424(B)(5)

424B5 1 d738119d424b5.htm 424(B)(5) 424(B)(5)

Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(5)
Registration No. 333-231096

The information in this preliminary prospectus supplement is not complete and may be changed. This preliminary prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and the Republic is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.

SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED JUNE 12, 2019

PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT

(To Prospectus dated May 15, 2019)

LOGO

The Republic of Korea

US$ % Notes due

The Republic expects to issue one or more series of each of the above-listed senior notes in aggregate principal amounts to be determined.

The US$ aggregate principal amount of % Notes due 20 (the “20 Notes”) will mature on , 20 and the US$ aggregate principal amount of % Notes due 20 (the “20 Notes”, and together with the 20 Notes, the “Notes”) will mature on , 20 . The 20 Notes will bear interest at the rate of % per year, and the 20 Notes will bear interest at the rate of % per year. Interest on the Notes is payable on and of each year, beginning on , 20 . The Republic will not have any right to redeem the Notes prior to maturity. Except as described in the accompanying prospectus under “Description of the Debt Securities—Global Securities”, the Notes will be represented by one or more global notes registered in the name of a nominee of The Depository Trust Company, as depositary.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these Notes or determined if this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

20 Notes

Per Note

Total

Per Note

Total

Public offering price

US$

Underwriting discounts

US$

Proceeds to the Republic (before expenses)⁽¹⁾

US$

Note:

(1)	The underwriters have agreed to pay certain expenses of the Republic in connection with this offering. For more information, see “Underwriting” in this prospectus supplement.

In addition to the public offering price to the public, you will have to pay for interest accrued on the Notes from , 2019, if any.

Approvals in-principle have been received from the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited (the “Singapore Stock Exchange”) for the listing and quotation of the Notes on the Singapore Stock Exchange. The Singapore Stock Exchange assumes no responsibility for the correctness of any of the statements made, opinions expressed or reports contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. Approval in-principle from, admission to the Official List of, and listing and quotation of the Notes on, the Singapore Stock Exchange are not to be taken as an indication of the merits of the Republic or the Notes. Currently, there is no public market for the Notes.

The underwriters expect to deliver the Notes to investors through the book-entry facilities of The Depository Trust Company on or about , 2019.

Joint Bookrunners


Citigroup		Credit Agricole CIB		HSBC		J.P. Morgan

The date of this prospectus supplement is , 2019.

You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. The Republic has not authorized anyone to provide you with different information. The Republic is not making an offer of the Notes in any jurisdiction where the offer is not permitted. You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front of each document.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Prospectus Supplement


	Page
SUMMARY OF THE OFFERING		S-3
USE OF PROCEEDS		S-7
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS		S-10
DESCRIPTION OF THE NOTES		S-16
CLEARANCE AND SETTLEMENT		S-21
TAXATION		S-24
UNDERWRITING		S-25
LEGAL MATTERS		S-30
GENERAL INFORMATION		S-31

Prospectus


	Page
CERTAIN DEFINED TERMS AND CONVENTIONS		1
USE OF PROCEEDS		2
THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA		3
Land and History		3
Government and Politics		5
The Economy		8
Principal Sectors of the Economy		15
The Financial System		22
Monetary Policy		27
Balance of Payments and Foreign Trade		30
Government Finance		39
Debt		42
Tables and Supplementary Information		44
DESCRIPTION OF THE DEBT SECURITIES		48
General Terms of the Debt Securities		48
Payments of Principal, Premium and Interest		49
Repayment of Funds; Prescription		49
Global Securities		50
Additional Amounts		51
Status of Debt Securities		52
Negative Pledge Covenant		52
Events of Default		53
Modifications and Amendments; Debt Securityholders’ Meetings		55
Fiscal Agent		61
Further Issues of Debt Securities		61
Governing Law, Jurisdiction, Consent to Service and Enforceability		61
LIMITATIONS ON ISSUANCE OF BEARER DEBT SECURITIES		63
TAXATION		64


	Page
Korean Taxation		64
United States Tax Considerations		65
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION		74
LEGAL MATTERS		76
AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVES IN THE UNITED STATES		76
OFFICIAL STATEMENTS AND DOCUMENTS		76
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS		76
FURTHER INFORMATION		77

CERTAIN DEFINED TERMS

Unless the context otherwise requires, all references to “Korea” or the “Republic” contained in this prospectus supplement are to The Republic of Korea. All references to the “Government” are to the government of Korea.

Unless otherwise indicated, all references to the “20 Notes” contained in this prospectus supplement are to the US$ aggregate principal amount of % notes due 20 and all references to the “20 Notes” contained in this prospectus supplement are to the US$ aggregate principal amount of % Notes due 20 . The 20 Notes and the 20 Notes will be collectively referred to as the “Notes”.

Unless otherwise indicated, all references to “won”, “Won” or “W” contained in this prospectus supplement are to the currency of Korea and references to “U.S. dollars”, “Dollars”, “dollars”, “$” or “US$” are to the currency of the United States of America.

All references to the “Singapore Stock Exchange” contained in this prospectus supplement are to the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The information in this prospectus supplement is in addition to the information contained in the Republic’s prospectus dated May 15, 2019. The accompanying prospectus contains information regarding the Republic, as well as a description of some terms of the Notes. You can find further information regarding the Republic and the Notes in registration statement no. 333-231096, as amended (the “registration statement”), relating to the debt securities of the Republic, which is on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

THE GOVERNMENT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ACCURACY OF THE INFORMATION IN THIS DOCUMENT

The Government is responsible for the accuracy of the information in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus and confirms that, to the best of the Government’s knowledge, the information contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus is in accordance with facts and that the Government has included all facts that should be included not to mislead potential investors. The delivery of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus at any time does not imply that any information contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus is correct at any time subsequent to the date of this prospectus supplement.

The Singapore Stock Exchange assumes no responsibility for the correctness of any of the statements made, opinions expressed or reports contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. Approval in-principle from, admission to the Official List of, and listing and quotation of the Notes on, the Singapore Stock Exchange are not to be taken as an indication of the merits of the Republic or the Notes.

NOTIFICATION UNDER SECTION 309B(1)(C) OF THE SECURITIES AND FUTURES ACT, CHAPTER 289 OF SINGAPORE (THE “SFA”).

The Republic has determined, and hereby notifies all relevant persons (as defined in Section 309A(1) of the SFA), that the Notes are prescribed capital markets products (as defined in the Securities and Futures (Capital Markets Products) Regulations 2018 of Singapore) and Excluded Investment Products (as defined in MAS Notice SFA 04-N12: Notice on the Sale of Investment Products and MAS Notice FAA-N16: Notice on Recommendations on Investment Products).

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NOT AN OFFER IF PROHIBITED BY LAW

The distribution of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, and the offer of the Notes, may be legally restricted in some countries. If you wish to distribute this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus, you should observe any restrictions. This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus should not be considered an offer, and it is prohibited to use them to make an offer, in any state or country which prohibits the offering. For a description of some restrictions on the offering and sale of the Notes and the distribution of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, see “Underwriting—Non-U.S. Selling Restrictions” beginning on page S-26 of this prospectus supplement.

The Notes may not be offered or sold in Korea, directly or indirectly, or to any resident of Korea, except as permitted by Korean law. For more information, see “Underwriting—Non-U.S. Selling Restrictions—Korea” on page S-26 of this prospectus supplement.

CERTAIN PERSONS PARTICIPATING IN THE OFFERING MAY ENGAGE IN TRANSACTIONS THAT STABILIZE, MAINTAIN OR OTHERWISE AFFECT THE PRICE OF THE NOTES, INCLUDING OVER-ALLOTMENT, STABILIZING AND SHORT-COVERING TRANSACTIONS IN SUCH NOTES, AND THE IMPOSITION OF A PENALTY BID, IN CONNECTION WITH THE OFFERING. FOR A DESCRIPTION OF THESE ACTIVITIES, SEE “UNDERWRITING” IN THIS PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT.

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SUMMARY OF THE OFFERING

This summary highlights selected information from this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus and may not contain all of the information that is important to you. To understand the terms of the Notes, you should carefully read this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.

Issuer

The Republic of Korea.

Notes

US$ aggregate principal amount of % notes due 20 and US$ aggregate principal amount of % notes due 20 .

Maturity Date

The 20 Notes will mature on , 20 and the 20 Notes will mature on , 20 .

Interest

The 20 Notes will bear interest at the rate of % per year and the 20 Notes will bear interest at the rate of % per year. Interest on the Notes will be computed based on a 360-day year consisting of twelve 30-day months.

Interest Payment Dates

Interest on the Notes will be paid twice each year on and of each year, beginning on , 2019. Interest on the Notes will accrue from , 2019.

Denominations

The Notes will be issued in denominations of US$200,000 principal amount and integral multiples of US$1,000 in excess thereof.

Redemption

The Republic may not redeem the Notes prior to maturity.

Form and Settlement

The Republic will issue the Notes in the form of one or more fully registered global notes, registered in the name of a nominee of The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”). Except as described in the accompanying prospectus under “Description of the Debt Securities—Global Securities” and in this prospectus supplement under “Description of the Notes—Form and Registration— Certificated Notes”, the global notes will not be exchangeable for Notes in definitive registered form and will not be issued in definitive registered form. Financial institutions, acting as direct and indirect participants in DTC will represent your beneficial interests in the global notes. These financial institutions will record the ownership and transfer of your beneficial interest through book-entry accounts. You may hold your beneficial interests in the Notes through Euroclear Bank SA/NV (“Euroclear”) or Clearstream Banking S.A. (“Clearstream”) if you are a participant in such systems, or indirectly through organizations that are participants in such systems. Any secondary market trading of book-entry interests in the Notes will take place through DTC participants, including Euroclear and Clearstream. See “Clearance and Settlement”.

Listing and Markets

Approvals in-principle have been received from the Singapore Stock Exchange for the listing and quotation of the Notes on the Singapore

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Stock Exchange. For so long as the Notes are listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange and the rules of the Singapore Stock Exchange so require, the Notes, if traded on the Singapore Stock Exchange, will be traded in a minimum board lot size of S$200,000 (or its equivalent in foreign currencies). Accordingly, the Notes, if traded on the Singapore Stock Exchange, will be traded in a minimum board lot size of US$200,000. The Republic will offer the Notes for sale in countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia and elsewhere where it is legal to make such offers.

Status of Notes

The Notes will constitute direct, general, unconditional, and unsubordinated External Indebtedness (as defined in “Description of the Debt Securities—Status of Debt Securities” in the accompanying prospectus) of the Republic for which the full faith and credit of the Republic is pledged. The Notes will rank without any preference among themselves and equally with all other unsubordinated External Indebtedness of the Republic. It is understood that this provision shall not be construed so as to require the Republic to make payments under the Notes ratably with payments being made under any other External Indebtedness of the Republic. See “Description of the Notes—Status of the Notes” in this prospectus supplement and “Description of the Debt Securities—Status of Debt Securities” in the accompanying prospectus.

Negative Pledge

Subject to certain exceptions, if any of the Notes are outstanding, the Republic will not create or permit to subsist any Security Interest (as defined in “Description of the Debt Securities—Negative Pledge Covenant” in the accompanying prospectus) on the Republic’s assets as security for any of the Republic’s Public External Indebtedness (as defined in “Description of the Debt Securities—Negative Pledge Covenant” in the accompanying prospectus), unless the Notes are secured equally and ratably with such Public External Indebtedness. See “Description of the Debt Securities—Negative Pledge Covenant” in the accompanying prospectus.

Delivery of the Notes

The Republic expects to make delivery of the Notes, against payment in same-day funds on or about , 2019, which the Republic expects will be the business day following the date of this prospectus supplement, referred to as “T+ ”. You should note that initial trading of the Notes may be affected by the “T+ ” settlement. See “Underwriting—Delivery of the Notes” in this prospectus supplement.

Taxation

The Republic will make all payments of principal of and interest on the Notes without withholding or deducting any present or future taxes imposed by the Republic or any of its political subdivisions, unless required by law. In that event, the Republic will pay additional amounts as necessary to ensure that you receive the same amount as you would have received without such withholding or deduction, subject to certain exceptions provided in the accompanying prospectus. See “Description of the Debt Securities—Additional

S-4

Amounts” in the accompanying prospectus. For a description of certain United States tax aspects of the Notes, see “Taxation—United States Tax Considerations” in the accompanying prospectus.

Fiscal Agent

The Bank of New York Mellon.

Further Issues

The Republic may, without the consent of the holders of the Notes, create and issue additional debt securities with the same terms and conditions as the Notes (except for the public offering price and issue date) and consolidate such additional debt securities to form a single series with the Notes. See “Description of the Debt Securities— Further Issues of Debt Securities” in the accompanying prospectus.

Use of Proceeds

The 20 Notes:

The net proceeds from the sale of the 20 Notes will become part of the Foreign Exchange Stabilization Fund established and managed under the Korean Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, and will be allocated toward the financing and/or refinancing, in whole or in part, of projects in the Eligible Green Categories (as defined in the “Use of Proceeds” section of this prospectus supplement) and/or a combination of the Eligible Green Categories and the Eligible Social Categories (as defined in the “Use of Proceeds” section of this prospectus supplement) in accordance with certain prescribed eligibility criteria as described under the Green and Sustainability Bond Framework of The Republic of Korea. See “Use of Proceeds” in this prospectus supplement.

Governing Law

The Notes and the fiscal agency agreement will be governed by the laws of the State of New York. The laws of the Republic will govern all matters governing the authorization, execution and delivery of the Notes and the fiscal agency agreement by the Republic.

Enhanced Collective Action Clauses

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waivers. As such, the Notes will contain provisions under which the Republic may, among other things, amend the payment provisions and certain other material terms of the Notes with the consent of the holders of: (1) with respect to a single series of debt securities, more than 75% of the aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of such series; (2) with respect to two or more series of debt securities, if certain “uniformly applicable” requirements are met, more than 75% of the aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of all series affected by the proposed modification, taken in the aggregate; or (3) with respect to two or more series of debt securities, whether or not the “uniformly applicable” requirements are met, more than 66 2/3% of the aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of all series affected by the proposed modification, taken in the aggregate, and more than 50% of the aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of each series affected by the proposed modification, taken individually. See “Description of the Debt Securities—Events of Default—Enhanced Collective Action Debt Securities” and “Description of the Debt Securities—Modifications and Amendments; Debt Securityholders’ Meetings—Enhanced Collective Action Debt Securities” in the accompanying prospectus.

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USE OF PROCEEDS

The 20 Notes

The net proceeds from the sale of the 20 Notes will become part of the Foreign Exchange Stabilization Fund established and managed under the Korean Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, and will be allocated toward the financing and/or refinancing, in whole or in part, of projects in the Eligible Green Categories (as defined below) and/or a combination of the Eligible Green Categories and the Eligible Social Categories (as defined below) in accordance with the Green and Sustainability Bond Framework of The Republic of Korea (the “Framework”).

Eligible Green Categories, Eligible Social Categories or a combination of the two categories have been defined in accordance with the broad categorization of eligibility for Green Projects, Social Projects or Sustainability Projects set out by the International Capital Markets Association (“ICMA”) Green Bond Principles, the ICMA Social Bond Principles and the ICMA Sustainability Bond Guidelines. The eligibility criteria under the Framework are also aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, a collection of 17 global goals set by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015 for the year 2030.

“Eligible Green Categories” are those which comprise financing within the Eligible Green Categories set out in the Framework. Such Eligible Green Categories include the following:

•

Green buildings: construction and renovation of new and existing buildings that have received or are expected to receive a recognized green building certification, such as the Green Standard for Energy and Environmental Design;

•

Waste management and waste-to-energy: prevention, treatment, management and recycling of waste, as well as development of waste-to-energy technologies, such as air emissions abatement technology;

•

Water and wastewater management: promotion of sustainable management of water resources, including wastewater prevention, sewage treatment and leakage reduction;

•

Renewable energy: development, manufacture, installation and operation of renewable energy sources, including wind energy, solar energy and hydro energy;

•

Clean transportation: development, construction and operation of low-carbon public transportation, including electric rail, urban metro and electric buses, as well as research, development and manufacture of electric vehicles and charging infrastructures; and

•

Energy efficiency: design, construction, installation and operation of energy-efficient buildings and other infrastructures, including district cooling systems and smart meters.

“Eligible Social Categories” are those which comprise financing within the Eligible Social Categories set out in the Framework. Such financings aim to provide essential services and enhance socioeconomic advancement by providing free or affordable alternative services to underserved populations. Such Eligible Social Categories include the following:

•

Healthcare: promotion of access to hospitals, clinics and healthcare centers for the provision of medical services, including, but not limited to, elderly care;

•

Education: development and operation of schools and related facilities to improve the quality of education, promote learning opportunities and facilitate socioeconomic advancement and empowerment for the underprivileged;

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•

Affordable basic structure: development of, and provision of access to, basic infrastructure such as energy, communication and hygiene infrastructure for low-income households; and

•

Venture investment: cultivation of eligible ventures and start-up companies to promote job creation and economic growth.

