KOR · snapshot 2026-08-09
Korea, Rep.
LowOverall risk score
17.3
Percentile of scored universe
4th
Data coverage
94%
vs Australia (16.1)
+1.2
Category breakdown
Political Stability & Governance
Low6 indicators · 100% coverage
Economic Resilience
Low6 indicators · 85% coverage
Financial & Currency Risk
Low5 indicators · 100% coverage
Business Environment
Low3 indicators · 75% coverage
Security & Crime
Low4 indicators · 100% coverage
Climate & Social Compliance
Low4 indicators · 100% coverage
Technology & Digital
Low4 indicators · 100% coverage
Cultural Distance
Very High9 indicators · 100% coverage · not in overall score
Key risks and considerations
Korea, Rep. rates Low for market entry — an overall risk score of 17.3, less risky than 96% of rated economies and 1 points riskier than Australia.
Relative strengths: E-government development and growth volatility both sit in the least-risky quarter of rated economies, and sovereign credit risk rates Low, the least-risky rating band.
Possible mitigations
- Payment fraud. Experts nominate this market as a cybercrime origin (World Cybercrime Index, 2021 survey): verify any change of bank details out-of-band, enforce MFA and dual authorisation on payments, and be sceptical of unsolicited counterparties.
- Cultural bridging. Large cultural distance: invest in local partners, bilingual advisers, and longer relationship-building timelines — assume negotiation and management norms differ materially.
Generated automatically from this snapshot’s indicator data — a starting point for analysis, not advice.
Indicators
| Indicator | Value | Risk score | Rating | Australia | Data source year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Political Stability & Governance | ||||||
| Voice & accountability (WGI) | 71.0 | 24.6 | Low | |||
| Government effectiveness (WGI) | 80.2 | 9.5 | Low | |||
| Regulatory quality (WGI) | 70.8 | 16.8 | Low | |||
| Rule of law (WGI) | 76.2 | 14.3 | Low | |||
| Control of corruption (WGI) | 65.1 | 21.0 | Low | |||
| Political stability & absence of violence/terrorism (WGI PV) | 76.8 | 29.2 | Medium | |||
| Economic Resilience | ||||||
| GDP growth (3-yr average, %) | 1.5% (3-yr avg) | 15.0 | Low | |||
| Growth volatility (10-yr std dev, pp) | ±1.5 pp | 6.0 | Low | |||
| Government net debt (% of GDP) | 9.3 | 10.0 | Low | |||
| Inflation (CPI %, vs income-group target) | 2.1 | 10.0 | Low | |||
| Current account (3-yr average, % of GDP) | 4.6% (3-yr avg) | 15.0 | Low | |||
| FX reserves (months of import cover) | — | — | Insufficient data | |||
| GDP per capita (PPP, current intl $) | $63,125 | 17.3 | Low | |||
| Financial & Currency Risk | ||||||
| Capital-account openness (Chinn-Ito KAOPEN) | 1.00 | 5.0 | Low | |||
| Currency stability (regime-aware classification) | Floating — low volatility (<8%) | 15.0 | Low | |||
| Sovereign credit risk (OECD country risk classification) | Category 0 / 7 | 2.0 | Low | |||
| FATF listing (grey / black list status) | Not listed | 0.0 | Low | |||
| Double-tax agreement with Australia | In force | 0.0 | Low | |||
| Business Environment | ||||||
| FDI regulatory restrictiveness (OECD FDIRRI) | 0.10 | 53.7 | High | |||
| Logistics performance (World Bank LPI) | 3.8 | 11.6 | Low | |||
| Business readiness (World Bank B-READY pillar average) | — | — | Insufficient data | |||
| Investment protection with Australia in force (BIT or FTA investment chapter) | In force | 0.0 | Low | |||
| Security & Crime | ||||||
| Armed-conflict intensity (battle deaths per 100k, 5-yr) | 0.0 | 29.7 | Medium | |||
| Intentional homicide rate (per 100k) | 0.5 | 6.6 | Low | |||
| Organised crime pervasiveness (GI-TOC criminality score) | 4.4 | 30.2 | Medium | |||
| DFAT Smartraveller advisory level | Level 1 — Exercise normal safety precautions | 10.0 | Low | |||
| Climate & Social Compliance | ||||||
| Physical climate vulnerability (ND-GAIN vulnerability) | 0.356 | 17.6 | Low | |||
| Disaster risk (INFORM Risk Index) | 2.1 | 11.5 | Low | |||
| Modern-slavery prevalence (per 1,000) | 3.5 | 27.2 | Medium | |||
| Modern-slavery vulnerability score | 28.6 | 24.7 | Low | |||
| Technology & Digital | ||||||
| E-government development (UN EGDI) | 1.0 | 1.8 | Low | |||
| Internet users (% of population) | 97.9 | 6.7 | Low | |||
| Cybercrime origination (World Cybercrime Index) | 0.8 | 30.0 | Medium | |||
| Secure internet servers (per million people) | 11902.4 | 25.8 | Medium | |||
Per-indicator ratings are quartile bands of the 0–100 risk score. The Australia column shows the same indicator’s raw value for the Australian baseline in this snapshot.
Cultural distance
GLOBE 2004 societal practices · rated on distance from Australia · not in the overall score
Context — not scored
Unemployment
2.7%
Displayed, never scored: ambiguous for an entrant and unreliable where informal employment dominates. (2025, ILO modelled)
Trade agreement
Free trade agreement with Australia in force
Market access is decision-relevant but a benefit, not a risk — kept out of the rating.
Regional advisories
No higher regional advisory levels
DFAT Smartraveller sub-national advice where it exceeds the overall level.
Compare with
A score means little on its own. These economies scored closest to Korea, Rep. in this snapshot, which is the fastest way to see whether the rating is telling you something specific or something regional.