisations in 2022.

Special thanks to Jinah Park for the invitation and tour of the centre!

For more information about the Executive Centre, please visit their website.

Read more here.

Last month, on December 21, 2021, AustCham Korea was pleased to join the Hybrid Internship Global Practical Training Program (HI-GPTP) Graduation Ceremony co-hosted by the Chamber, Induk University and KoreaPEN (Korea Practice Enterprises Network).

Participating students demonstrated their dedication and skill as young virtual practice entrepreneurs after 16 weeks of intensive training.

AustCham Korea Executive Director, Rowan Petz, shared his reflections on this important milestone:

"Having signed an MoU with Induk University and Korea PEN in June 2021, the Chamber is deeply grateful to have had the opportunity to deepen our cooperation with education institutions and help open a pathway to global education for Korean students."

"I have been deeply impressed by the passion and professionalism of the Induk University students and would like to wish them all the best in their future endeavors as proud graduates of the HI-GPTP in 2021", he said.

AustCham Korea would like to congratulate all the trainees and judges (including several AustCham Korea members, Josh Kim (Globalization Partners), Edward Rimmington (Gogozing Migration), William B. Choi (Posture360) and Jörn Zempel (L'Oréal Korea)), who joined the program.

We would also like to shine a spotlight on the Korea PEN team who worked tirelessly to organise the program - MinJung Kim, Le Linh and Yukyoung Cho.

Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gzfAGt7Q

On Wednesday, January 19, 2022, AustCham Korea was pleased to co-host a key tax law amendments webinar with Lee & Ko. This webinar shed light on the tax law changes for 2022 and its implications for Korea.

We would like to thank our four expert speakers from Lee & Ko, Tom Kwon (Tax Partner at Lee & Ko),Jung-hong Kim(Tax Partner at Lee & Ko), Steve H. Oh (Tax Partner at Lee & Ko), and Steve M. Kim (TP Specialist at Lee & Ko), for their time and insights

Topics included:

Whether your business is a new start-up, a SME, or an industry leader, AustCham Korea welcomes you to join us to broaden your knowledge on Korean tax law through a special (free!) webinar. To watch the full recording please click the link below.

Webinar recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1pJEtRVV7k

On Wednesday, December 15, 2021, AustCham Korea was pleased to host a special LinkedIn for Business Workshop.

Themes covered in this workshop included:

- How to efficiently manage a company page

- Insights on how to leverage your personal profile to elevate engagement

- Tips for small business owners and start-ups with a tight budget

- Suggestions on optimal post frequency and content types

We would like to thank the expert speaker, Luciane Borges, Founder of Be In Digital, for the insightful session and encourage all those who missed the chance to tune-in live to check out the recording below!

Are you ready for SAPA? The Serious Accident Punishment Act (“SAPA”) came into effect on January 27, 2022, for companies with 50+ employees. The Enforcement Decree of the SAPA was finalized in October 2021 and provides some more details on the companies’ broad obligations to secure safety and health.

It not only covers typical serious industrial accidents (e.g., factory/warehouse/construction accidents), but also serious public accidents that receive wide societal attention (e.g., the humidifier disinfectant scandal and the Sewol ferry tragedy).

The legislative intent behind the Serious Accident Punishment Act (“SAPA”) is to prevent serious accidents by imposing strict punishment on the companies and the top decision makers, including the CEO.

To shed light onto these changes, AustCham Korea was pleased to host an 'Update on the Serious Accident Punishment Act (SAPA)' webinar. The webinar featured a presentation by Anthony Chang, Senior Foreign Attorney at Shin & Kim, and opening remarks by Michael Chang, Senior Foreign Attorney and Partner at Shin & Kim.

The session provided an insight into SAPA, including safety and health measurements that must be taken under SAPA, its Enforcement Decree and the risk of non-compliance for the company and top decision makers, including possible criminal liability.