The examples of the above categories are for illustrative purposes only and no assurance can be provided that disbursements for projects with these specific characteristics will be made by the Republic during the term of the 20 Notes.

Project Evaluation and Selection Process

The Korea Investment Corporation (“KIC”), the Republic’s sovereign wealth fund, which will manage the net proceeds from the sale of the 20 Notes, will review eligible projects on a quarterly basis under an investment management agreement (the “IMA”) it entered into with the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Under such agreement, eligible projects will be assessed and identified using the criteria set forth in the Framework. The KIC’s steering committee, its top decision-making body comprised of professionals appointed by the President of the Republic and ex-officio members (including the Ministry of Economy and Finance), will supervise the overall management policy of the IMA. The KIC will not knowingly use the net proceeds from the sale of the 20 Notes to finance or invest in companies involved in certain specific categories, including child labor, production or trade of alcohol, tobacco and weapons, and conflict minerals.

Management of Proceeds

The KIC will manage the net proceeds from the sale of the 20 Notes by allocating such funds to eligible projects in the form of (i) direct investment; (ii) investment in funds, trusts or special purpose vehicles that are thematically focused only on the eligible categories; or (iii) investment in private equities in companies that derive at least 90% of its annual turnover from the eligible categories. The use of the net proceeds from the sale of the 20 Notes will also be monitored by the KIC, which will record the details of each allocation and report them to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, which will verify such details against its own records, on an annual basis. Any balance of the proceeds not yet earmarked to eligible projects will be held in accordance with the IMA, and may be temporarily invested in environmental, social and governance funds or liquid money market instruments.

Reporting

The KIC will publish a “Green and Sustainability Bond Report” that will include a summary of the financings during the reporting period, allocation reporting and impact reporting, on an annual basis until the proceeds have been completely allocated and as necessary in the event of material developments. Sustainalytics, an external consultant, issued an opinion dated June 4, 2019 in connection with its independent assessment of the Framework’s alignment with the ICMA Green Bond Principles, the ICMA Social Bond Principles and the ICMA Sustainability Bond Guidelines (the “Second Party Opinion”). The Framework, the Green and Sustainability Bond Report and the Second Party Opinion will be publicly available on the following website: http://kic.kr/en/02/03/05.jsp. None of the Framework, the Green and Sustainability Bond Report or the Second Party Opinion is incorporated into, or forms a part of, this prospectus supplement.

Investment Considerations

There is currently no market consensus on what precise attributes are required for a particular project or series of notes to be defined as “green” or “social,” and therefore no assurance can be provided to investors that selected projects will meet all investor expectations regarding environmental or social performance. Although the projects will be selected in accordance with the categories recognized under the Framework, and will be

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developed in accordance with relevant legislation and standards, there can be no guarantee that the projects will deliver the benefits as anticipated, or that adverse environmental and/or social impacts will not occur during the design, construction, commissioning and operation of the projects. In addition, where any negative impacts are insufficiently mitigated, the projects may become controversial and may be criticized by activist groups or other stakeholders.

The Second Party Opinion may not reflect the potential impact of all risks related to the structure, market, additional risks discussed above and other factors that may affect the value of the 20 Notes. The Second Party Opinion is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities and is only current as of the date that the Second Party Opinion was initially issued. In addition, although the Republic has agreed to certain reporting and use of proceeds obligations in connection with certain criteria, the Republic’s failure to comply with such obligations does not constitute a breach or an event of default under the 20 Notes. A withdrawal of the Second Party Opinion or any failure by the Republic to use an amount equivalent to the net proceeds from the issuance of the 20 Notes as set forth in the Framework or to meet or continue to meet the investment requirements of certain environmentally or socially focused investors with respect to the 20 Notes may affect the value of the 20 Notes and may have consequences for certain investors with portfolio mandates to invest in “green” or “social” assets.

No assurance can be provided with respect to the suitability of the Second Party Opinion or that the 20 Notes will fulfil the environmental and sustainability criteria to qualify as “green” or “social” bonds. Each potential purchaser of the 20 Notes should determine for itself the relevance of the information contained in this prospectus supplement regarding the use of proceeds and its purchase of the 20 Notes should be based upon such investigation as it deems necessary.

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RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

This section provides information that supplements the information about the Republic included under the headings corresponding to the headings below in the accompanying prospectus dated May 15, 2019. Defined terms used in this section have the meanings given to them in the accompanying prospectus. If the information in this section differs from the information in the accompanying prospectus, you should rely on the information in this section.

The Economy

Gross Domestic Product

Based on preliminary data, GDP growth in the first quarter of 2019 was 1.7% at chained 2010 year prices, as aggregate private and general government consumption expenditures increased by 2.8% and imports of goods and services decreased by 5.1%, which more than offset a decrease in gross domestic fixed capital formation by 8.6% and a decrease in exports of goods and services by 0.2%, each compared with the corresponding period of 2018.

Principal Sectors of the Economy

Prices, Wages and Employment

The inflation rate was 0.5% in the first quarter of 2019. The unemployment rate was 4.5% in the first quarter of 2018.

The Financial System

Securities Markets

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index was 2,203.6 on April 30, 2019, 2,041.7 on May 31, 2019 and 2,103.9 on June 11, 2019.

Monetary Policy

Foreign Exchange

The market average exchange rate between the Won and the U.S. Dollar (in Won per one U.S. Dollar) as announced by the Seoul Money Brokerage Service Ltd. was Won 1,158.2 to US$1.00 on April 30, 2019, Won 1,190.0 to US$1.00 on May 31, 2019 and Won 1,184.0 to US$1.00 on June 11, 2019.

Balance of Payments and Foreign Trade

Balance of Payments

Based on preliminary data, the Republic recorded a current account surplus of approximately US$11.3 billion in the first quarter of 2019. The current account surplus in the first quarter of 2019 decreased from the current account surplus of US$11.7 billion in the corresponding period of 2018, primarily due to a decrease in surplus from the goods account which more than offset a decrease in deficit from the service account.

Trade Balance

Based on preliminary data, the Republic recorded a trade surplus of US$9.3 billion in the first quarter of 2019. Exports decreased by 8.5% to US$132.7 billion and imports decreased by 6.8% to US$123.4 billion from US$145.1 billion of exports and US$132.4 billion of imports, respectively, in the corresponding period of 2018.

Foreign Currency Reserves

The amount of the Government’s foreign currency reserves was US$404.0 billion as of April 30, 2019.

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Debt

The Government estimates that the total outstanding debt of the Government (including guarantees by the Government) as of December 31, 2018 amounted to approximately W680.7 trillion, an increase of 5.0% over the previous year. The Ministry of Economy and Finance administers the national debt of the Republic.

External and Internal Debt of the Government

The following table sets out, by currency and the equivalent amount in U.S. dollars, the estimated outstanding direct external debt of the Government as of December 31, 2018:

Direct External Debt of the Government


	Amount in Original Currency		Equivalent Amount in U.S. Dollars⁽¹⁾
	(millions)
US$		US$ 5,900.0		US$ 5,900.0
Euro (EUR)		EUR 1,125.0		1,287.1

Total				US$ 7,187.1

(1)	Amounts expressed in currencies other than US$ are converted to US$ at the arbitrage rate announced by the Seoul Money Brokerage Services, Ltd. in effect on December 31, 2018.

The following table summarizes, as of December 31 of the years indicated, the outstanding direct internal debt of the Republic:

Direct Internal Debt of the Government


	(billions of Won)
2014		493,584.9
2015		547,625.6
2016		584,785.0
2017		619,971.9
2018		643,550.9

The following table sets out all guarantees by the Government of indebtedness of others:

Guarantees by the Government


	December 31,
	2014		2015		2016		2017		2018
	(billions of Won)
Domestic		29,158.4		26,393.8		24,241.6		21,130.5		17,016.3
External⁽¹⁾		—		—		—		—		—

Total		29,158.4		26,393.8		24,241.6		21,130.5		17,016.3

(1)	Converted to Won at foreign exchange banks’ telegraphed transfer selling rates to customers or the market average exchange rates in effect on December 31 of each year.

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For further information on the outstanding indebtedness, including guarantees, of the Republic, see “—Tables and Supplementary Information”.

External Liabilities

The following tables set out certain information regarding the Republic’s external liabilities calculated under the criteria based on the sixth edition of Balance of Payment Manual, or BPM6, published by the International Monetary Fund in December 2010 and implemented by the Government in December 2013. Under BPM6, in particular, prepayments received in connection with the construction of ships are excluded from the external liabilities.


	December 31,
	2014		2015		2016		2017		2018⁽¹⁾
	(billions of dollars)
Long-term Liabilities		307.9		291.7		277.4		296.1		314.0
General Government		65.2		62.8		64.5		78.0		83.5
Monetary Authorities		25.9		20.1		10.8		14.5		15.2
Banks		104.0		103.1		93.8		91.7		100.3
Other Sectors		112.9		105.7		108.2		111.8		115.1
Short-term Liabilities		116.4		104.3		104.8		116.0		126.6
General Government		1.8		2.3		2.5		2.0		1.0
Monetary Authorities		12.2		12.0		6.9		8.1		12.8
Banks		79.9		74.8		78.4		85.5		90.3
Other Sectors		22.5		15.2		17.0		20.4		22.5

Total External Liabilities		424.3		396.1		382.2		412.0		440.6

(1)	Preliminary

Debt Record

The Government has always paid when due the full amount of principal of, interest on, and amortization of sinking fund requirements of, all of its indebtedness.

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Tables and Supplementary Information

A. External Debt of the Government

(1) External Bonds of the Government


Series	Issue Date		Maturity Date			Interest Rate (%)		Currency		Original Principal Amount		Principal Amount Outstanding as of December 31, 2018
2005-001		November 2, 2005		November 3, 2025			5.625		USD		400,000,000		400,000,000
2006-002		December 7, 2006		December 7, 2021			4.250		EUR		375,000,000		375,000,000
2009-001		April 16, 2009		April 16, 2019	*		7.125		USD		1,500,000,000		1,500,000,000
2013-001		September 11, 2013		September 11, 2023			3.875		USD		1,000,000,000		1,000,000,000
2014-001		June 10, 2014		June 10, 2044			4.125		USD		1,000,000,000		1,000,000,000
2014-002		June 10, 2014		June 10, 2024			2.125		EUR		750,000,000		750,000,000
2017-001		January 19, 2017		January 19, 2027			2.750		USD		1,000,000,000		1,000,000,000
2018-001		September 20, 2018		September 20, 2028			3.500		USD		500,000,000		500,000,000
2018-002		September 20, 2018		September 20, 2048			3.875		USD		500,000,000		500,000,000

Total External Bonds in Original Currencies													USD 5,900,000,000
													EUR 1,125,000,000

Total External Bonds in Equivalent Amount of Won⁽¹⁾												W	8,035,845,000,000

*	Repaid on the maturity date.

(1)

U.S. dollar amounts are converted to Won amounts at the rate of US$1.00 to W1,118.1, the market average exchange rate in effect on December 31, 2018, as announced by Seoul Money Brokerage Services, Ltd. Euro amounts are converted to Won amounts at the rate of EUR 1.00 to W1,279.16, the market average exchange rate in effect on December 31, 2018, as announced by Seoul Money Brokerage Services, Ltd.

(2) External Borrowings of the Government

None.

B. External Guaranteed Debt of the Government

None.

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C. Internal Debt of the Government


Title	Range of Interest Rates		Range of Years of Issue		Range of Years of Original Maturity		Principal Amounts Outstanding as of December 31, 2018
	(%)						(billions of Won)
1. Bonds
Interest-Bearing Treasury Bond for Treasury Bond Management Fund		1.00-5.75		2006-2018		2018-2068		567,044.0
Interest-Bearing Treasury Bond for National Housing I		1.25-3.00		2009-2018		2014-2023		72,545.6
Interest-Bearing Treasury Bond for National Housing II		0.0-3.0		1994-2017		2014-2030		718.9
Interest-Bearing Treasury Bond for National Housing III		0		2005		2015		1.6
Non-interest-Bearing Treasury Bond for Contribution to International Organizations⁽¹⁾		0		1968-1985		—		9.4

Total Bonds								640,319.6

2. Borrowings
Borrowings from The Bank of Korea		1.362-1.652		2017-2018		2019		716.2
Borrowings from the Sports Promotion Fund		1.205-2.275		2016-2018		2019-2020		450.0
Borrowings from The Korea Foundation Fund		1.73-2.34		2017-2018		2019-2020		70.0
Borrowings from the Labor Welfare Promotion Fund		2.13		2018		2019		50.0
Borrowings from Korea Technology Finance Corporation		1.98-2.34		2018		2020-2022		195.0
Borrowings from the Credit Guarantee Fund for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Suppliers		1.875-3.215		2014-2018		2019-2020		1,100.0
Borrowings from the Government Employees’ Pension Fund		1.51		2018		2021		10.0
Borrowings from the Film Industry Development Fund		1.385-2.235		2016-2018		2019-2020		114.0
Borrowings from the Housing Finance Credit Guarantee Fund		1.385-1.67		2016		2019		526.1

Total Borrowings								3,231.3

Total Internal Funded Debt								643,550.9

(1)	Interest Rates and Years of Original Maturity not applicable.

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D. Internal Guaranteed Debt of the Government


Title	Range of Interest Rates		Range of Years of Issue		Range of Years of Original Maturity		Principal Amounts Outstanding as of December 31, 2018
	(%)						(billions of Won)
1. Bonds of Government-Affiliated Corporations
Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation		1.34-2.52		2015-2018		2019-2021		5,850.0
Korea Student Aid Foundation		0.00-5.07		2010-2018		2019-2037		11,160.0

Total Bonds								17,010.0

2. Borrowings of Government-Affiliated Corporations
Rural Development Corporation and Federation of Farmland		5.5		1989		2023		6.3

Total Borrowings								6.3

Total Internal Guaranteed Debt								17,016.3

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DESCRIPTION OF THE NOTES

The following is a description of some of the terms of the Notes the Republic is offering. The following description is only a summary. The Republic urges you to read the fiscal agency agreement described below and the form of global note before deciding whether to invest in the Notes. The Republic has filed a copy of these documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission as exhibits to the registration statement.

The Notes are a series of debt securities more fully described in “Description of the Debt Securities” in the accompanying prospectus. The description in this prospectus supplement further adds to that description or, to the extent inconsistent with that description, replaces it.

General

The Republic will issue the Notes under the fiscal agency agreement, dated as of April 17, 1998, as amended by Amendment No. 1 dated June 3, 2003 and Amendment No. 2 dated July 17, 2018, between the Republic and The Bank of New York Mellon, as fiscal agent. The Notes will constitute direct, general, unconditional and unsubordinated obligations of the Republic for which the full faith and credit of the Republic is pledged. The aggregate principal amount of the 20 Notes will be US$ and will mature on , 20 . The aggregate principal amount of the 20 Notes will be US$ and will mature on , 20 . The Notes will be issued in denominations of US$200,000 principal amount and integral multiples of US$1,000 in excess thereof.

The Notes will be designated “enhanced collective action debt securities” (as defined in “Description of the Debt Securities—Events of Default—Enhanced Collective Action Debt Securities” and “Description of the Debt Securities—Modifications and Amendments; Debt Securityholders’ Meetings—Enhanced Collective Action Debt Securities” in the accompanying prospectus) and will contain certain provisions, commonly referred to in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus as “enhanced collective action clauses”, regarding acceleration and voting on amendments, modifications and waivers. As such, the Notes will contain provisions under which the Republic may, among other things, amend the payment provisions and certain other material terms of the Notes with the consent of the holders of: (1) with respect to a single series of debt securities, more than 75% of the aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of such series; (2) with respect to two or more series of debt securities, if certain “uniformly applicable” requirements are met, more than 75% of the aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of all series affected by the proposed modification, taken in the aggregate; or (3) with respect to two or more series of debt securities, whether or not the “uniformly applicable” requirements are met, more than 66 2/3% of the aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of all series affected by the proposed modification, taken in the aggregate, and more than 50% of the aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of each series affected by the proposed modification, taken individually. See “Description of the Debt Securities—Events of Default— Enhanced Collective Action Debt Securities” and “Description of the Debt Securities—Modifications and Amendments; Debt Securityholders’ Meetings—Enhanced Collective Action Debt Securities” in the accompanying prospectus.

Payment of Principal and Interest

The 20 Notes

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records of DTC. Payments by DTC participants to owners of beneficial interests in the 20 Notes held through such participants will be the responsibility of such participants, as is in the case with securities held for accounts of customers registered in “street name”. The Republic will have no responsibility or liability for any aspect of the records relating to, or payments made on account of, beneficial ownership interests in the 20 Notes or for maintaining, supervising or reviewing any records relating to such beneficial ownership interests.

