The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that a revised enforcement ordinance of the Foreign Investment Promotion Act will take effect Tuesday to better protect national security and domestic tech companies.
Under the new rule, authorities can conduct ex officio reviews of foreign investments suspected of threatening national security, even if they are not voluntarily reported by the investor. Investments that have already undergone a voluntary review will not be re-examined.
Foreign investments in domestic firms possessing national core strategic technologies will also be subject to such screenings to prevent foreign entities from undermining the competitiveness of Korea's advanced industries.
"We will continue to improve and supplement the security review system to minimize concerns about national security threats posed by foreign investments while promoting those that contribute to securing our technological edge in advanced industries," the ministry stated.
The government will allow foreign investors to bypass the security review if they have already undergone similar procedures under other laws.
The period for the expert committee's security review will be extended from 30 days to 90 days, while the period for the foreign investment committee's review will be shortened from 90 days to 45 days.
If a foreign investor requests confirmation on whether their investment is subject to a security review before submitting an investment report, authorities will be required to respond within 30 days.
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