The Importance of Mitigating Risk
This article touches on the critical topic of risk mitigation. Are you considering setting up a business in Korea, or have you already done so? Are you uncomfortable with the security environment on the Korean Peninsula? What might North Korea do next, and how would South Korea react to further aggression? And how might that affect your business, staff, and dependent families?
Few international companies can afford to discard the significant market opportunities in South Korea today. The impressive growth of the past four decades, sometimes called The Miracle on the Han River, has transformed a relatively small developing country into a prominent Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member. With this transformation has come significant purchasing power for the South Korean people and noticeable technological and innovative capabilities of today’s South Korean companies.
So, whether your interest is in the consumer market or a strategic partnership with the country’s private sector, the potential returns from an investment in South Korea cannot be ignored.
Unfortunately, there is a backside to this shiny metal. South Korea is still a very young democracy, transitioning from authoritarian rule only within the past twenty years. The country remains somewhat prone to civil demonstrations, which occasionally turn violent. Moreover, as a country fulfilling its responsibility in the international community’s continued struggle against religious fundamentalism, South Korea faces a general threat from terrorist attacks.
Finally and most importantly, South Korea remains one of the few countries in the world that is still technically at war, with the dispute with North Korea still not peacefully resolved but only under a temporary armistice agreement. But what does this mean? Are the countries about to go to war again? The short answer is probably not, but the possibility cannot and should not be ruled out. The longer answer is much more complicated; this is where Sentinel Korea comes in.
Risk Mitigation Measures
While knowing what the North Koreans might be up to is difficult, it is not impossible. And while risk analysis is by no means a fool-proof enterprise, it provides crucial insight upon which sound business decisions can be based. For Sentinel Korea, risk analysis and management are based on three elements: surveillance involves continuous monitoring of media reporting, think tank analysis, and government policies to get the big picture.
Sources are essential for obtaining information unavailable in the public domain. Sentinel Korea uses many sources from government agencies and non-governmental organizations. Scenarios provide probable and realistic contingencies upon which risk mitigation measures can be based. Through careful risk analysis based on surveillance, sources, and scenarios, Sentinel Korea delivers bespoke contingency planning tailored to our client’s needs and wishes.
Confidence in Contingency Planning
Business safety is all about confidence. Confidence in one’s ability to interpret threats and vulnerabilities properly. Confidence in one’s ability to plan for all contingencies, particularly for the most likely scenarios. Confidence in doing everything possible to avoid severe grievances to staff members and their families. And confidence in securing business continuity in a safe yet efficient manner. Have you done everything in your power to address such concerns? If not, give us a call.
SENTINEL KOREA provides high-quality security and business risk consulting based on international standards tailored to our client’s needs. For more information, e-mail inquiry@sentinelkorea.com or call us at 82-2-2183-0640. You can also visit our website to learn more.
Tae Jin Chung – CEO
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