Principal of and interest on the 20 Notes will be payable in U.S. dollars or in such other coin or currency of the United States as at the time of payment is legal tender for the payment of public and private debts. Interest on the 20 Notes will be computed on the basis of a 360-day year of twelve 30-day months. In any case where the due date for the payment of the principal of or interest on the 20 Notes will be, at any place from which any check for such payment is to be mailed or where such Note is to be surrendered for payment or, in the case of payments by transfer, where such transfer is to be made, a day on which banking institutions in New York City are authorized or obligated by law to close, then such payment need not be made on such date at such place but may be made on the next succeeding day at such place which is not a day on which banking institutions are authorized or obligated by law to close, with the same force and effect as if made on the date for such payment, and no interest shall be payable in respect of any such delay.

The 20 Notes

The 20 Notes will bear interest at % per year from , 2019. Interest on the 20 Notes will be payable semi-annually on and of each year, beginning on , 2019. Interest payable on the 20 Notes on any interest payment date will be payable to the person in whose name such 20 Notes are registered at the close of business on the fifteenth day (whether or not a business day) next preceding such interest payment date, which for so long as the 20 Notes are in book-entry form will generally be Cede & Co., as DTC’s nominee. Principal of the 20 Notes will be payable at par. Upon receipt of any payment of principal of or interest on the 20 Notes, DTC will credit DTC participants’ accounts with payments in amounts proportionate to their respective beneficial interest in the principal amount of 20 Notes as shown on the records of DTC. Payments by DTC participants to owners of beneficial interests in the 20 Notes held through such participants will be the responsibility of such participants, as is in the case with securities held for accounts of customers registered in “street name”. The Republic will have no responsibility or liability for any aspect of the records relating to, or payments made on account of, beneficial ownership interests in the 20 Notes or for maintaining, supervising or reviewing any records relating to such beneficial ownership interests.

Status of the Notes

The Notes will constitute direct, general, unconditional and unsubordinated External Indebtedness of the Republic for which the full faith and credit of the Republic is pledged. The Notes will rank without any preference among themselves and equally with all other unsubordinated External Indebtedness of the Republic. It is understood that this provision shall not be construed so as to require the Republic to make payments under the Notes ratably with payments being made under any other External Indebtedness of the Republic. See “Description of the Debt Securities—Status of Debt Securities” in the accompanying prospectus.

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Redemption

The Republic may not redeem the Notes prior to maturity. At maturity, the Republic will redeem the Notes at par.

Purchase of Notes by the Republic

The Republic may at any time purchase or acquire any of the Notes in any manner and at any price. The Notes which are purchased or acquired by the Republic may, at the Republic’s discretion, be held, resold or surrendered to the fiscal agent for cancellation.

Governing Law

The Notes and the fiscal agency agreement will be governed by the laws of the State of New York. The laws of Korea will govern all matters governing the authorization, execution and delivery of the Notes and the fiscal agency agreement by the Republic.

Notices

Notices will be mailed to holders of the Notes (which will be a nominee of DTC as long as the Notes are held in global form) at their registered addresses and shall be deemed to have been given on the date of such mailing. The Republic will ensure that notices are duly given or published in a manner which complies with the rules and regulations of any stock exchange on which the Notes are for the time being listed. The Notes are expected to be listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange.

Fiscal Agent

The duties of the fiscal agent will be governed by the fiscal agency agreement. The Republic may maintain deposit accounts and conduct other banking transactions in the ordinary course of business with the fiscal agent. The fiscal agent is the agent of the Republic, is not a trustee for the holders of the Notes and does not have the same responsibilities or duties to act for such holders as would a trustee.

Form and Registration

General

The Notes will be represented by one or more fully registered global notes, which will be deposited with a custodian for, and registered in the name of a nominee of, DTC. Except in the limited circumstances described under “—Certificated Notes” below, beneficial interests in the Notes will only be recorded by book-entry and owners of beneficial interests in the Notes will not be entitled to receive physical delivery of certificated notes representing the Notes.

Global Notes

Upon the issuance of the global notes for the Notes, DTC or its nominee will credit, on its internal system, the respective principal amounts of the individual beneficial interests represented by such global notes to the

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accounts of persons who have accounts with DTC. Such accounts initially will be designated by or on behalf of the underwriters. Ownership of beneficial interests in a global note for the Notes will be limited to persons (including Euroclear and Clearstream) who have accounts with DTC (“DTC participants”) or persons who hold interests through DTC participants. Ownership of beneficial interests in the global notes for the Notes will be shown on, and the transfer of that ownership will be effected only through, records maintained by DTC or its nominee (with respect to interests of DTC participants) and the records of agent members (with respect to interests of persons other than DTC participants).

So long as DTC or its nominee is the holder of a global note for the Notes, DTC or its nominee, as the case may be, will be considered the holder of the Notes represented by such global note for all purposes under the fiscal agency agreement and the Notes. No beneficial owner of an interest in a global note for the Notes will be able to transfer that interest except in accordance with DTC’s applicable procedures (in addition to those under the Notes referred to in this prospectus supplement and, if applicable, those of Euroclear and Clearstream) unless the Republic issues certificated notes as described under “—Certificated Notes” below.

Investors may hold their interests in the global notes for the Notes directly through DTC, if they are participants, or indirectly through organizations that are DTC participants, including Euroclear and Clearstream. Euroclear and Clearstream will hold interests in the global notes on behalf of their DTC participants through their respective depositaries, which in turn will hold such interests in such global notes in customers’ securities accounts in the depositaries’ names on the books of DTC.

Payments of the principal of and interest on the global notes for the Notes will be made to DTC or its nominee, as the holder of such global notes. None of the Republic, the underwriters or the fiscal agent will have any responsibility or liability for any aspect of the records relating to or payments made to an account of beneficial ownership interests in the global notes for the Notes or for maintaining, supervising or reviewing any records relating to such beneficial ownership interests.

The Republic expects that DTC or its nominee, upon receipt of any payment of principal of or interest on a global note for the Notes held by it or its nominee, will immediately credit DTC participants’ accounts with payments in amounts proportionate to their respective beneficial interests in the principal amount of such global note as shown on the records of DTC or its nominee. The Republic also expects that payments by DTC participants to owners of beneficial interests in such global note held through such participants will be governed by standing instructions and customary practices. Such payments will be the responsibility of such participants.

DTC will take any action permitted to be taken by a holder of the Notes (including the presentation of Notes for exchange as described below) only at the direction of one or more DTC participants to whose DTC account interests in the global notes are credited, and only in respect of such portion of the aggregate principal amount of the Notes as to which such DTC participant or DTC participants has or have given such direction.

Certificated Notes

The Republic will issue certificated notes in exchange for the global notes if:

•

DTC or any successor depositary notifies the Republic that it is unwilling or unable to continue as a depositary for such global notes or ceases to be a “clearing agency” registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”); or

•

the Republic, in its sole discretion, executes and delivers to the fiscal agent an order that such global notes will be exchangeable into certificated notes.

For so long as the Notes are listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange and the rules of the Singapore Stock Exchange so require, in the event any global notes are exchanged for certificated notes, an announcement of such exchange will be made by or on behalf of the Republic through the Singapore Stock Exchange. Such announcement will include all material information with respect to the delivery of the certificated notes, including details of the paying agent in Singapore.

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The holder of a certificated note may transfer such certificated note by surrendering it at the office maintained for such purpose in the Borough of Manhattan, the City of New York, which initially will be the office of the fiscal agent.

S-20

CLEARANCE AND SETTLEMENT

The Republic has obtained the information in this section from sources it believes to be reliable, including from DTC, Euroclear and Clearstream. The Republic accepts responsibility only for accurately extracting information from such sources. DTC, Euroclear and Clearstream are under no obligation to perform or continue to perform the procedures described below, and they may modify or discontinue them at any time. Neither the Republic nor the registrar will be responsible for DTC’s, Euroclear’s or Clearstream’s performance of their obligations under their rules and procedures. Nor will the Republic or the registrar be responsible for the performance by direct or indirect participants of their obligations under their rules and procedures.

Introduction

The Depository Trust Company

DTC is:

•

a limited-purpose trust company organized under the New York Banking Law;

•

a “banking organization” under the New York Banking Law;

•

a member of the Federal Reserve System;

•

a “clearing corporation” under the New York Uniform Commercial Code; and

•

a “clearing agency” registered under Section 17A of the Exchange Act.

DTC was created to hold securities for its DTC participants and facilitate the clearance and settlement of securities transactions between its DTC participants. It does this through electronic book-entry changes in the accounts of its direct DTC participants, eliminating the need for physical movement of securities certificates. DTC is owned by a number of its direct DTC participants and by the New York Stock Exchange Inc., the American Stock Exchange, Inc. and the National Association of Securities Dealers Inc.

Euroclear and Clearstream

Like DTC, Euroclear and Clearstream hold securities for their Euroclear/Clearstream participants and facilitate the clearance and settlement of securities transactions between their Euroclear/Clearstream participants through electronic book-entry changes in their accounts. Euroclear and Clearstream provide various services to their Euroclear/Clearstream participants, including the safekeeping, administration, clearance and settlement and lending and borrowing of internationally traded securities. Participants in Euroclear and Clearstream are financial institutions such as underwriters, securities brokers and dealers, banks and trust companies. Some of the underwriters participating in this offering are participants in Euroclear or Clearstream. Other banks, brokers, dealers and trust companies have indirect access to Euroclear or Clearstream by clearing through or maintaining a custodial relationship with a Euroclear or Clearstream participant.

Ownership of the Notes through DTC, Euroclear and Clearstream

The Republic will issue the Notes in the form of one or more fully registered global notes, registered in the name of a nominee of DTC. Financial institutions, acting as direct and indirect participants in DTC, will represent your beneficial interests in the global notes. These financial institutions will record the ownership and transfer of your beneficial interests through book-entry accounts. You may hold your beneficial interests in the global notes through Euroclear or Clearstream, if you are a DTC participant in such systems, or indirectly through organizations that are DTC participants in such systems. Euroclear and Clearstream will hold their Euroclear/Clearstream participants’ beneficial interests in the global notes in their customers’ securities accounts with their depositaries. These depositaries of Euroclear and Clearstream in turn will hold such interests in their customers’ securities accounts with DTC.

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The Republic and the fiscal agent generally will treat the registered holder of the Notes, initially Cede & Co., as the absolute owner of the Notes for all purposes. Once the Republic and the fiscal agent make payments to the registered holder, the Republic and the fiscal agent will no longer be liable on the Notes for the amounts so paid. Accordingly, if you own a beneficial interest in the global notes, you must rely on the procedures of the institutions through which you hold your interests in the Notes, including DTC, Euroclear, Clearstream and their respective participants, to exercise any of the rights granted to holders of Notes. Under existing industry practice, if you desire to take any action that Cede & Co., as the holder of the global notes, is entitled to take, then Cede & Co. would authorize the DTC participant through which you own your beneficial interest to take such action. The DTC participant would then either authorize you to take the action or act for you on your instructions.

DTC may grant proxies or authorize its DTC participants, or persons holding beneficial interests in the Notes through such DTC participants, to exercise any rights of a holder or take any actions that a holder is entitled to take under the fiscal agency agreement or the Notes. Euroclear’s or Clearstream’s ability to take actions as holder under the Notes or the fiscal agency agreement will be limited by the ability of their respective depositaries to carry out such actions for them through DTC. Euroclear and Clearstream will take such actions only in accordance with their respective rules and procedures.

The fiscal agent will not charge you any fees for the Notes, other than reasonable fees and indemnity satisfactory to the fiscal agent for the replacement of lost, stolen, mutilated or destroyed Notes. However, you may incur fees for the maintenance and operation of the book-entry accounts with the clearing systems in which your beneficial interests are held.

Transfers Within and Between DTC, Euroclear and Clearstream

Trading Between DTC Purchasers and Sellers

DTC participants will transfer interests in the Notes among themselves in the ordinary way according to DTC rules. DTC participants will pay for such transfers by wire transfer. The laws of some states require certain purchasers of securities to take physical delivery of the securities in definitive form. These laws may impair your ability to transfer beneficial interests in the global notes to such purchasers. DTC can act only on behalf of its direct DTC participants, who in turn act on behalf of indirect DTC participants and certain banks. Thus, your ability to pledge a beneficial interest in the global notes to persons that do not participate in the DTC system, and to take other actions, may be limited because you will not possess a physical certificate that represents your interest.

Trading Between Euroclear and/or Clearstream Participants

Euroclear/Clearstream participants will transfer interests in the Notes among themselves according to the rules and operating procedures of Euroclear and Clearstream.

Trading Between a DTC Seller and a Euroclear or Clearstream Purchaser

When the Notes are to be transferred from the account of a DTC participant to the account of a Euroclear or Clearstream participant, the purchaser must first send instructions to Euroclear or Clearstream through a participant at least one business day prior to the settlement date. Euroclear or Clearstream will then instruct its depositary to receive the Notes and make payment for them. On the settlement date, the depositary will make payment to the DTC participant’s account, and the Notes will be credited to the depositary’s account. After settlement has been completed, DTC will credit the Notes to Euroclear or Clearstream, Euroclear or Clearstream will credit the Notes, in accordance with its usual procedures, to the participant’s account, and the participant will then credit the purchaser’s account. These securities credits will appear the next day (European time) after the settlement date. The cash debit from the account of Euroclear or Clearstream will be back-valued to the value date, which will be the preceding day if settlement occurs in New York. If settlement is not completed on the intended value date (i.e., the trade fails), the cash debit will instead be valued at the actual settlement date.

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Participants in Euroclear and Clearstream will need to make funds available to Euroclear or Clearstream to pay for the Notes by wire transfer on the value date. The most direct way of doing this is to pre-position funds (i.e., have funds in place at Euroclear or Clearstream before the value date), either from cash on hand or existing lines of credit. Under this approach, however, participants may take on credit exposure to Euroclear and Clearstream until the Notes are credited to their accounts one day later.

As an alternative, if Euroclear or Clearstream has extended a line of credit to a participant, the participant may decide not to pre-position funds, but to allow Euroclear or Clearstream to draw on the line of credit to finance settlement for the Notes. Under this procedure, Euroclear or Clearstream would charge the participant overdraft charges for one day, assuming that the overdraft would be cleared when the Notes were credited to the participant’s account. However, interest on the Notes would accrue from the value date. Therefore, in many cases the interest income on the Notes which the participant earns during that one-day period will substantially reduce or offset the amount of the participant’s overdraft charges. Of course, this result will depend on the cost of funds (i.e., the interest rate that Euroclear or Clearstream charges) to each participant.

Since the settlement will occur during New York business hours, a DTC participant selling an interest in the Notes can use its usual procedures for transferring global securities to the depositories of Euroclear or Clearstream for the benefit of Euroclear or Clearstream participants. The DTC seller will receive the sale proceeds on the settlement date. Thus, to the DTC seller, a cross-market sale will settle no differently than a trade between two DTC participants.

Trading Between a Euroclear or Clearstream Seller and a DTC Purchaser

Due to time-zone differences in their favor, Euroclear and Clearstream participants can use their usual procedures to transfer Notes through their depositaries to a DTC participant. The seller must first send instructions to Euroclear or Clearstream through a participant at least one business day prior to the settlement date. Euroclear or Clearstream will then instruct its depositary to credit the Notes to the DTC participant’s account and receive payment. The payment will be credited in the account of the Euroclear or Clearstream participant on the following day, but the receipt of the cash proceeds will be back-valued to the value date, which will be the preceding day if settlement occurs in New York. If settlement is not completed on the intended value date (i.e., the trade fails), the receipt of the cash proceeds will instead be valued at the actual settlement date.

If the Euroclear or Clearstream participant selling the Notes has a line of credit with Euroclear or Clearstream and elects to be in debit for the Notes until it receives the sale proceeds in its account, then the back-valuation may substantially reduce or offset any overdraft charges that the participant incurs over that period.

Settlement in other currencies between DTC and Euroclear and Clearstream is possible using free-of-payment transfers to move the Notes, but funds movement will take place separately.

Finally, day traders who use Euroclear or Clearstream and who purchase Notes from DTC participants for credit to Euroclear participants or Clearstream participants should note that these trades will automatically fail unless one of three steps is taken:

•

borrowing through Euroclear or Clearstream for one day, until the purchase side of the day trade is reflected in the day trader’s Euroclear or Clearstream account, in accordance with the clearing system’s customary procedures;

•

borrowing the Notes in the United States from DTC participants no later than one day prior to settlement, which would allow sufficient time for the Notes to be reflected in the Euroclear or Clearstream account in order to settle the sale side of the trade; or

•

staggering the value dates for the buy and sell sides of the trade so that the value date for the purchase from the DTC participant is at least one day prior to the value date for the sale to the Euroclear or Clearstream participant.

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TAXATION

Korean Taxation

For a discussion of certain Korean tax considerations that may be relevant to you if you invest in the Notes, see “Taxation—Korean Taxation” in the accompanying prospectus.