Watch the webinar recording below to gain insights into how SAPA may impact the safety and health policies for your company and learn about the risk of non-compliance for both the company and top decision makers.

The webinar recording can be found on AustCham Korea's YouTube Channel via the following link.

Did you know that you can find AustCham Korea's past webinars on our YouTube channel?

We upload complimentary past webinars to make them accessible to you for review or viewing at your leisure. If you are an AustCham Member and would like to access some of the past paid webinar recordings, please get in touch with us at info@austchamkorea.org.

Click here to browse AustCham Korea's YouTube Channel and subscribe to keep track of our webinars and other initiatives.

On Monday, January 10, 2022, the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AustCham Korea) welcomed a new remote Project Officer Intern from Griffith University – Jessica Welch!

Jessica is currently in her final year of a Bachelor of International Relations and Government degree, majoring in International Relations and Asian Business, and has a deep interest in Australia and Asia bilateral relationships.

As a passionate Asian Business student, Jessica has both personal and academic experience in the region, including travelling to Japan, as well as studying the Korean language as part of her preparation for her Global Mobility Internship and a Short-Term Online Intensive Language Program at Yonsei University.

Jessica is eager to gain industry experience in Asia and learn more about the bilateral relationship between Australia and Korea throughout her time with AustCham Korea.

Despite travel restrictions, Jessica is excited to begin her remote internship with AustCham Korea from her hometown in Brisbane, Australia and looks forward to developing new connections and enhancing her skillset.

When not working or studying, she can be found reading, spending time with her family and friends or hiking through one of Brisbane's many rainforests.

If you would like to connect with Jessica and discuss aspects of the Australia-Korea bilateral relationship or cross-cultural engagement, you can find her on LinkedIn.

On Friday, January 14th, AustCham Team Reunion at FourB Gwanghwamun, making Kate's return from overseas and end of her 10-day self-isolation.

While international travel remains challenging, we hope to see increasing travel and exchanges between Australia and Korea in 2022.

We cordially invite all members to attend the 2022 Australian Chamber of Commerce in Korea 'Annual General Meeting (AGM), which will take place at the Australia Centre of the Australian Embassy in Seoul on Wednesday February 9. 2022. Although 2021 bought on many challenges for the business community, with your support, the Chamber has managed to deliver on many successful initiatives and events throughout the year.

During the AGM, the Chamber will provide an overview of its performance for 2021 but more importantly, provide a chance for our members to meet and greet the new Board of Directors, ask questions and vote on important matters.

AustCham exists for its members and in turn, relies on the support and involvement of its membership. On that account, we are very much looking forward to having all of our members attend the AGM in hybrid (online/ offline) format to enable maximum attendance and provide an opportunity for members to meet the new Board of Directors and senior Embassy representatives.

To mark this important occasion, the Australian Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, H.E. Catherine Raper, and the Senior Trade Commissioner at Austrade, Julie Quinn, will be providing some introductory remarks.

As a COVID-19 precaution, attendee numbers will be strictly limited and we ask all offline attendees to wear a mask and maintain social distancing.

If you are unable to attend the event, may we please ask if you could fill in the proxy vote form to nominate an alternative representative or have the Chamber assist in appointing you one.

If you have any questions, please contact info@austchamkorea.org

Time: 6:30pm - 8:00 pm KST

Date: Wednesday, February 9, 2022

Venue: Australia Center, Australian Embassy in tthe Republic of Korea

Address: 19th Floor Kyobo Building, 1 Jong-Ro, Jongno-Gu, Seoul 03154

Virtual access: Zoom

6:30 PM – Welcome remarks by Rowan Petz, Executive Director at AustCham Korea

6:31 PM – Introduction by Chris Raciti, Chair at AustCham Korea

6:35 PM – Welcome Speech by Australian Ambassador to Korea, H.E. Catherine Raper

6:40 PM – Introduction by Julie Quinn, Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner at Austrade

6:45 PM – Chair’s Report

7:05 pm – Treasurer’s Report & Vote for Approval of Treasure’s Report

7:30 PM – Notification of Election Results & Vote for Approval of Appointment of Directors for 2021

7:45 PM – Chairperson / Executive Director closing remarks

7:55 PM – Q&A

8:15 PM – AGM Close

For details and registration, please follow the link below.

