Korea - Pricing Korea - Pricing
In Korea’s export-driven economy, price competitiveness is a key factor. Korean manufacturers try to purchase lower-priced, quality raw materials or equipment.
Korean buyers generally consider that U.S. goods:
- Have an overall good reputation
- Are of high quality and good performance
- Are relatively expensive, especially because of shipping and other logistical costs.
- According to the Korean Act on Consumers, consumer items are required to be labeled with the following (with specifics varying among products):
- Denomination, use, ingredients, material quality, performance, size, price, capacity, permitted number of goods and contents of services
- Name (including address and telephone number) of the enterprise that has manufactured, imported, sold or provided goods, etc., and the origin of the goods
- Method of use, matters of caution and warning in use and keeping
- Date of manufacture, quality guarantee period or, in case of goods such as foods, medicine etc., which are apt to be altered during distribution, the validity period of such goods
- Dimension, location and method of indication, and Organization (including its address and telephone number) and method of settlement for any complaint on goods etc., or any consumer’s damage due to goods, etc.
A 10 percent value-added tax (VAT) is included on services and products.
Commissions in Korea are dependent upon the type of product and the transaction amount. For larger contracts, commissions generally decline as the contract value for a major purchase/acquisition/contract increases.