United States Tax Considerations

Stated interest on the Notes will be treated as qualified stated interest for U.S. federal income tax purposes. For a discussion of certain U.S. federal income tax considerations that may be relevant to you if you invest in the Notes, see “Taxation—United States Tax Considerations” in the accompanying prospectus.

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UNDERWRITING

Relationship with the Underwriters

The Republic and the underwriters named below have entered into a Terms Agreement dated , 2019 (the “Terms Agreement”) with respect to the Notes relating to the Underwriting Agreement—Standard Terms (Debt Securities) (together with the Terms Agreement, the “Underwriting Agreement”) filed as an exhibit to the registration statement. Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC are acting as representatives of the underwriters. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the Underwriting Agreement, the Republic has agreed to sell to each of the underwriters, and each of the underwriters has severally agreed to purchase, the following principal amounts of the Notes set out opposite its name below:


Name of underwriters	Principal Amount of the 20 Notes	Principal Amount of the 20 Notes
Citigroup Global Markets Inc.	U.S.$	U.S.$
Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank
The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC

Total	U.S.$	U.S.$

The Underwriting Agreement provides that the underwriters are obligated to purchase all of the Notes if any are purchased. The Underwriting Agreement also provides that if an underwriter defaults, the purchase commitment of the non-defaulting underwriters may be increased or the offering of the Notes may be terminated.

The underwriters initially propose to offer the Notes at the public offering price described on the cover page of this prospectus supplement. After the offering of the Notes, the underwriters may from time to time change the public offering price and other selling terms. The underwriters may offer the Notes in various jurisdictions through certain of their respective affiliates. The offering of the Notes by the underwriters is subject to receipt and acceptance and subject to the underwriters’ right to reject any order in whole or in part.

Any underwriter who is not registered as a broker-dealer with the Securities and Exchange Commission will not engage in any transaction related to the Notes in the United States except as permitted by the Exchange Act. Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank and The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited will offer the Notes in the United States through their respective registered broker-dealer affiliates in the United States, Credit Agricole Securities (USA) Inc. and HSBC Securities (USA) Inc., respectively.

The Notes are a new class of securities with no established trading market. Approvals in-principle have been received from the Singapore Stock Exchange for the listing and quotation of the Notes on the Singapore Stock Exchange. For so long as the Notes are listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange and the rules of the Singapore Stock Exchange so require, the Notes, if traded on the Singapore Stock Exchange, will be traded in a minimum board lot size of S$200,000 (or its equivalent in foreign currencies). Accordingly, the Notes, if traded on the Singapore Stock Exchange, will be traded in a minimum board lot size of US$200,000. The underwriters have advised the Republic that they intend to make a market in the Notes. However, they are not obligated to do so, and they may discontinue any market-making activities with respect to the Notes at any time without notice. Accordingly, the Republic cannot assure you as to the liquidity of any trading market for the Notes.

The Republic has agreed to indemnify the underwriters against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), or to contribute with respect to certain payments which the underwriters may be required to make in respect of any such liabilities.

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In connection with the offering, the underwriters may purchase and sell Notes in the open market. These transactions may include over-allotment, covering transactions, stabilizing transactions and penalty bids. Over-allotment involves sales of Notes in excess of the principal amount of Notes to be purchased by the underwriters in this offering, which creates a short position for the underwriters. Covering transactions involve purchases of the Notes in the open market after the distribution has been completed in order to cover short positions. Stabilizing transactions consist of certain bids or purchases of Notes made for the purpose of preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of the Notes while the offering is in progress. Penalty bids permit the underwriters to reclaim a selling concession from a dealer when the Notes originally sold by such dealer are purchased in a stabilizing transaction or a covering transaction to cover short positions. Any of these activities may have the effect of preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of the Notes. They may also cause the price of the Notes to be higher than the price that otherwise would exist in the open market in the absence of these transactions. The underwriters may conduct these transactions on the Singapore Stock Exchange, in the over-the-counter market or otherwise. If the underwriters commence any of these transactions, they may discontinue them at any time, and must discontinue them after a limited period.

The amount of net proceeds is US$ after deducting underwriting discounts but not estimated expenses. The total of the Republic’s expenses for this offering are estimated to be approximately US$ . The underwriters have agreed to pay certain of the expenses incurred in connection with the offering of the Notes.

In the ordinary course of their respective businesses, some of the underwriters and/or their respective affiliates have engaged, and may in the future engage, in investment banking, commercial banking, advisory or other services for the Republic for which customary compensation and expense reimbursement has been or will be received.

Delivery of the Notes

The Republic expects to make delivery of the Notes against payment for the Notes in same-day funds on or about , 2019 which will be the business day following the date of this prospectus supplement. Under Rule 15c6-1 promulgated under the Exchange Act, U.S. purchasers are generally required to settle trades in the secondary market in two business days, unless they and the other parties to any such trade expressly agree otherwise. Accordingly, if you wish to trade in the Notes on any day prior to the second business day from the settlement, because the Notes will initially settle in T+ , you may be required to specify an alternate settlement cycle at the time of your trade to prevent a failed settlement. Purchasers in other countries should consult with their own advisers.

Non-U.S. Selling Restrictions

No action has been taken in any jurisdiction (except in the United States) that would permit a public offering of the Notes, or the possession, circulation or distribution of this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus or any other material relating to us or the Notes in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required. Accordingly, the Notes may not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, and none of this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus or any other offering material or advertisements in connection with the Notes may be distributed or published, in or from any country or jurisdiction except in compliance with any applicable rules and regulations of any such country or jurisdiction.

Korea

The Notes have not been offered, sold or delivered, and will not be offered, sold or delivered, directly or indirectly, to, or for the account or benefit of, any resident of Korea, except as permitted by applicable Korean laws and regulations. Any securities dealer to whom the Notes are sold will agree that it will not offer any Notes, directly or indirectly, in Korea or to any resident of Korea, except as permitted by applicable Korean laws and regulations, or to any dealer who does not so represent and agree.

S-26

European Economic Area

The Notes are not intended to be offered, sold or otherwise made available to and should not be offered, sold or otherwise made available to any retail investor in the European Economic Area (“EEA”). For these purposes, a retail investor means a person who is one (or more) of: (i) a retail client as defined in point (11) of Article 4(1) of MiFID II; or (ii) a customer within the meaning of Directive 2002/92/EC (“IMD”), where that customer would not qualify as a professional client as defined in point (10) of Article 4(1) of MiFID II. Consequently no key information document required by Regulation (EU) No 1286/2014 (the “PRIIPs Regulation”) for offering or selling the Notes or otherwise making them available to retail investors in the EEA has been prepared and therefore offering or selling the Notes or otherwise making them available to any retail investor in the EEA may be unlawful under the PRIIPs Regulation.

United Kingdom

Each underwriter:

(i)

has only communicated or caused to be communicated and will only communicate or cause to be communicated an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of Section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, or the FSMA) received by it in connection with the issue or sale of the Notes in circumstances in which Section 21(1) of the FSMA does not apply to the Republic; and

(ii)

has complied and will comply with all applicable provisions of the FSMA with respect to anything done by it in relation to the Notes in, from or otherwise involving the United Kingdom.

Japan

The Notes have not been and will not be registered under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act of Japan. Accordingly, none of the Notes nor any interest therein may be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to, or for the benefit of, any “resident” of Japan (which term as used herein means any person resident in Japan, including any corporation or other entity organized under the laws of Japan) or to others for reoffering or resale, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to, or for the account or benefit of, any resident of Japan except (i) pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of, and otherwise in compliance with, the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act of Japan and (ii) in compliance with the other relevant laws, regulations and ministerial guidelines of Japan in effect at the relevant time.

Hong Kong

Each of the underwriters (i) has not offered or sold and will not offer or sell in Hong Kong, by means of any document, any Notes other than (a) to “professional investors” as defined in the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571) of Hong Kong (the “SFO”) and any rules made under that Ordinance, or (b) in other circumstances which do not result in the document being a “prospectus” as defined in the Companies (Winding Up and Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance (Cap. 32) of Hong Kong or which do not constitute an offer to the public within the meaning of that Ordinance; and (ii) has not issued or had in its possession for the purposes of issue, and will not issue or have in its possession for the purposes of issue, whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere, any advertisement, invitation or document relating to the Notes, which is directed at, or the contents of which are likely to be accessed or read by, the public of Hong Kong (except if permitted to do so under the securities laws of Hong Kong) other than with respect to the Notes which are or are intended to be disposed of only to persons outside Hong Kong or only to “professional investors” as defined in the SFO and any rules made under that Ordinance.

Singapore

This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus have not been and will not be registered as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore under the Securities and Futures Act, Chapter 289 of

S-27

Singapore (the “SFA”). Accordingly, the Notes may not be offered or sold, or be made the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase nor may this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus or any other document or material in connection with the offer or sale, or invitation for subscription or purchase, of the Notes, be circulated or distributed, whether directly or indirectly, to any person in Singapore other than (i) to an institutional investor under Section 274 of the SFA, (ii) to a relevant person pursuant to Section 275(1), or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A), and in accordance with the conditions specified in Section 275, of the SFA or (iii) otherwise pursuant to, and in accordance with the conditions of, any other applicable provision of the SFA.

Where the Notes are subscribed or purchased under Section 275 of the SFA by a relevant person which is:

(a)

a corporation (which is not an accredited investor (as defined in Section 4A of the SFA)) the sole business of which is to hold investments and the entire share capital of which is owned by one or more individuals, each of whom is an accredited investor; or

(b)

a trust (where the trustee is not an accredited investor) whose sole purpose is to hold investments and each beneficiary of the trust is an individual who is an accredited investor,

securities or securities-based derivatives contracts (each term as defined in the SFA) of that corporation or the beneficiaries’ rights and interest (howsoever described) in that trust shall not be transferred within six months after that corporation or that trust has acquired the Notes pursuant to an offer made under Section 275 of the SFA except:

(1)

to an institutional investor or to a relevant person defined in Section 275(2) of the SFA, or to any person arising from an offer referred to in Section 275(1A) or Section 276(4)(i)(B) of the SFA;

(2)

where no consideration is or will be given for the transfer;

(3)

where the transfer is by operation of law;

(4)

as specified in Section 276(7) of the SFA; or

(5)

as specified in Regulation 37A of the Securities and Futures (Offers of Investments) (Securities and Securities-based Derivatives Contracts) Regulations 2018 of Singapore.

Republic of Italy

The offering has not been cleared by the Commissione Nazionale per la Società e la Borsa (“CONSOB”) (the Italian securities exchange commission), pursuant to Italian securities legislation and will not be subject to formal review by CONSOB. Accordingly, no Notes may be offered, sold or delivered, directly or indirectly nor may copies of this prospectus supplement or of any other document relating to the Notes be distributed in the Republic of Italy, except (a) to qualified investors (investitori qualificati) as referred to in Article 100 of the Italian Legislative Decree No. 58 of February 24, 1998, as amended (the “Italian Financial Act”), and as defined in Article 26, first paragraph, letter (d) of CONSOB Regulation No. 16190 of October 29, 2007, as amended (“Regulation 16190”), pursuant to Article 34 ter, first paragraph letter (b) of CONSOB Regulation No. 11971 of May 14, 1999, as amended (the “Issuer Regulation”), implementing Article 100 of the Italian Financial Act; and (b) in any other circumstances which are exempted from the rules on public offerings pursuant to Article 100 of the Italian Financial Act and the implementing CONSOB regulations, including the Issuer Regulation. Any such offer, sale or delivery of the Notes or distribution of copies of this prospectus supplement or any other document relating to the Notes in the Republic of Italy must be in compliance with the selling restrictions under (a) and (b) above and must be:

(i)

made by soggetti abilitati (including investment firms, banks or financial intermediaries, as defined by Article 1, first paragraph, letter r), of the Italian Financial Act), to the extent duly authorized to engage in the placement and/or underwriting and/or purchase of financial instruments in the Republic of Italy in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Italian Financial Act, the Regulation 16190, as

S-28

amended, Italian Legislative Decree No. 385 of September 1, 1993, as amended (the “Italian Banking Act”), the Issuer Regulation and any other applicable laws and regulations; and

(ii)

in compliance with all relevant Italian securities, tax, exchange control and any other applicable laws and regulations and any other applicable requirement or limitation that may be imposed from time to time by CONSOB, the Bank of Italy or any other relevant Italian competent authorities.

Any investor purchasing the Notes is solely responsible for ensuring that any offer or resale of the Notes by such investor occurs in compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

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LEGAL MATTERS

The validity of the Notes is being passed upon for the Republic by Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, New York, New York, and by Bae, Kim & Lee LLC, Seoul, Korea. Certain legal matters will also be passed upon for the underwriters by Linklaters LLP, Seoul, Korea, and by Lee & Ko, Seoul, Korea. In giving their opinions, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP and Linklaters LLP may rely as to matters of Korean law upon the opinions of Bae, Kim & Lee LLC and Lee & Ko, and Bae, Kim & Lee LLC and Lee & Ko may rely as to matters of New York law upon the opinions of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP and Linklaters LLP.

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GENERAL INFORMATION

The issue of the Notes has been authorized by the National Assembly pursuant to a resolution adopted on December 8, 2018.

Other than as disclosed in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, there has been no material adverse change in the financial position or affairs of the Republic since December 31, 2018 and the Republic is not a party in any litigation, arbitration or administrative proceeding that is material in the context of the issue of the Notes and is not aware of any such litigation, arbitration or administrative proceeding whether pending or threatened.

For so long as the Notes are listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange and the rules of the Singapore Stock Exchange so require, in the event any global notes are exchanged for certificated notes, the Republic will appoint and maintain a paying agent in Singapore, where the certificated notes may be presented or surrendered for payment or redemption. In addition, in the event any global notes are exchanged for certificated notes, an announcement of such exchange will be made by or on behalf of the Republic through the Singapore Stock Exchange. Such announcement will include all material information with respect to the delivery of the certificated notes, including details of the paying agent in Singapore. For so long as the Notes are listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange and the rules of the Singapore Stock Exchange so require, the Notes, if traded on the Singapore Stock Exchange, will be traded in a minimum board lot size of S$200,000 (or its equivalent in foreign currencies). Accordingly, the Notes, if traded on the Singapore Stock Exchange, will be traded in a minimum board lot size of US$200,000.

The registration statement with respect to the Republic and the Notes has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C. under the Securities Act. Additional information concerning the Republic and the Notes is contained in the registration statement and amendments to such registration statement, including their various exhibits, which may be inspected at the public reference facilities maintained by the Securities and Exchange Commission at Room 1024, 100 F Street N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549.

The Notes have been accepted for clearance through DTC, Euroclear and Clearstream:


	ISIN		CUSIP
20 Notes		US50064FAQ72		50064F AQ7
20 Notes		US50064FAR55		50064F AR5

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PROSPECTUS

LOGO

The Republic of Korea

Debt Securities

The Republic may offer up to US$3,980,150,938 of its debt securities for sale from time to time based on information contained in this prospectus and various prospectus supplements. The debt securities will constitute direct, general, unconditional and unsubordinated external indebtedness of the Republic for which the full faith and credit of the Republic is pledged. The debt securities will rank without any preference among themselves and equally with all other unsubordinated external indebtedness of the Republic. It is understood that this provision shall not be construed so as to require the Republic to make payments under the debt securities ratably with payments being made under any other external indebtedness of the Republic.

The Republic will provide specific terms of these securities in one or more supplements to this prospectus. You should read this prospectus and any prospectus supplement carefully before you invest. This prospectus may not be used to make offers or sales of debt securities unless accompanied by a prospectus supplement.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

The date of this prospectus is May 15, 2019.

TABLE OF CONTENTS


	Page
CERTAIN DEFINED TERMS AND CONVENTIONS		1
USE OF PROCEEDS		2
THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA		3
Land and History		3
Government and Politics		5
The Economy		8
Principal Sectors of the Economy		15
The Financial System		22
Monetary Policy		27
Balance of Payments and Foreign Trade		30
Government Finance		39
Debt		42
Tables and Supplementary Information		44
DESCRIPTION OF THE DEBT SECURITIES		48
General Terms of the Debt Securities		48
Payments of Principal, Premium and Interest		49
Repayment of Funds; Prescription		49
Global Securities		50
Additional Amounts		51
Status of Debt Securities		52
Negative Pledge Covenant		52
Events of Default		53
Modifications and Amendments; Debt Securityholders’ Meetings		55
Fiscal Agent		61
Further Issues of Debt Securities		61
Governing Law, Jurisdiction, Consent to Service and Enforceability		61
LIMITATIONS ON ISSUANCE OF BEARER DEBT SECURITIES		63
TAXATION		64
Korean Taxation		64
United States Tax Considerations		65
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION		74
LEGAL MATTERS		76
AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVES IN THE UNITED STATES		76
OFFICIAL STATEMENTS AND DOCUMENTS		76
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS		76
FURTHER INFORMATION		77

CERTAIN DEFINED TERMS AND CONVENTIONS

Unless the context otherwise requires, all references to “Korea” or the “Republic” contained in this prospectus are to The Republic of Korea. All references to the “Government” are to the government of Korea.