The Australian Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AustCham Korea) and the Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KGCCI) are pleased to invite our members to join a special upskilling workshop on Tuesday, February 22, 2022.

For managers not familiar with the Korean business environment managing employee, customer, supplier and other stakeholder relationships can be a new and challenging experience.

While managers tend to overemphasize formal agreements to manage relationships in business and often feel more comfortable drawing a clear line between business and private affairs, underestimating its informal side can have negative effects on business success. Managers with operational tasks to perform at both ends, i.e. locally and towards the foreign headquarter, need to develop cross-cultural agility by understanding the relational-affective dimension of management in Korea. Learning conventional, sometimes stereotypical Korean cultural facets like collectivism, group culture and harmony alone is not enough and can be misleading.

While every expatriate manager knows the central importance of developing and maintaining guanxi (i.e. informal relationships and networks) in China, the characteristics and structures of affective ties and networks in Korea, called yongo or inmaek, remain largely unknown, underestimated or misunderstood by many expatriate managers.

Developing cross-cultural competence through a understanding of yongo and affective ties in general is pivotal for successfully managing business in Korea. Yongo can be an influential factor in day-to-day operations in the area of leadership and human resources management (recruitment, selection, promotion), in sales, project acquisition and business development or any functions relating to customer relationship management at large. Understanding yongo and related constructs helps to better manage risks and opportunities in business, including those difficult to formally enforce.

For details and registration, please follow the link below or click Here.

AustCham Korea is glad to start the year by welcoming Woolworths International as our newest Silver Sponsor!

Woolworths is Australia's largest grocery retailer and has developed a successful range of products under its own brands including Woolworths and Macro Wholefoods Market.

Building on Australia’s reputation for a clean, healthy environment and following demand from overseas customers, Woolworths is now promoting its wide range of food and wine brands in overseas markets via direct supply to retailers or through distributors.

South Korea presents a significant opportunity for Woolworths ranges and discussions are open with potential retail and distribution partners.

AustCham Korea is pleased to welcome MIA Trading as our newest Corporate Member!

MIA Trading, partnering with Coles Supermarket Australia and John Dee Processing plant in Warwick, is one of the major Australian meat importers in Korea, importing over 3,500 tons of beef and lamb products per year.

With its regional agency offices across the Korean province, various sales channels were established through the wholesale market including supermarket chains, franchise companies and online mall.

MIA Trading Business sectors include:

(1) Online Shopping Mall : Sisterhongmeat

Introducing 100% Australian Beef and Lamb to consumers at attractive prices

(2) Australian BBQ Restaurant : Hongsinso

100% Australian Premium BBQ restaurant located at Grosu-Gil road

Visit their website for details : www.miatrading.co.kr

Pepper Savings Bank & AI Peppers Hope Scholarship is open for applications!

Eligibility:

1) Jeolla-do, Gwangju Area University students (four-year uni/college)

2) GPA over 2.5 (out of 4.5, over 79 score in percentile, have completed more than 12 credits in the previous semester)

3) Within the eight deciles income distribution outlined by Korea Student Aid Foundation

Application period : Monday, 3 January ~ Friday, 11 February 2022

Application method : Submit by Registered mail / visit

Amount: 100 people (2.5 million won per person)

Please make enquiry at marketing@pepperbank.kr

For details, including eligibility requirements and application timeline, please check the following link: https://pepperbank.kr/hopescholarship/

Great to see AustCham Korea’s Silver Sponsor, Shin & Kim, increasingly recognised as a one-stop service from approvals and permits to Project Finance following the formation of the company’s Projects / Energy Group in April of 2021.

