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There are several restrictions for a foreign investment which may impede national security as follows:

1. Unpermitted Business

Postal services, central banking, individual mutual aid organizations, pension funding, administration of financial markets, activities auxiliary to financial service activities, etc.
Legislative, judiciary, administrative bodies, foreign embassies, extra-territorial organizations and bodies
Education (pre-primary, primary, secondary, higher education, universities, graduate schools, schools for the handicapped, etc.)
Artists, religious, business, professional, environmental advocacy, political, and labor organizations
2. Restricted Business

Category of Business (KSIC)

Standards for Permission

Growing of cereal crops and other crops for food (01110)

- Growing of rice and barley is prohibited

Farming of beef cattle (01212)

- Permitted where the foreign investment ratio is less than 50%


Manufacture of other basic inorganic chemicals (20129)

- Permitted with the exception of manufacture and distribution of nuclear fuel

Manufacture of other smelting, refining and alloys of non-ferrous metals (24219)

Nuclear power generation (35111)

- Prohibited

Hydroelectric power generation (35112)
Fire power generation (35113)
Other power generation (35119)

- The sum of power plant facilities purchased by foreigners from Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) must not surpass 30% of the total domestic power plant facilities

Transmission and distribution of electric power (35120)

- The foreign investment ratio must be less than 50%
- Voting stocks owned by foreign investors < Dominant stocks held by Korean nationals

Disposal of radioactive waste (38240)

- Radioactive waste management business under Article 82 of the Electric Utility Act is prohibited

Wholesale of meat (46312)

- Permitted where the foreign investment ratio is less than 50%

Coastal water passenger transport (50121)
Coastal water freight transport (50122)

- Permitted: Transport of passengers or freight between South and North Korea;
- Joint venture with a shipping company of the Republic of Korea;
- The foreign investment ratio is less than 50%

Scheduled air transport (51100)
Non-scheduled air transport (51200)

- Permitted where the foreign investment ratio is less than 50%

Publishing of newspapers (58121)

- Permitted where the foreign investment ratio is less than 50% (30% for daily newspapers)

Publishing of magazines and periodicals (58122)

- Permitted where the foreign investment ratio is less than 50%

Radio broadcasting (60100)

Prohibited

Over-the-air broadcasting (60210)

Prohibited

Program distribution (60221)

- Permitted where the foreign investment ratio is 49% or less
(* General programming channel and specialized news channel businesses are prohibited.)
* Program distribution refers to program providing business under the Broadcasting Act

Cable networks (60222)

- CATV broadcasting business is permitted where foreign investment ratio is 49% or less (* CATV relay broadcasting business is prohibited)

Broadcasting via satellite and other broadcasting (60229)

- Permitted where foreign investment ratio is 33% or less
(* Internet multimedia broadcasting business is permitted where the foreign investment ratio is 49% or less)

Wired telecommunications (61210)

- Permitted where the sum of shares (limited to voting shares, including depositary receipt (DR) and other share equivalents and equity interests) held by a foreign government or a foreigner (including fictitious corporation of foreigners) is 49% or less of the total issued shares of the company (Foreigners are not allowed to become a majority shareholder of KT. However, they may invest in KT where they own less than 5% of the total shares.)
* Fictitious corporation of foreigners: a corporation whose largest shareholder is a foreign government or a foreigner (including a specially-related person as referred to in Article 9 (1) 1 of the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act), and not less than 15/100 of the gross number of whose issued stocks are owned by the said foreign government or foreigner.
- Telecommunications resellers business (61282) is permitted
- Supplementary communications business is not restricted

Mobile communications (61220)

Satellite communications (61230)

Other electronic communications (61299)

News agency activities (63910)

- Permitted where the foreign investment ratio is less than 25%

Domestic commercial bank (64121)

- Permission is limited to commercial banks and local banks
(Agricultural/fisheries/livestock cooperatives are prohibited)

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