Unless otherwise indicated, all references to “won”, “Won” or “W” contained in this prospectus are to the currency of Korea, and references to “U.S. dollars”, “Dollars”, “dollars”, “$” or “US$” are to the currency of the United States of America.

The fiscal year of the Republic ends on December 31 of each year. The fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 is referred to in this prospectus as “2018”, and other fiscal years are referred to in a similar manner.

Totals in some tables in this prospectus may differ from the sum of the individual items in those tables due to rounding.

USE OF PROCEEDS

Unless otherwise specified in a prospectus supplement, the net proceeds from the sale of the debt securities will become part of the Foreign Exchange Stabilization Fund established and managed under the Korean Foreign Exchange Transactions Act. The Foreign Exchange Stabilization Fund is used for:

•

selling and purchasing foreign currencies;

•

depositing or lending to The Bank of Korea, foreign governments, foreign central banks or other financial institutions inside and outside Korea;

•

guaranteeing debt incurred by The Bank of Korea, Korean institutions authorized to engage in foreign exchange business or foreign financial institutions in connection with foreign exchange transactions or engaging in certain currency derivatives transactions;

•

entrusting to Korean institutions authorized to engage in foreign exchange business to manage the Foreign Exchange Stabilization Fund; and

•

temporarily paying on behalf of the Government, foreign currency debt incurred by Korean institutions authorized to engage in foreign exchange business and guaranteed by the Government until payment is made by the Government using a contingency fund or supplementary budget.

THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA

Land and History

Territory and Population

Located generally south of the 38th parallel on the Korean peninsula, The Republic of Korea covers about 38,000 square miles, approximately one-fourth of which is arable. The Republic has a population of approximately 51 million people. The country’s largest city and capital, Seoul, has a population of about 10 million people.

Map of the Republic of Korea

LOGO

Political History

Dr. Rhee Seungman, who was elected President in each of 1948, 1952, 1956 and 1960, dominated the years after the Republic’s founding in 1948. Shortly after President Rhee’s resignation in 1960 in response to student-led demonstrations, a group of military leaders headed by Park Chung Hee assumed power by coup. The military leaders established a civilian government, and the country elected Mr. Park as President in October 1963. President Park served as President until his assassination in 1979 following a period of increasing strife

between the Government and its critics. The Government declared martial law and formed an interim government under Prime Minister Choi Kyu Hah, who became the next President. After clashes between the Government and its critics, President Choi resigned, and General Chun Doo Hwan, who took control of the Korean army, became President in 1980.

In late 1980, the country approved, by national referendum, a new Constitution, providing for indirect election of the President by an electoral college and for certain democratic reforms, and shortly thereafter, in early 1981, re-elected President Chun.

Responding to public demonstrations in 1987, the legislature revised the Constitution to provide for direct election of the President. In December 1987, Roh Tae Woo won the Presidency by a narrow plurality, after opposition parties led by Kim Young Sam and Kim Dae Jung failed to unite behind a single candidate. In February 1990, two opposition political parties, including the one led by Kim Young Sam, merged into President Roh’s ruling Democratic Liberal Party.

In December 1992, the country elected Kim Young Sam as President. The election of a civilian and former opposition party leader considerably lessened the controversy concerning the legitimacy of the political regime. President Kim’s administration reformed the political sector and deregulated and internationalized the Korean economy.

In December 1997, the country elected Kim Dae Jung as President. President Kim’s party, the Millennium Democratic Party (formerly known as the National Congress for New Politics), formed a coalition with the United Liberal Democrats led by Kim Jong Pil, with Kim Jong Pil becoming the first prime minister in President Kim’s administration. The coalition, which temporarily ended before the election held in April 2000, continued with the appointment of Lee Han Dong of the United Liberal Democrats as the Prime Minister in June 2000. The coalition again ended in September 2001.

In December 2002, the country elected Roh Moo Hyun as President. President Roh and his supporters left the Millennium Democratic Party in 2003 and formed a new party, the Uri Party, in November 2003. On August 15, 2007, 85 members of the National Assembly, previously belonging to the Uri Party, or the Democratic Party, formed the United New Democratic Party (the “UNDP”). The Uri Party merged into the UNDP on August 20, 2007. In February 2008, the UNDP merged back into the Democratic Party. In December 2011, the Democratic Party merged with the Citizens Unity Party to form the Democratic United Party, which changed its name to the Democratic Party in May 2013.

In December 2007, the country elected Lee Myung-Bak as President. He commenced his term on February 25, 2008. On April 9, 2018, the Korean prosecutor’s office indicted former President Lee on 16 counts of corruption, including bribery, abuse of power, embezzlement and other irregularities.

In December 2012, the country elected Park Geun-hye as President. She commenced her term on February 25, 2013. On December 9, 2016, the National Assembly voted in favor of impeaching President Park for a number of alleged constitutional and criminal violations, including violation of the Constitution and abuse of power by allowing her confidant to exert influence on state affairs and allowing senior presidential aides to aid in her extortion from companies. President Park was suspended from power immediately, with the prime minister simultaneously taking over the role of acting President. On March 10, 2017, the Constitutional Court unanimously upheld the parliamentary vote to impeach President Park, triggering her immediate dismissal. On April 17, 2017, the Korean prosecutor’s office indicted former President Park on charges of bribery, abuse of power and coercion, among others. On August 24, 2018, the Seoul High Court found former President Park guilty on many of the charges, including bribery, abuse of power and coercion, and sentenced her to 25 years in prison and assessed a fine of Won 20 billion.

A special election to elect a new President was held on May 9, 2017 and the country elected Moon Jae-in as President. He commenced his term on May 10, 2017. The Moon administration’s key policy priorities include:

•

investigating corruption involving high-ranking government officials, anti-corruption and reform of chaebol (Korean conglomerates);

•

denuclearization of and establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula and enhancing Korea’s core military strength in response to North Korea’s nuclear capabilities;

•

reducing fine dust emissions, closing old nuclear power plants and reexamining the construction of new nuclear power plants;

•

creating new jobs, resolving youth unemployment and enacting laws prohibiting discrimination against non-regular workers;

•

creating jobs for senior citizens, increasing basic pension and providing government subsidies for Alzheimer’s disease treatment; and

•

protecting small business owners and restricting establishment of large-scale stores and multi-complex shopping malls.

Government and Politics

Government and Administrative Structure

Governmental authority in the Republic is centralized and concentrated in a strong Presidency. The President is elected by popular vote and can only serve one term of five years. The President chairs the State Council, which consists of the prime minister, the deputy prime ministers, the respective heads of Government ministries and the ministers of state. The President can select the members of the State Council and appoint or remove all other Government officials, except for elected local officials.

The President can veto new legislation and take emergency measures in cases of natural disaster, serious fiscal or economic crisis, state of war or other similar circumstances. The President must promptly seek the concurrence of the National Assembly for any emergency measures taken and failing to do so automatically invalidates the emergency measures. In the case of martial law, the President may declare martial law without the consent of the National Assembly; provided, however, that the National Assembly may request the President to rescind such martial law.

The National Assembly exercises the country’s legislative power. The Constitution and the Election for Public Offices Act provide for the direct election of about 84% of the members of the National Assembly and the distribution of the remaining seats proportionately among parties winning more than 5 seats in the direct election or receiving over 3% of the popular vote. National Assembly members serve four-year terms. The National Assembly enacts laws, ratifies treaties and approves the national budget. The executive branch drafts most legislation and submits it to the National Assembly for approval.

The country’s judicial branch comprises the Supreme Court, the Constitutional Court and lower courts of various levels. The President appoints the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and appoints the other Justices of the Supreme Court upon the recommendation of the Chief Justice. All appointments to the Supreme Court require the consent of the National Assembly. The Chief Justice, with the consent of the conference of Supreme Court Justices, appoints all the other judges in Korea. Supreme Court Justices serve for six years and all other judges serve for ten years. Other than the Chief Justice, justices and judges may be reappointed to successive terms.

The President formally appoints all nine judges of the Constitutional Court, but three judges must be designated by the National Assembly and three by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Constitutional Court judges serve for six years and may be reappointed to successive terms.

Administratively, the Republic comprises eight provinces, one special autonomous province (Jeju), one special city (Seoul), six metropolitan cities (Busan, Daegu, Incheon, Gwangju, Daejon and Ulsan) and one special autonomous city (Sejong). From 1961 to 1995, the national government controlled the provinces and the President appointed provincial officials. Local autonomy, including the election of provincial officials, was reintroduced in June 1995.

Political Parties

The 20th legislative general election was held on April 13, 2016 and the term of the National Assembly members elected in the 20th legislative general election commenced on May 30, 2016. Currently, there are four major political parties: The Minjoo Party of Korea, or MPK, the Liberty Korea Party, or LKP, the Bareun Future Party, or BFP, and the Party for Democracy and Peace, or PDP.

As of March 31, 2019, the parties control the following number of seats in the National Assembly:


	MPK		LKP		BFP		PDP		Others		Total
Number of seats		128		113		29		14		14		298

Relations with North Korea

Relations between the Republic and North Korea have been tense over most of the Republic’s history. The Korean War began with the invasion of the Republic by communist forces from the north in 1950, which was repelled by the Republic and the United Nations forces led by the United States. Following a military stalemate, an armistice was reached establishing a demilitarized zone monitored by the United Nations in the vicinity of the 38th parallel in 1953.

North Korea maintains a military force estimated at more than a million regular troops, mostly concentrated near the northern side of the demilitarized zone, and 7 million reserves. The Republic’s military forces, composed of approximately 630,000 regular troops and 3 million reserves, maintain a state of military preparedness along the southern side of the demilitarized zone. In addition, the United States has maintained its military presence in the Republic since the signing of the armistice and currently has approximately 28,500 troops stationed in the Republic. The Republic and the United States share a joint command structure over their military forces in Korea. In October 2014, the United States and the Republic agreed to implement a conditions-based approach to the dissolution of their joint command structure at an appropriate future date, which would allow the Republic to assume the command of its own armed forces in the event of war on the Korean peninsula.

The level of tension between the two Koreas has fluctuated and may increase abruptly as a result of current and future events. In particular, since the death of Kim Jong-il in December 2011, there has been increased uncertainty with respect to the future of North Korea’s political leadership and concern regarding its implications for political and economic stability in the region. Kim Jong-il’s third son, Kim Jong-eun, has assumed power as his father’s designated successor.

In addition, there have been heightened security concerns in recent years stemming from North Korea’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs as well as its hostile military and other actions against Korea. Some of the significant incidents in recent years include the following:

•

From time to time, North Korea has conducted ballistic missile tests. In February 2016, North Korea launched a long-range rocket in violation of its agreement with the United States as well as United Nations sanctions barring it from conducting launches that use ballistic missile technology. Despite international condemnation, North Korea released a statement that it intends to continue its rocket launch program and it conducted a series of ballistic missile tests in 2016 and 2017. In response, the

United Nations Security Council issued unanimous statements condemning North Korea and agreeing to continue to closely monitor the situation and to take further significant measures, and in December 2017, unanimously passed a resolution extending existing sanctions that were imposed on North Korea.

•

North Korea renounced its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in January 2003 and conducted three rounds of nuclear tests between October 2006 and February 2013. In January 2016, North Korea conducted a fourth nuclear test, claiming that the test involved its first hydrogen bomb. In September 2016, North Korea conducted a fifth nuclear test, claiming to have successfully detonated a nuclear warhead that could be mounted on ballistic missiles. In September 2017, North Korea announced that it successfully conducted its sixth nuclear test by detonating a hydrogen bomb designed to be mounted on an intercontinental ballistic missile, which resulted in increased tensions in the region and elicited strong objections worldwide. In response to such tests (as well as North Korea’s long-range ballistic missile program), the United Nations Security Council unanimously passed several rounds of resolutions condemning North Korea’s actions and significantly expanding the scope of the sanctions applicable to North Korea, while the United States and the European Union also imposed additional sanctions on North Korea.

•

In August 2015, two Korean soldiers were injured in a landmine explosion near the Korean demilitarized zone. Claiming the landmines were set by North Koreans, the Korean army re-initiated its propaganda program toward North Korea utilizing loudspeakers near the demilitarized zone. In retaliation, the North Korean army fired artillery rounds on the loudspeakers, resulting in the highest level of military readiness for both Koreas.

•

In March 2010, a Korean naval vessel was destroyed by an underwater explosion, killing many of the crewmen on board. The Government formally accused North Korea of causing the sinking, while North Korea denied responsibility. Moreover, in November 2010, North Korea fired more than one hundred artillery shells that hit Korea’s Yeonpyeong Island near the Northern Limit Line, which acts as the de facto maritime boundary between Korea and North Korea on the west coast of the Korean peninsula, causing casualties and significant property damage. The Government condemned North Korea for the attack and vowed stern retaliation should there be further provocation.

North Korea’s economy also faces severe challenges, which may further aggravate social and political pressures within North Korea. Although bilateral summit meetings were held between Korea and North Korea in April and May 2018 and between the United States and North Korea in June 2018 and February 2019, there can be no assurance that the level of tension on the Korean peninsula will not escalate in the future or that such escalation will not have a material adverse impact on the Republic’s economy and us. Any further increase in tension, which may occur, for example, if North Korea experiences a leadership crisis, high-level contacts between the Republic and North Korea break down or further military hostilities occur, could have a material adverse effect on the Republic’s economy and us. Over the longer term, reunification of the two Koreas could occur. Reunification may entail a significant economic commitment by the Republic.

Foreign Relations and International Organizations

The Republic maintains diplomatic relations with most nations of the world, most importantly with the United States with which it entered into a mutual defense treaty and several economic agreements. The Republic also has important relationships with Japan and China, its largest trading partners together with the United States.

The Republic belongs to a number of supranational organizations, including:

•

United Nations;

•

the International Monetary Fund, or the IMF;

•

the World Bank;

•

the Asian Development Bank, or ADB;

•

the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency;

•

the International Finance Corporation;

•

the International Development Association;

•

the African Development Bank;

•

the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development;

•

the Bank for International Settlements;

•

the World Trade Organization, or WTO;

•

the Inter-American Development Bank, or IDB; and

•

the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD.

The Economy

The following table sets forth information regarding certain of the Republic’s key economic indicators for the periods indicated.


	As of or for the year ended December 31,
	2014			2015			2016			2017			2018⁽⁶⁾
	(billions of dollars and trillions of Won, except percentages)
GDP Growth (at current prices)		4.0	%		5.3	%		5.0	%		5.4	%⁽⁶⁾		3.0	%⁽⁶⁾
GDP Growth (at chained 2010 year prices)		3.3	%		2.8	%		2.9	%		3.1	%⁽⁶⁾		2.7	%⁽⁶⁾
Inflation		1.3	%		0.7	%		1.0	%		1.9	%		1.5	%
Unemployment ⁽¹⁾		3.5	%		3.6	%		3.7	%		3.7	%		3.8	%
Trade Surplus ⁽²⁾	$	47.2		$	90.3		$	89.2		$	95.2		$	69.7
Foreign Currency Reserves	$	363.6		$	368.0		$	371.1		$	389.3		$	403.7
External Liabilities⁽³⁾	$	424.3		$	396.1		$	382.2		$	412.0		$	440.6	⁽⁶⁾
Fiscal Balance	W	8.5		W	(0.2	)	W	16.9		W	24.0	⁽⁶⁾	W	31.2	⁽⁶⁾
Direct Internal Debt of the Government⁽⁴⁾ (as % of GDP⁽⁵⁾)		34.6	%		37.3	%		38.5	%⁽⁶⁾		39.8	%⁽⁶⁾		N/A	⁽⁷⁾
Direct External Debt of the Government⁽⁴⁾ (as % of GDP⁽⁵⁾)		0.5	%		0.5	%		0.4	%⁽⁶⁾		0.5	%⁽⁶⁾		N/A	⁽⁷⁾

(1)	Average for year.

(2)	Derived from customs clearance statistics on a C.I.F. basis, meaning that the price of goods include insurance and freight cost.

(3)	Calculated under the criteria based on the sixth edition of Balance of Payment Manual, or BPM6, published by the International Monetary Fund in December 2010.

(4)	Does not include guarantees by the Government. See “—Debt—External and Internal Debt of the Government—Guarantees by the Government” for information on outstanding guarantees by the Government.

(5)	At chained 2010 year prices.

(6)	Preliminary.

(7)	Not available.

