After 13 years of building in Korea, I’m relocating my company to the U.S. and planning an office in Abu Dhabi, working with a global team.
This isn’t about hype — I’ve spent years searching for the right structure to build my dream.
Eventually, I realized Korea’s environment has critical flaws. In short: it lacks systems that consistently reward value creation. Too often, people are forced to “pray” to get what they need — instead of relying on clear rules or merit-based systems.
In Korean gaming culture, there’s a slang term: “Pray Meta.” It sarcastically describes a strategy that relies on luck rather than logic or skill. Sadly, that’s often how Korea’s entire business environment feels.
There are many issues, but here are the three most fundamental:
1. Capital Market Failure
In public markets, shareholders often find themselves praying for mercy from controlling owners — even when companies perform well.
Even Koreans don’t trust their own stock market. Between 2019 and 2024, Korean investment in U.S. stocks grew tenfold. Meanwhile, the KOSPI index drifts sideways.
The “Korea Discount” is already global common sense.
- Shareholder interests are often betrayed: In Korea, owners often retain control without majority stakes, while boards rarely provide real oversight. To minimize taxes and costs while preserving control, they rely on related-party deals, selective listings, and opaque restructurings — all under a system that weakly punishes financial misconduct. At the root lies a structure shaped by high inheritance taxes and entrenched ties between corporate elites, law, and politics.
- Real estate feels safer than equities: One reason is Korea’s unique “Jeonse” system. You can buy a house with over 100% leverage, and the price keeps rising. Stock returns? Just check the KOSPI index over the past 20 years.
- Rent-seeking dominates: According to Park Chang-Ki, those who don’t build value often profit the most.
2. Labor Market Dysfunction
Korean founders are smart and hardworking — but their teams often don’t have the same drive.
Not because they lack talent, but because the system gives them no reason to try harder.
Why? Because if you work too hard as an employee, you risk being called a “Hogu” — someone who gives too much and gets too little in return.
The system doesn’t reward excellence. Even if you perform 100x better, you might get a 20% raise… and eventually may become a “chief.” That’s it.
As a CEO, you end up praying that your team works hard, even though the compensation structure is broken. And the hard workers watch free-riders stay untouchable.
So what do the smartest people do? They leave — or learn to survive through rent-seeking, not innovation.
- You can’t fire without consent: But let’s be honest — who happily agrees to be fired? Even with no cash and only debt, you still can’t fire anyone.
- Minimum wage & unemployment benefits: I support the intent — But the system shouldn’t turn hard-working people into “Hogu”. Minimum wage shouldn’t be assumed without asking what value you’re actually creating.
- Work hour limits: 52 hours per week. Ask your team to work like Silicon Valley, and you become a criminal. Meanwhile, the lawyers who warn you work 100-hour weeks themselves.
3. Problem of Demographics & Language
Korea has no oil or gas — only people.
But Korea is now number one in birth rate, from the back. In Korea, it’s a race: AI is killing jobs, but population decline is trying to beat it.
Many Korean CEOs can’t speak English well, so they prefer to hire Korean-speaking team members — but that pool is shrinking. Founders are forced to pray they can find exceptional people who still care.
And the younger generation? Many are only children raised in relatively comfortable households. Their parents still work hard and take care of them. They know every detail of labor law, unemployment benefits, and how hard work rarely pays off — all thanks to YouTube.
If they work too hard at a company, their friends or families will ask them:
“Are you a Hogu?”
If you confront them? Let’s pray they’re feeling generous.
Thank God, AI is coming. A good chance for Korean CEOs to finally learn it. And who knows, AI might start paying for aging Koreans’ pensions and medical bills. Let’s pray.
Closing Thoughts
I hesitated to share this. These are blunt truths, and many might disagree or feel offended.
This isn’t about bashing Korea or its people. I’m deeply thankful for my country. Korea gave me education, opportunities, and support — even when I came from the margins of society.
No system is perfect. And yes, Korea is still better than many countries in many ways when it comes to business, with some of the world’s leading companies, generous government subsidies, and other advantages.
I wrote this not out of resentment, but with the hope that I can contribute to improving the ecosystem as a whole.
What worries me is that people often focus on narrow, surface-level issues. That won’t work.
Still, I’m not optimistic about internal reform. The current system is well-aligned with those already in power.
To fix it, politicians would need to risk losing votes or sponsors, and the powerful would need to risk control and privileges. That rarely happens when Machiavellian logic drives self-interest.
Historically, Korea tends to reform after crisis. We rebuild well, once the stable has burned.
I didn’t want to just pray. I wanted to act before asking the government to — just like Kennedy said.
In upcoming articles, I’ll break these problems down further, with concrete examples, references, and my proposed solutions.