Since 2006, Shin & Kim has been unrivalled in the legal service market for energy, with its Energy Industry Team and Project Finance Team, which had existed prior to the emergence of new and renewable/ eco-friendly energy issues. The Projects / Energy Group is a merger of the teams into a single practice group. Chambers, the global legal market evaluation magazine, has ranked Shin & Kim in ‘Band 1’, the top tier, since 2016 when it first created the Projects/ Energy category.

Behind such competitiveness lies a strong pool of professionals. Including Senior Foreign Attorney Michael Chang who is a Board Member of AustCham Korea.

As the importance of ESG (Environment, Social and Corporate Governance) is becoming greater and greater in corporate management, together with “2050 Carbon Neutrality,” which has recently emerged as a global issue, Shin & Kim has come to prominence due to its experience and specialization in projects and energy.

Su Yong Jung (head of the Energy Industry Team), explains, “new and renewable energy projects require an in-depth review of specific contractual provisions and risk assessment. The strength of Shin & Kim in this area comes from its experience.”

Read the full announcement: https://www.shinkim.com/eng/media/sejong/4760?page=0&code=&keyword=

2022 brings new opportunities for Australian businesses, with the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) having entered into force on 1 January for Australia, New Zealand, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Japan, Laos, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. The Republic of Korea will follow on 1 February 2022.

RCEP is the world's largest free trade agreement and will bring together nine of Australia's top 15 trading partners into a single economic framework. It will offer significant opportunities for Australian businesses, while standardising and streamlining trade rules and procedures in our region.

RCEP covers trade in goods, trade in services, investment, economic and technical cooperation. It also creates new rules for electronic commerce, intellectual property, government procurement, competition, and small and medium sized enterprises.

For more on RCEP: https://www.dfat.gov.au/trade/agreements/in-force/rcep

Great to see AustCham Korea's member, Globalization Partners, receive such a well deserved investment!

Globalization Partners, (“G-P” or “the Company”) the leading global employment platform that simplifies remote team building by making it fast and easy for companies to hire anyone, anywhere, within minutes, announced that it has received a $200 million investment from Vista Credit Partners (“VCP”), a subsidiary of Vista Equity Partners (“Vista”) and strategic credit and financing partner focused on the enterprise software, data and technology markets. The investment values Globalization Partners at $4.2 billion.

As the market and technology leader with approximately $1 billion in Annual Recurring Revenue, G-P will utilize the investment to expand its dominant share of the virtually untapped, $176 billion global remote employment market. The Company’s growth in the industry is fuelled by an active customer base including CoinDesk, TaylorMade and Chime and an unrivalled partnership network that includes ADP TotalSource®, Kruze Consulting, Global Chamber®, London & Partners and others. Globalization Partners’ new customer acquisition increased 2.5 times from 2020 to 2021, including growing by 44 percent from Q3 to Q4.

“Over the past decade, we have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in our business, building our global presence and technology platform to support the evolving and complex talent needs of growing companies,” said Bob Cahill, President of Globalization Partners. “With Vista as our investment partner, we will be able to drive further growth and continue building innovative products to meet the increasing needs of our customers at scale.”

To learn more, please click: https://lnkd.in/e8EnknJy

Congratulations to A.P. Moller - Maersk Korea on being recognised by HR Asia as one of the “Best Companies to Work for in Asia”!

A big win for the entire team at Maersk Korea, truly embodying the spirit of #AllTheWay that makes wins like these possible.

Watch the video below to hear Adam Farmer, President & Representative Director at Maersk Korea, share his reflections on this important achievement.

Fantastic to see AustCham Korea member ChillHops Brewing take the top spot on Untappd as Korea's top rated brewery for a 2nd year!

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Fingers crossed we can see 2022 bring more offline events so that we can showcase ChillHops brews to the AustCham community.