Source: The Bank of Korea

Worldwide Economic and Financial Difficulties

In recent years, the global financial markets have experienced significant volatility as a result of, among other things:

•

the financial difficulties affecting many governments worldwide, in particular in southern Europe and Latin America;

•

the slowdown of economic growth in China and other major emerging market economies;

•

interest rate fluctuations as well as the possibility of increases in policy rates by the U.S. Federal Reserve and other central banks;

•

political and social instability in various countries in the Middle East and Northern Africa, including Iraq, Syria and Yemen, as well as in the Ukraine and Russia; and

•

fluctuations in oil and commodity prices.

In light of the high level of interdependence of the global economy, any of the foregoing developments could have a material adverse effect on the Korean economy and financial markets.

As a result of adverse global financial and economic conditions, there has been significant volatility in the Korea Composite Stock Index in recent years. See “—The Financial System—Securities Markets”. There is no guarantee that the stock prices of Korean companies will not decline again in the future. Future declines in the index and large amounts of sales of Korean securities by foreign investors and subsequent repatriation of the proceeds of such sales may continue to adversely affect the value of the Won, the foreign currency reserves held by financial institutions in Korea, and the ability of Korean companies and banks to raise capital. In addition, the value of the Won relative to major foreign currencies in general and the U.S. dollar in particular has fluctuated widely in recent years. A depreciation of the Won generally increases the cost of imported goods and services and the required amount of the Won revenue for Korean companies to service foreign currency-denominated debt.

In the event that difficult conditions in the global credit markets continue or the global economy deteriorates in the future, the Korean economy could be adversely affected and Korean banks may be forced to fund their operations at a higher cost or may be unable to raise as much funding as they need to support their lending and other activities.

In addition to the global developments, domestic developments that could lead to or contribute to a material adverse effect on the Korean economy include, among other things, the following:

•

steadily rising household debt consisting of housing loans and merchandise credit, which increased to approximately W1,534.6 trillion as of December 31, 2018 from W843.2 trillion as of December 31, 2010, primarily due to increases in mortgage loans and purchases with credit cards;

•

a slowdown in consumer spending and depressed consumer sentiment, due in part to national tragedies including the sinking of the Sewol passenger ferry in April 2014, which led to the death of hundreds of passengers, and the outbreak of infectious diseases, such as the outbreak of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (“MERS”) in May 2015, which resulted in the death of over 30 people and the quarantine of thousands;

•

a substantial increase in the Korean government’s expenditures for pension and social welfare programs, due in part to an aging population (defined as the population of people aged 65 years or older) that accounts for 14.3% of the Republic’s total population as of December 31, 2018, an increase from 7.2% as of December 31, 2000, and is expected to surpass 15.6% in 2020 and 21.1% in 2026, which could lead to a Korean government budget deficit;

•

increasing delinquencies and credit defaults by consumer and small- and medium-sized enterprise borrowers;

•

decreases in the market prices of Korean real estate;

•

the occurrence of severe health epidemics, including epidemics that affect the livestock industry; and

•

deterioration resulting from territorial or trade disputes or disagreements in foreign policy (such as the ongoing controversy between Korea and China regarding the decision to allow the United States to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system in Korea).

Gross Domestic Product

GDP measures the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country for a given period and reveals whether a country’s productive output rises or falls over time. Economists present GDP in both current market prices and “real” or “inflation-adjusted” terms. In March 2009, the Republic adopted a method known as the “chain-linked” measure of GDP, replacing the previous fixed-base, or “constant” measure of GDP, to show the real growth of the aggregate economic activity, as recommended by the System of National Accounts 1993. GDP at current market prices values a country’s output using the actual prices of each year, whereas the “chain-linked” measure of GDP is compiled by using “chained indices” linking volume growth between consecutive time periods. In March 2014, the Republic published a revised GDP calculation method by implementing the System of National Accounts 2008 and updating the reference year from 2005 to 2010 to align Korean national accounts statistics with the recommendations of the new international standards for compiling national economic accounts and to maintain comparability with other nations’ accounts. The main components of these revisions include, among other things, (i) recognizing expenditures for research and development and creative activity for the products of entertainment, literary and artistic originals as fixed investment, (ii) incorporating a wide array of new and revised source data such as the economic census, the population and housing census and 2010 benchmark input-output tables, which provide thorough and detailed information on the structure of the Korean economy, (iii) developing supply-use tables, which provide a statistical tool for ensuring consistency among the production, expenditure and income approaches to measuring GDP and (iv) recording merchandise trade transactions based on ownership changes rather than movements of goods across the national border.

The following table sets out the composition of the Republic’s GDP at current market and chained 2010 year prices and the annual average increase in the Republic’s GDP.

Gross Domestic Product


	2014			2015			2016			2017⁽¹⁾			2018⁽¹⁾			As % of GDP 2018⁽¹⁾
	(billions of Won)
Gross Domestic Product at Current Market Prices:
Private		748,200.8			771,239.2			798,728.9			832,234.7			867,042.9			48.6
Government		224,724.2			234,766.4			249,166.9			265,347.0			286,730.4			16.1
Gross Capital Formation		435,078.1			452,315.1			480,261.6			537,732.6			537,935.9			30.2
Exports of Goods and Services		747,134.3			709,122.0			694,216.1			745,645.6			784,379.3			44.0
Less Imports of Goods and Services		(669,058.0	)		(600,239.3	)		(581,662.3	)		(652,156.8	)		(694,973.9	)		(39.0	)
Statistical Discrepancy		—			(3,079.4	)		1,074.9			1,595.5			1,154.4			0.1
Expenditures on Gross Domestic Product		1,486,079.3			1,564,123.9			1,641,786.0			1,730,398.5			1,782,268.9			100.0
Net Factor Income from the Rest of the World		4,684.5			4,259.2			4,422.8			62.9			(1,177.9	)		(0.1	)
Gross National Income⁽²⁾		1,490,763.9			1,568,383.1			1,646,208.9			1,730,461.4			1,781,091.0			99.9
Gross Domestic Product at Chained 2010 Year Prices:
Private		692,236.0			707,492.7			725,362.3			744,284.4			765,417.4			47.9
Government		205,869.2			212,021.6			221,514.2			229,100.7			241,919.4			15.1
Gross Capital Formation		430,685.5			462,114.3			488,039.9			537,370.0			527,195.5			33.0
Exports of Goods and Services		804,797.1			803,746.1			824,330.0			840,019.9			875,264.8			54.8
Less Imports of Goods and Services		(706,938.4	)		(721,740.4	)		(755,861.0	)		(808,985.5	)		(822,891.8	)		(51.5	)
Statistical Discrepancy		1,019.1			2,481.2			3,261.9			3,366.9			1,444.6			0.1
Expenditures on Gross Domestic Product⁽³⁾		1,426,972.4			1,466,788.3			1,509,755.0			1,555,995.3			1,597,514.1			100.0
Net Factor Income from the Rest of the World in the Terms of Trade		4,706.4			4,249.8			4,293.6			261.0			(1,049.0	)		(0.1	)
Trading Gains and Losses from Changes in the Terms of Trade		(14,000.4	)		38,787.9			59,905.0			65,729.0			42,198.1			2.6
Gross National Income⁽⁴⁾		1,417,814.2			1,510,005.6			1,574,137.3			1,622,212.6			1,638,879.4			102.6
Percentage Increase (Decrease) of GDP over Previous Year:
At Current Prices		4.0			5.3			5.0			5.4			3.0
At Chained 2010 Year Prices		3.3			2.8			2.9			3.1			2.7

(1)	Preliminary.

(2)	GDP plus net factor income from the rest of the world is equal to the Republic’s gross national income.

(3)	Under the “chain-linked” measure of GDP, the components of GDP will not necessarily add up to the total GDP.

(4)	Under the “chain-linked” measure of Gross National Income, the components of Gross National Income will not necessarily add up to the total Gross National Income.

Source: The Bank of Korea.

The following table sets out the Republic’s GDP by economic sector at current market prices:

Gross Domestic Product by Economic Sector

(at current market prices)


	2014		2015		2016		2017⁽¹⁾		2018⁽¹⁾			As % of GDP 2018⁽¹⁾
	(billions of Won)
Industrial Sectors:		547,231.2		578,352.0		608,403.1		654,616.6		661,339.9			37.1
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries		31,560.3		32,612.2		31,647.0		33,935.4		35,348.0			2.0
Mining and Manufacturing		411,030.4		426,228.8		442,502.4		479,927.3		488,053.3			27.4
Mining and Quarrying		2,520.2		2,577.1		2,802.1		2,815.2		2,772.1			0.2
Manufacturing		408,510.2		423,651.7		439,700.3		477,112.1		485,281.2			27.2
Electricity, Gas and Water Supply		37,373.8		44,988.9		49,879.4		47,531.0		43,780.6			2.5
Construction		67,266.7		74,522.1		84,374.3		93,222.9		94,158.0			5.3
Services:		807,624.1		845,294.8		882,458.9		914,424.9		954,651.7			53.6
Wholesale and Retail Trade, Restaurants and Hotels		152,205.2		156,363.1		164,350.4		168,423.0		173,940.3			9.8
Transportation and Storage		50,306.8		56,154.6		59,230.7		56,987.2		54,721.1			3.1
Finance and Insurance		75,859.8		78,699.7		81,075.7		85,784.4		94,582.7			5.3
Real Estate and Leasing		109,549.0		114,618.7		118,359.9		122,262.5		125,357.3			7.0
Information and Communication		52,510.8		54,257.2		56,710.7		57,581.0		58,265.4			3.3
Business Activities		100,936.7		106,944.2		110,894.2		115,417.2		120,751.9			6.8
Public Administration and Defense		98,333.5		102,848.3		107,601.0		114,832.9		121,821.4			6.8
Education		74,007.8		76,237.2		77,664.4		79,432.7		82,936.4			4.7
Health and Social Work		57,129.7		61,980.4		68,100.9		74,356.4		81,116.2			4.6
Cultural and Other Services		36,784.7		37,191.4		38,471.0		39,347.6		41,159.0			2.3
Taxes Less Subsidies on Products		131,224.0		140,477.2		150,924.2		161,356.9		166,277.4			9.3
Gross Domestic Product at Current Market Prices		1,486,079.3		1,564,123.9		1,641,786.0		1,730,398.5		1,782,268.9			100.0
Net Factor Income from the Rest of the World		4,684.5		4,259.2		4,422.8		62.9		(1,177.9	)		(0.1	)
Gross National Income at Current Market Price		1,490,763.9		1,568,383.1		1,646,208.9		1,730,461.4		1,781,091.0			99.9

(1)	Preliminary.

Source: The Bank of Korea.

The following table sets out the Republic’s GDP per capita:

Gross Domestic Product per capita

(at current market prices)


	2014		2015		2016		2017⁽¹⁾		2018⁽¹⁾
GDP per capita (thousands of Won)		29,284		30,660		32,038		33,635		34,517
GDP per capita (U.S. dollar)		27,805		27,097		27,607		29,744		31,370
Average Exchange Rate (in Won per U.S. dollar)		1,053.2		1,131.5		1,160.5		1,130.8		1,100.3

(1)	Preliminary.

Source: The Bank of Korea.

The following table sets out the Republic’s Gross National Income, or GNI, per capita:

Gross National Income per capita

(at current market prices)


	2014		2015		2016		2017⁽¹⁾		2018⁽¹⁾
GNI per capita (thousands of Won)		29,377		30,744		32,124		33,636		34,494
GNI per capita (U.S. dollar)		27,892		27,171		27,681		29,745		31,349
Average Exchange Rate (in Won per U.S. dollar)		1,053.2		1,131.5		1,160.5		1,130.8		1,100.3

(1)	Preliminary.

Source: The Bank of Korea.

The following table sets out the Republic’s GDP by economic sector at chained 2010 year prices:

Gross Domestic Product by Economic Sector

(at chained 2010 year prices)


	2014		2015		2016		2017⁽¹⁾		2018⁽¹⁾		As % of GDP 2018⁽¹⁾
	(billions of Won)
Industrial Sectors:		527,016.1		538,722.4		554,601.8		578,753.1		592,775.4		37.1
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries		29,378.2		29,251.4		28,441.6		28,530.8		28,946.2		1.8
Mining and Manufacturing		413,839.1		421,057.7		430,968.9		449,483.8		465,349.0		29.1
Mining and Quarrying		2,344.40		2,314.5		2,357.1		2,221.1		2,081.8		0.1
Manufacturing		411,494.7		418,743.2		428,611.8		447,262.7		463,267.2		29.0
Electricity, Gas and Water Supply		27,327.9		28,722.1		29,495.0		30,399.3		31,076.0		1.9
Construction		56,470.9		59,691.2		65,696.3		70,339.2		67,404.2		4.2
Services:		764,283.7		786,394.3		806,312.4		823,800.7		847,416.9		53.0
Wholesale and Retail Trade, Restaurants and Hotels		149,150.5		152,013.0		156,323.0		157,472.7		159,604.0		10.0
Transportation and Storage		48,646.9		49,486.3		50,616.8		51,765.3		52,761.1		3.3
Finance and Insurance		83,020.5		88,568.7		90,844.7		94,249.9		98,811.1		6.2
Real Estate and Leasing		97,112.9		98,773.8		99,559.1		100,496.5		102,651.8		6.4
Information and Communication		55,164.8		56,532.2		58,282.1		59,743.4		61,362.3		3.8
Business Activities		91,424.0		95,713.9		97,986.2		99,948.1		101,890.5		6.4
Public Administration and Defense		87,052.8		88,495.2		90,625.4		93,008.8		96,277.5		6.0
Education		64,865.2		65,158.4		65,234.3		65,574.5		66,970.3		4.2
Health and Social Work		54,740.1		58,653.1		63,157.9		67,738.3		72,806.4		4.6
Cultural and Other Services		33,106.0		32,999.7		33,682.9		33,803.2		34,281.9		2.1
Taxes Less Subsidies on Products		136,454.6		142,688.3		149,817.1		154,793.8		160,329.5		10.0
Gross Domestic Product at Chained 2010 Year Prices⁽²⁾		1,426,972.4		1,466,788.3		1,509,755.0		1,555,995.3		1,597,514.1		100.0

(1)	Preliminary.

(2)	Under the “chain-linked” measure of GDP, the components of GDP will not necessarily add up to the total GDP.

Source: The Bank of Korea.

GDP growth in 2014 was 3.3% at chained 2010 year prices, as aggregate private and general government consumption expenditures increased by 2.0%, exports of goods and services increased by 2.0% and gross domestic fixed capital formation increased by 3.4%, which more than offset an increase in imports of goods and services by 1.5%, each compared with 2013.

GDP growth in 2015 was 2.8% at chained 2010 year prices, as aggregate private and general government consumption expenditures increased by 2.4% and gross domestic fixed capital formation increased by 5.1%, which more than offset a decrease in exports of goods and services by 0.1% and an increase in imports of goods and services by 2.1%, each compared with 2014.

GDP growth in 2016 was 2.9% at chained 2010 year prices, as aggregate private and general government consumption expenditures increased by 3.0%, gross domestic fixed capital formation increased by 5.6% and exports of goods and services increased by 2.6%, which more than offset an increase in imports of goods and services by 4.7%, each compared with 2015.

Based on preliminary data, GDP growth in 2017 was 3.1% at chained 2010 year prices, as aggregate private and general government consumption expenditures increased by 2.8%, gross domestic fixed capital formation increased by 8.6% and exports of goods and services increased by 1.9%, which more than offset an increase in imports of goods and services by 7.0%, each compared with 2016.

Based on preliminary data, GDP growth in 2018 was 2.7% at chained 2010 year prices, as aggregate private and general government consumption expenditures increased by 3.5% and exports of goods and services increased by 4.2%, which more than offset a decrease in gross domestic fixed capital formation by 2.2% and an increase in imports of goods and services by 1.7%, each compared with 2017.

Based on preliminary data, GDP growth in the first quarter of 2019 was 1.8% at chained 2010 year prices, as aggregate private and general government consumption expenditures increased by 2.7%, exports of goods and services increased by 0.2% and imports of goods and services decreased by 5.4%, which more than offset a decrease in gross domestic fixed capital formation by 8.4%, each compared with the corresponding period of 2018.

