Excerpted from the Korea Career Guide

South Korea’s banking sector is “almost devoid of foreign players,” according to The Wall Street Journal. The Bank of America serves corporations doing international business, but it has only a “token retail business.” HSBC has reduced its already small retail business to concentrate on corporate banking. The only international bank with a sizable presence in South Korea is Standard Chartered, “and that’s been hard won,” says The Wall Street Journal, the bank having had to endure gossip and media backbiting. Now, known as Standard Chartered Korea, the bank has adopted the advertising slogan, “Here for Good.”

Areas of Job Promise

While hiring in the banking and financial services sectors this year is likely to be restrained, Robert Walters reports recent increases in accounting jobs in Korea’s manufacturing, engineering and industrial sectors. As part of their long-term succession strategies, employers have focused on candidates’ management potential in the hiring process.

International experience: Globalization strategies among financial services firms are increasing demand for professionals with international experience and regional reporting ability, according to Robert Walters.

Experienced accountants and financial experts: The pool of experienced accountants and financial experts to help foreign companies with complex local accounting and tax practices is limited, and competition is intense for candidates with both “professional and bilingual skills in these areas,” according to the EIU.”

Financial analysts and controllers: In the commercial sector, demand for mid-level financial analysts and controllers with international experience is likely to increase as firms seek to comply with financial regulations in the global markets. Even so, hiring could decline due to uncertainties in the market.

Organizations and Trade Associations

Korean Institute of Certified Public Accountants (KICPA)
http://kicpa.or.kr/index.html (Korean, English)
The Korean Institute of Certified Public Accountants (KICPA) was formed in 1945 with a membership of only 12 CPAs. Over the past few decades, KICPA has grown to be a professional organization representing 13,300 CPA members, providing them with resources and support to enable them to perform services in the highest professional manner.

KICPA
185-10, KICPA Building
Chungjeongro-2-ga, Seodaemoon-gu
Seoul, Korea 120-012
Tel: +82--2-3149-0266
Fax: +82--2-3149-0289
Email: global@kicpa.or.kr

Publications

Mae-II Economy News
http://www.mk.co.kr (Korean, English, Chinese)
Mae-II Economy News was founded in 1966. The economy is the focus of this newspaper. The web version provides news and services on various topics, such as finance, accounting, stocks, funds, business, real estate and jobs. Mae-II Economy News aims to combine online and offline media in order to provide better news to the reader.

MaeiI Economy News
Maekyung Media Center
30, Pil-dong 1-ga, Jung-gu
Seoul, Korea 100-728
Tel: +82-2-2000-2114
Email: Mkmaster@mk.co.kr

This is just a sample of what you'll find in the complete Korea guide.