Principal Sectors of the Economy

Industrial Sectors

The following table sets out production indices for the principal industrial products of the Republic and their relative contribution to total industrial production:

Industrial Production

(2015 = 100)


	Index Weight⁽¹⁾		2014		2015		2016		2017		2018⁽²⁾
All Industries		10,000.0		100.3		100.0		102.2		104.7		106.1
Mining and Manufacturing		9,611.6		100.2		100.0		102.3		104.6		105.8
Mining		33.9		98.5		100.0		103.4		100.2		89.4
Petroleum, Crude Petroleum and Natural Gas		8.7		120.4		100.0		96.8		86.5		73.4
Metal Ores		0.9		126.6		100.0		95.0		84.0		104.8
Non-metallic Minerals		24.3		93.6		100.0		105.2		103.8		93.1
Manufacturing		9,577.7		100.3		100.0		102.3		104.6		105.9
Food Products		434.4		98.2		100.0		102.9		103.2		104.1
Beverage Products		82.4		97.2		100.0		103.6		105.7		105.2
Tobacco Products		43.2		107.9		100.0		113.0		122.4		101.0
Textiles		160.6		106.6		100.0		98.1		95.1		88.7
Wearing Apparel, Clothing Accessories and Fur Articles		145.2		104.0		100.0		96.3		95.5		93.0
Tanning and Dressing of Leather, Luggage and Footwear		42.1		105.9		100.0		93.3		82.5		84.6
Wood and Products of Wood and Cork (Except Furniture)		31.7		96.4		100.0		101.5		106.2		95.9
Pulp, Paper and Paper Products		126.8		101.1		100.0		99.4		97.2		97.2
Printing and Reproduction of Recorded Media		50.2		102.7		100.0		100.9		101.3		101.5
Coke, hard-coal and lignite fuel briquettes and Refined Petroleum Products		471.0		94.3		100.0		106.9		113.0		113.7
Chemicals and Chemical Products		847.5		97.8		100.0		105.7		109.4		111.9
Pharmaceuticals, Medicinal Chemicals and Botanical Products		144.1		98.1		100.0		109.9		118.6		128.1
Rubber and Plastic Products		421.1		100.1		100.0		100.5		99.9		94.9
Non-metallic Minerals		271.7		93.8		100.0		109.2		111.4		107.0
Basic Metals		827.6		101.7		100.0		101.7		102.6		99.4
Fabricated Metal Products		557.8		104.6		100.0		102.4		96.7		89.0
Electronic Components, Computer, Radio, Television and Communication Equipment and Apparatuses		1,794.3		98.7		100.0		105.1		112.6		125.3
Medical, Precision and Optical Instruments, Watches and Clocks		148.1		104.2		100.0		99.9		119.0		136.8
Electrical Equipment		479.5		103.4		100.0		102.8		105.5		105.2
Other Machinery and Equipment		803.6		103.2		100.0		101.4		115.1		111.8
Motor Vehicles, Trailers and Semitrailers		1,076.4		98.7		100.0		97.6		95.0		93.7
Other Transport Equipment		506.5		109.9		100.0		88.8		68.2		63.3
Furniture		69.5		94.7		100.0		107.0		110.3		102.3
Other Products		42.4		103.8		100.0		104.5		108.2		103.1
Electricity, Gas		388.4		100.7		100.0		100.8		106.3		110.2
Total Index		10,000.0		100.3		100.0		102.2		104.7		106.1

(1)	Index weights were established on the basis of an industrial census in 2015 and reflect the average annual value added by production in each of the classifications shown, expressed as a percentage of total value added in the mining, manufacturing and electricity and gas industries in that year.

(2)	Preliminary.

Source: The Bank of Korea; Korea National Statistical Office.

Industrial production increased by 0.2% in 2014, primarily due to increased exports. Industrial production decreased by 0.3% in 2015, primarily due to decreased exports. Industrial production increased by 2.2% in 2016, primarily due to increased domestic consumption. Industrial production increased by 2.4% in 2017, primarily due to increased domestic consumption and exports. Based on preliminary data, industrial production increased by 1.3% in 2018, primarily due to increased domestic consumption and exports.

Manufacturing

The manufacturing sector increased production by 0.3% in 2014, primarily due to increased demand for basic metals, machinery and equipment and motor vehicles, trailers and semitrailers. The manufacturing sector decreased production by 0.3% in 2015, primarily due to decreased demand for other transport equipment, fabricated metal products, other machinery and equipment, and basic metals. The manufacturing sector increased production by 2.3% in 2016 and by 2.2% in 2017, primarily due to increased demand for consumer electronics products, electronic components (including semiconductors), communication equipment and chemical products, which more than offset decreased demand for motor vehicles, trailers and semitrailers. Based on preliminary data, the manufacturing sector increased production by 1.2% in 2018, primarily due to increased demand for consumer electronics products and electronic components (including semiconductors).

Automobiles. In 2014, automobile production increased by 0.1% and domestic sales volume recorded an increase of 4.6%, compared with 2013, primarily due to increased domestic demand for recreational vehicles, and export sales volume recorded a decrease of 0.8%, compared with 2013, primarily due to decreased demand for automobiles in Eastern Europe and South America. In 2015, automobile production increased by 0.7% and domestic sales volume recorded an increase of 7.7%, compared with 2014, primarily due to continued increase in domestic demand for recreational vehicles, and export sales volume recorded a decrease of 2.9%, compared with 2014, primarily due to decreased demand for automobiles in China, Russia, Eastern Europe and South America. In 2016, automobile production decreased by 7.2% and export sales volume recorded a decrease of 11.8%, compared with 2015, primarily due to the slowdown of the global economy, and domestic sales volume recorded an increase of 1.0%, compared with 2015, primarily due to the reduction of individual consumption tax on cars. Based on preliminary data, in 2017, automobile production decreased by 2.7%, domestic sales volume recorded a decrease of 2.5% and exports sales volume recorded a decrease of 3.5%, compared with 2016, primarily due to decreased domestic production of automobiles resulting mainly from partial strikes by unionized workers of automobile manufacturers, increased overseas production and decreased exports to the US and China. Based on preliminary data, in 2018, automobile production decreased by 2.1%, domestic sales volume recorded a decrease of 0.5% and exports sales volume recorded a decrease of 3.2%, compared with 2017, primarily due to decreased domestic production of automobiles resulting mainly from partial strikes by unionized workers of automobile manufacturers and the restructuring of GM Korea’s production units and decreased exports to countries in South America and Middle East.

Electronics. In 2014, electronics production amounted to W329,389 billion, an increase of 1.2% from the previous year, and exports amounted to US$176.2 billion, an increase of 2.0% from the previous year, primarily due to increases in demand for mobile phones and semiconductors. In 2014, export sales of semiconductor memory chips constituted approximately 10.9% of the Republic’s total exports. In 2015, electronics production amounted to W316,600 billion, a decrease of 3.9% from the previous year, and exports amounted to US$172.9 billion, a decrease of 0.6% from the previous year, primarily due to adverse global economic conditions and the expansion of overseas production. In 2015, export sales of semiconductor memory chips constituted approximately 11.9% of the Republic’s total exports. In 2016, electronics production amounted to

W309,016 billion, a decrease of 4.7% from the previous year, and exports amounted to US$162.5 billion, a decrease of 6.0% from the previous year, primarily due to continued adverse global economic conditions and the expansion of overseas production. In 2016, export sales of semiconductor memory chips constituted approximately 12.6% of the Republic’s total exports. In 2017, electronics production amounted to W341,274 billion, an increase of 10.4% from the previous year, and exports amounted to US$197.6 billion, an increase of 21.6% from the previous year, primarily due to increases in demand for semiconductors, organic light-emitting diode, or OLED, display panels and computers. In 2017, export sales of semiconductor memory chips constituted approximately 17.4% of the Republic’s total exports. Based on preliminary data, in the first eleven months of 2018, electronics production amounted to W310,698 billion, an increase of 0.2% from the corresponding period of 2017, and in 2018, exports amounted to US$220.3 billion, an increase of 11.5% from the previous year, primarily due to increases in demand for semiconductors and lithium-ion batteries. In 2018, export sales of semiconductor memory chips constituted approximately 21.2% of the Republic’s total exports.

Iron and Steel. In 2014, crude steel production totaled 71.5 million tons, an increase of 8.3% from 2013, and domestic sales volume and export sales volume of iron and steel products increased by 7.3% and 10.5%, respectively, primarily due to the recovery of domestic and global demand for crude steel products. In 2015, crude steel production totaled 69.7 million tons, a decrease of 2.6% from 2014, and domestic sales volume of iron and steel products increased by 0.6% but export sales volume of iron and steel products decreased by 2.2%, primarily due to excess supply from China and adverse conditions in the global shipbuilding and construction industries. In 2016, crude steel production totaled 68.6 million tons, a decrease of 1.6% from 2015, and export sales volume of iron and steel products decreased by 1.8%, primarily due to intensified export competition and adverse conditions in the global shipbuilding and construction industries, but domestic sales volume of iron and steel products increased by 2.2%, primarily due to the recovery of the domestic construction industry. In 2017, crude steel production totaled 71.1 million tons, an increase of 3.7% from 2016, and export sales volume of iron and steel products increased by 2.3%, primarily due to an increase in global demand for crude steel products but domestic sales volume of iron and steel products decreased by 1.2%, primarily due to adverse conditions in the domestic shipbuilding and automobile industries. Based on preliminary data, in 2018, crude steel production totaled 72.5 million tons, an increase of 1.9% from 2017, primarily due to the recovery of the domestic shipbuilding industry but export sales volume of iron and steel products decreased by 3.9%, primarily due to restrictions on imports of steel products imposed by the United States, Canada and the European Union.

Shipbuilding. In 2014, the Republic’s shipbuilding orders amounted to approximately 13 million compensated gross tons, a decrease of 31.6% compared to 2013, primarily due to a downturn in the domestic and global shipbuilding industry. In 2015, the Republic’s shipbuilding orders amounted to approximately 11 million compensated gross tons, a decrease of 15.4% compared to 2014, primarily due to the continued downturn in the domestic and global shipbuilding industry. In 2016, the Republic’s shipbuilding orders amounted to approximately 2 million compensated gross tons, a decrease of 81.8% compared to 2015, primarily due to the continued adverse conditions in the domestic and global shipbuilding industry. In 2017, the Republic’s shipbuilding orders amounted to approximately 8 million compensated gross tons, an increase of 300% compared to 2016, primarily due to increased demand for LNG carriers, bulk carriers and container carriers. Based on preliminary data, in 2018, the Republic’s shipbuilding orders amounted to approximately 13 million compensated gross tons, an increase of 62.5% compared to 2017, primarily due to increased demand for LNG carriers, oil tankers and container carriers.

Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

The Government’s agricultural policy has traditionally focused on:

•

grain production;

•

development of irrigation systems;

•

land consolidation and reclamation;

•

seed improvement;

•

mechanization measures to combat drought and flood damage; and

•

increasing agricultural incomes.

Recently, however, the Government has increased emphasis on cultivating profitable crops and strengthening international competitiveness as a result of the continued opening of the domestic agricultural market.

In 2013, rice production increased 5.0% from 2012 to 4.2 million tons. In 2014, rice production remained at 4.2 million tons. In 2015, rice production increased 2.4% from 2014 to 4.3 million tons. In 2016, rice production decreased 2.3% from 2015 to 4.2 million tons. In 2017, rice production decreased 5.3% from 2016 to 4.0 million tons. Due to limited crop yields resulting from geographical and physical constraints, the Republic depends on imports for certain basic foodstuffs.

The Government is seeking to develop the fishing industry by encouraging the building of large fishing vessels and modernizing fishing equipment, marketing techniques and distribution outlets.

In 2014, the agriculture, forestry and fisheries industry increased by 3.6% compared to 2013, primarily due to increases in the price of certain livestock items, which led to increases in production and the establishment of new agriculture and fishery companies. In 2015, the agriculture, forestry and fisheries industry decreased by 0.4% compared to 2014, primarily due to unfavorable weather conditions. In 2016, the agriculture, forestry and fisheries industry decreased by 2.8% compared to 2015, primarily due to unfavorable weather conditions and a decrease in fishing catch. Based on preliminary data, in 2017, the agriculture, forestry and fisheries industry increased by 0.3% compared to 2016, primarily due to an increase in aquafarming production. Based on preliminary data, in 2018, the agriculture, forestry and fisheries industry increased by 1.5% compared to 2017, primarily due to an increase in livestock production.

Construction

In 2014, the construction industry increased by 0.8% compared to 2013, primarily due to an increase in the construction of private residential buildings. In 2015, the construction industry increased by 5.7% compared to 2014, primarily due to an increase in the construction of private residential and commercial buildings. In 2016, the construction industry increased by 10.1% compared to 2015, primarily due to an increase in the construction of private residential and commercial buildings. Based on preliminary data, in 2017, the construction industry increased by 7.1% compared to 2016, primarily due to an increase in the construction of residential and commercial buildings. Based on preliminary data, in 2018, the construction industry decreased by 4.2% compared to 2017, primarily due to a decrease in the construction of residential and commercial buildings.

Electricity and Gas

The following table sets out the Republic’s dependence on imports for energy consumption:

Dependence on Imports for Energy Consumption


	Total Primary Energy Supply		Imports		Imports Dependence Ratio
	(millions of tons of oil equivalents⁽¹⁾, except ratios)
2014		282.5		268.9		95.2
2015		286.9		272.0		94.8
2016		293.8		277.9		94.6
2017		302.1		284.0		94.0
2018⁽²⁾		307.3		287.3		93.5

(1)	Conversion to tons of oil equivalents was calculated based on energy conversion factors under the Energy Act Enforcement Decree as amended in July 2017.

(2)	Preliminary.

Source: Korea Energy Economics Institute; Korea National Statistical Office.

Korea has almost no domestic oil or gas production and depends on imported oil and gas to meet its energy requirements. Accordingly, the international prices of oil and gas significantly affect the Korean economy. Any significant long-term increase in the prices of oil and gas will increase inflationary pressures in Korea and adversely affect the Republic’s balance of trade.

To reduce its dependence on oil and gas imports, the Government has encouraged energy conservation and energy source diversification emphasizing nuclear energy. The following table sets out the principal primary sources of energy supplied in the Republic, expressed in oil equivalents and as a percentage of total energy consumption.

Primary Energy Supply by Source


	Coal				Petroleum				Nuclear				Others⁽¹⁾				Total
	Quantity		%		Quantity		%		Quantity		%		Quantity		%		Quantity		%
	(millions of tons of oil equivalents⁽²⁾, except percentages)
2014		84,399		29.9		104,702		37.1		33,002		11.7		60,379		21.4		282,481		100.0
2015		85,401		29.8		109,094		38.0		34,765		12.1		57,675		20.1		286,936		100.0
2016		81,499		27.7		117,605		40.0		34,181		11.6		60,493		20.6		293,778		100.0
2017		86,177		28.5		119,400		39.5		31,615		10.5		64,873		21.5		302,065		100.0
2018⁽³⁾		88,210		28.7		118,143		38.4		28,437		9.3		72,501		23.6		307,291		100.0

(1)	Includes natural gas, hydroelectric power and renewable energy.

(2)	Conversion to tons of oil equivalents was calculated based on energy conversion factors under the Energy Act Enforcement Decree as amended in July 2017.

(3)	Preliminary.

Source: Korea Energy Economics Institute; The Bank of Korea.

The Republic’s first nuclear power plant went into full operation in 1978 with a rated generating capacity of 587 megawatts. As of December 31, 2018, the Republic had 24 nuclear plants with a total estimated nuclear power installed generating capacity of 21,850 megawatts and six nuclear plants under construction. In December 2017, the Government released the “Eighth Basic Plan relating to the Long-Term Supply and Demand of Electricity” which serves as the guideline for stable medium- and long-term supply of electric power. The objectives of the Eighth Basic Plan include, among other things, (i) increasing efforts to address environmental and safety concerns, including reducing greenhouse gas emission and yellow dust, (ii) decreasing the portion of electricity supplied using nuclear and coal energy sources including through suspension of construction of new nuclear power plants, permanent closing of old coal-fired generation units and converting coal-fired generation units into LNG-fired generation units, (iii) increasing the portion of electricity supplied from renewable energy, in particular solar and wind power, and (iv) promoting the replacement of coal with LNG as an energy source by reducing the gap in expenses incurred in using the respective fuel types, for example, by adjusting the consumption tax rates applicable to the respective fuel types. The Government plans to expand infrastructure to supply natural gas to households, pursue a long-term strategy of overseas energy development projects to ensure supply stability, increase clean and renewable energy and provide support for research and development pertaining to green technologies. Since the release of the Eighth Basic Plan, the Government has reiterated its policy to slowly phase out power generation from nuclear and coal energy sources and increase the use of renewable energy sources. The Government plans to establish more detailed guidelines and set specific targets for reducing reliance on nuclear and coal power generation for the next 15 years. To that end, the Government commenced preparation of the Ninth Basic Plan in March 2019 and aims to issue the finalized plan by the end of 2019.

Services Sector

In 2014, the service industry increased by 3.3% compared to 2013 as the health and social work sector increased by 6.8%, the finance and insurance sector increased by 5.6% and the business activities sector increased by 4.8%, each compared with 2013. In 2015, the service industry increased by 2.8% compared to 2014 as the finance and insurance sector increased by 6.7%, the business activities sector increased by 4.7% and the health and social work sector increased by 7.1%, each compared with 2014. In 2016, the service industry increased by 2.5% compared to 2015 as the health and social work sector increased by 7.7%, the wholesale and retail trade, restaurants and hotels sector increased by 2.8% and the finance and insurance sector increased by 2.6%, each compared with 2015. Based on preliminary data, in 2017, the service industry increased by 2.1% compared to 2016 as the health and social work sector increased by 7.3%, the finance and insurance sector increased by 3.7% and the public administration and defense sector increased by 2.6%, each compared with 2016. Based on preliminary data, in 2018, the service industry increased by 2.8% compared to 2017 as the health and social work sector increased by 7.5%, the finance and insurance sector increased by 4.8% and the public administration and defense sector increased by 3.5%, each compared with 2017.

Prices, Wages and Employment

The following table shows selected price and wage indices and unemployment rates:


	Producer Price Index⁽¹⁾		Increase (Decrease) Over Previous Year			Consumer Price Index⁽¹⁾		Increase (Decrease) Over Previous Year		Wage Index⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾			Increase (Decrease) Over Previous Year			Unemployment Rate⁽¹⁾⁽³⁾
	(2010=100)		(%)			(2015=100)		(%)		(2015=100)			(%)			(%)
2014		105.2		(0.5	)		99.3		1.3		97.1			4.1			3.5
2015		101.0		(4.0	)		100.0		0.7		100.0			2.9			3.6
2016		99.1		(1.8	)		101.0		1.0		104.2			4.2			3.7
2017		102.5		3.5			102.9		1.9		106.4			2.1			3.7
2018		104.6		2.0			104.5		1.5		N/A	⁽⁴⁾		N/A	⁽⁴⁾		3.8

(1)	Average for year.

(2)	Nominal wage index of average earnings in manufacturing industry.

(3)	Expressed as a percentage of the economically active population.

(4)	Not available.

Source: The Bank of Korea; Korea National Statistical Office.

In 2014, the inflation rate remained at 1.3%, primarily due to increases in the prices of electricity, gas, water supply, food products and education, which were offset by lower oil prices. In 2015, the inflation rate decreased to 0.7%, primarily due to lower oil prices. In 2016, the inflation rate increased to 1.0%, primarily due to increases in agricultural and livestock product prices and private service fees, which more than offset a decrease in oil prices. In 2017, the inflation rate increased to 1.9%, primarily due to increases in the prices of agricultural and livestock products and oil. In 2018, the inflation rate decreased to 1.5%, primarily due to a slowdown in the growth rate of agricultural goods and oil prices. Based on preliminary data, the inflation rate increased to 0.5% primarily due to an increase in the price of oil.

In 2014, the unemployment rate increased to 3.5% from 3.1% in 2013, primarily due to the sluggishness of the domestic economy. In 2015, the unemployment rate increased to 3.6%, primarily due to the continued sluggishness of the domestic economy. In 2016, the unemployment rate increased to 3.7%, primarily due to the continued sluggishness of the domestic economy. In 2017, the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.7%. In 2018, the unemployment rate increased to 3.8%, primarily due to the continued sluggishness of the domestic economy. Based on preliminary data, the unemployment rate increased to 4.5%, primarily due to the continued sluggishness of the domestic economy.

From 1992 to 2009, the economically active population of the Republic increased by approximately 24.8% to 24.3 million, while the number of employees increased by approximately 23.7% to 23.5 million. The economically active population over 15 years old as a percentage of the total over-15 population has remained between 61% and 64% over the past decade. Literacy among workers under 50 is almost universal. As of December 31, 2018, the economically active population of the Republic was 27.9 million and the number of employees was 26.8 million.

The following table shows selected employment information by industry and by gender:


	2014		2015		2016		2017		2018
	(all figures in percentages, except as indicated)
Labor force (in thousands of persons)		25,897		26,178		26,409		26,725		26,822
Employment by Industry:
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing		5.6		5.1		4.9		4.8		5.0
Mining and Manufacturing		17.3		17.6		17.2		17.2		16.9
S.O.C & Services		77.1		77.2		77.9		78.0		78.1
Electricity, Transport, Communication and Finance		11.8		11.8		11.8		11.4		11.8
Business, Private & Public Service and Other Services		35.3		35.4		36.3		36.4		36.5
Construction		7.1		7.0		7.0		7.4		7.6
Wholesale & Retail Trade, Hotels and Restaurants		23.0		23.0		22.9		22.8		22.2

Total Employed		100.0		100.0		100.0		100.0		100.0

Employment by Gender:
Male		58.0		57.7		57.6		57.5		57.3
Female		42.0		42.3		42.4		42.5		42.7

Total Employed		100.0		100.0		100.0		100.0		100.0

Source: The Bank of Korea

Pursuant to certain amendments to the Labor Standards Act that became effective on July 1, 2018, the maximum working hours of employees has been and is being reduced from 68 hours per week to 52 hours per week, and the number of special industries that are exempt from restrictions on maximum working hours will be significantly reduced. This new maximum working hours restriction under the amended Labor Standards Act is in effect for workplaces with 300 or more workers from July 1, 2018, and it will be extended to workplaces with not fewer than 50 but fewer than 300 workers from January 1, 2020 and further extended to workplaces with not fewer than 5 but fewer than 50 workers from July 1, 2021.

Approximately 10.7% of the Republic’s workers were unionized as of December 31, 2017. Labor unrest in connection with demands by unionized workers for better wages and working conditions and greater job security occur from time to time in the Republic. Some of the significant incidents in recent years include the following:

•

In November 2014, unionized workers at Hyundai Heavy Industries went on a series of partial strikes demanding higher wages.

•

In April 2015, tens of thousands of members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, which includes teacher and civil servant union groups, went on general strike demanding that the Government scrap its plans to reform the labor market and pension program for public workers.

•

In September 2016, unionized subway and railroad workers launched a joint nationwide strike, the first in 22 years, demanding that the Government scrap its proposed merit pay system for subway and railroad workers.

•

In October 2016, unionized workers at Hyundai Motor went on full strike, the first in 12 years, demanding higher wages, while unionized workers at Kia Motors Corporation (“Kia Motors”) went on partial strike protesting the wage gap between workers at Kia Motors and workers at Hyundai Motor.

•

In September 2017, several thousand unionized workers at KBS and MBC, Korea’s two largest television and radio broadcasters, went on strike, which lasted several months, to protest against alleged management interference in news coverage and unfair labor practices.

•

In 2017, unionized workers at Hyundai Motor went on a series of partial strikes demanding higher wages and bonuses.

•

In July 2018, unionized workers at Hyundai Heavy Industries went on full strike demanding higher wages.

Actions such as these by labor unions may hinder implementation of the labor reform measures and disrupt the Government’s plans to create a more flexible labor market. Although much effort is being expended to resolve labor disputes in a peaceful manner, there can be no assurance that further labor unrest will not occur in the future. Continued labor unrest in key industries of the Republic may have an adverse effect on the economy.

In 1997, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions organized a political alliance, which led to the formation of the Democratic Labor Party in January 2000. The Democratic Labor Party merged with The New People’s Participation Party and changed its name to The Unified Progressive Party (“UPP”) in December 2011. In October 2012, the UPP split and seven UPP members of the National Assembly and their supporters formed a new party, the Progressive Justice Party, which changed its name to the Justice Party in July 2013. In December 2014, the Constitutional Court ordered the dissolution of the UPP and the removal of the party’s five lawmakers from the National Assembly for violating the Republic’s Constitution after certain of its members were convicted of trying to instigate an armed rebellion and supporting North Korea. In the legislative general election held on April 13, 2016, the Justice Party won six seats in the National Assembly, and the members-elect began their four-year terms on May 30, 2016. As of December 31, 2018, the Justice Party holds five seats in the National Assembly.

The Financial System

Structure of the Financial Sector

The Republic’s financial sector includes the following categories of financial institutions:

•

The Bank of Korea;

•

banking institutions;

•

non-bank financial institutions; and

•

other financial entities, including:

•

financial investment companies;

•

credit guarantee institutions;

•

venture capital companies; and

•

miscellaneous others.

To increase transparency in financial transactions and enhance the integrity and efficiency of the financial markets, Korean law requires that financial institutions confirm that their clients use their real names when transacting business. To ease the liquidity crisis, the Government altered the real-name financial transactions system during 1998, to allow the sale or deposit of foreign currencies through domestic financial institutions and the purchase of certain bonds, including Government bonds, without identification. The Government also strengthened confidentiality protection for private financial transactions.

In July 2007, the Korean National Assembly passed the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act or the FSCMA, under which various industry-based capital markets regulatory systems were consolidated into a single regulatory system. The FSCMA, which became effective in February 2009, expands the scope of permitted investment-related financial products and activities through expansive definitions of financial instruments and function-based regulations that allow financial investment companies to offer a wider range of financial services, as well as strengthening investor protection and disclosure requirements.

Prior to the effective date of the FSCMA, separate laws regulated various types of financial institutions depending on the type of the financial institution (for example, securities companies, futures companies, trust business companies and asset management companies) and subjected financial institutions to different licensing and ongoing regulatory requirements (for example, under the Securities and Exchange Act, the Futures Business Act and the Indirect Investment Asset Management Business Act). By applying one uniform set of rules to financial businesses having the same economic function, the FSCMA attempts to improve and address issues caused by the previous regulatory system under which the same economic function relating to capital markets-related business were governed by multiple regulations. To this end, the FSCMA categorizes capital markets-related businesses into six different functions as follows:

•

investment dealing (trading and underwriting of financial investment products);

•

investment brokerage (brokerage of financial investment products);

•

collective investment (establishment of collective investment schemes and the management thereof);

•

investment advice;

•

discretionary investment management; and

•

trusts (together with the five businesses set forth above, “Financial Investment Businesses”).

Accordingly, all financial businesses relating to financial investment products are reclassified as one or more of the Financial Investment Businesses described above, and financial institutions are subject to the regulations applicable to their relevant Financial Investment Businesses, irrespective of what type of financial institution it is. For example, under the FSCMA, derivative businesses conducted by securities companies and future companies are subject to the same regulations, at least in principle.

The banking business and the insurance business are not subject to the FSCMA and will continue to be regulated under separate laws; provided, however, that they are subject to the FSCMA if their activities involve any Financial Investment Businesses requiring a license based on the FSCMA.

Banking Industry

The banking industry comprises commercial banks and specialized banks. Commercial banks serve the general public and corporate sectors. They include nationwide banks, regional banks and branches of foreign banks. Regional banks provide services similar to nationwide banks, but operate in a geographically restricted region. Branches of foreign banks have operated in the Republic since 1967 but provide a relatively small proportion of the country’s banking services. As of December 31, 2018, there were six nationwide banks, six regional banks, two internet banks and 38 foreign banks with branches operating in the Republic.

Specialized banks meet the needs of specific sectors of the economy in accordance with Government policy; they are organized under, or chartered by, special laws. Specialized banks include (i) The Korea Development Bank, (ii) The Export-Import Bank of Korea, (iii) The Industrial Bank of Korea, (iv) SuHyup Bank and (v) NongHyup Bank. The Government has made capital contributions to three of these specialized banks as follows:

•

The Korea Development Bank: the Government owns directly all of its paid-in capital and has made capital contributions since its establishment in 1954. Recent examples include the Government’s

contributions to its capital of W2,055 billion in 2015, W308 billion in 2016, W395 billion in 2017 and W170 billion in 2018. Taking into account these capital contributions, its total paid-in capital was W18,108 billion as of December 31, 2018.

•

The Export-Import Bank of Korea: the Government owns, directly and indirectly, all of its paid-in capital and has made capital contributions since its establishment in 1976. Recent examples include the Government’s contributions to its capital of W1,130 billion in 2015, W1,620 billion in 2016 and W1,417 billion in 2017. Taking into account these capital contributions, its total paid-in capital was W11,815 billion as of December 31, 2018.

•

The Industrial Bank of Korea: the Government owned, directly and indirectly, 55.2% of its common shares and all of its preferred shares as of December 31, 2017. The Government had owned all of the issued share capital of The Industrial Bank of Korea until 1994, but the Government’s minimum share ownership requirement was repealed in 1997, and the Government has since periodically adjusted its ownership percentage in the Industrial Bank of Korea through transactions involving the purchase and sale of its common shares. In 2014, the Industrial Bank of Korea issued an aggregate of 3,022,240 new common shares to the Government for W36 billion in cash and the Government sold 49,009,880 common shares of the Industrial Bank of Korea for W675 billion in cash. In addition, in April 2014, the Industrial Bank of Korea disposed of 26,200,882 of its common shares held as treasury shares through an international offering for W294 billion. In 2015, the Industrial Bank of Korea issued an aggregate of 3,184,713 new common shares to the Government for W40 billion in cash. In March 2016, the Industrial Bank of Korea issued an aggregate of 3,576,857 new common shares to the Government for W40 billion in cash. Taking into account such transactions, the Government’s total paid-in capital was W1,674 billion as of December 31, 2018.

The economic difficulties in 1997 and 1998 caused an increase in Korean banks’ non-performing assets and a decline in capital adequacy ratios of Korean banks. From 1998 through 2002, the Financial Services Commission amended banking regulations several times to adopt more stringent criteria for non-performing assets that more closely followed international standards.

The following table sets out the total loans (including loans in Won and loans in foreign currencies) and non-performing assets of Korean banks as of the dates indicated.


	Total Loans		Non-Performing Assets⁽¹⁾		Percentage of Total
	(trillions of won)				(percentage)
December 31, 2014		1,557.9		24.2		1.6
December 31, 2015		1,664.3		30.0		1.8
December 31, 2016		1,732.9		24.6		1.4
December 31, 2017		1,775.9		21.1		1.2
December 31, 2018⁽²⁾		1,872.6		18.2		1.0

(1)	Assets classified as substandard or below.

(2)	Preliminary.

Source: Financial Supervisory Service.

In 2014, these banks posted an aggregate net profit of W6.8 trillion, compared to an aggregate net profit of W4.5 trillion in 2013, primarily due to decreased loan loss provisions. In 2015, these banks posted an aggregate net profit of W4.4 trillion, compared to an aggregate net profit of W6.8 trillion in 2014, primarily due to increased loan loss provisions. In 2016, these banks posted an aggregate net profit of W3.0 trillion, compared to an aggregate net profit of W4.4 trillion in 2015, primarily due to increased loan loss provisions. In 2017, these banks posted an aggregate net profit of W11.2 trillion, compared to an aggregate net profit of W3.0 trillion in 2016, primarily due to decreased loan loss provisions and increased net interest income. Based on preliminary data, in 2018, these banks posted an aggregate net profit of W13.8 trillion, compared to an aggregate net profit of

W11.2 trillion in 2017, primarily due to increased net interest income and decreased loan loss provisions, which more than offset a decrease in net non-interest income.

Non-Bank Financial Institutions

Non-bank financial institutions include:

•

savings institutions, including trust accounts of banks, mutual savings banks, credit unions, mutual credit facilities, community credit cooperatives and postal savings;

•

life insurance institutions; and

•

credit card companies.

As of September 30, 2018, 79 mutual savings banks, 26 life insurance institutions, which includes joint venture life insurance institutions and wholly-owned subsidiaries of foreign life insurance companies, and eight credit card companies operated in the Republic.

Money Markets

In the Republic, the money markets consist of the call market and markets for a wide range of other short-term financial instruments, including treasury bills, monetary stabilization bonds, negotiable certificates of deposits, repurchase agreements and commercial paper.

Securities Markets

On January 27, 2005, the Korea Exchange was established pursuant to the now repealed Korea Securities and Futures Exchange Act by consolidating the Korea Stock Exchange, the Korea Futures Exchange, the KOSDAQ Stock Market, Inc., or the KOSDAQ, and the KOSDAQ Committee of the Korea Securities Dealers Association, which had formerly managed the KOSDAQ. There are three major markets operated by the Korea Exchange: the KRX KOSPI Market, the KRX KOSDAQ Market, and the KRX Derivatives Market. The Korea Exchange has two trading floors located in Seoul, one for the KRX KOSPI Market and one for the KRX KOSDAQ Market, and one trading floor in Busan for the KRX Derivatives Market. The Korea Exchange is a joint stock company with limited liability, the shares of which are held by (i) financial investment companies that were formerly members of the Korea Futures Exchange or the Korea Stock Exchange and (ii) the stockholders of the KOSDAQ. Currently, the Korea Exchange is the only stock exchange in Korea and is operated by membership, having as its members Korean financial investment companies and some Korean branches of foreign financial investment companies.

The Korea Exchange publishes the Korea Composite Stock Price Index every ten seconds, which is an index of all equity securities listed on the Korea Exchange. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index is computed using the aggregate value method, whereby the market capitalizations of all listed companies are aggregated, subject to certain adjustments, and this aggregate is expressed as a percentage of the aggregate market capitalization of all listed companies as of the base date, January 4, 1980.

The following table shows the value of the Korea Composite Stock Price Index as of the dates indicated:


December 31, 2014			1,915.6
January 30, 2015			1,949.3
February 27, 2015			1,985.8
March 31, 2015			2,041.0
April 30, 2015			2,127.2
May 29, 2015			2,114.8


June 30, 2015			2,074.2
July 31, 2015			2,030.2
August 29, 2015			1,941.5
September 30, 2015			1,962.8
October 30, 2015			2,029.5
November 30, 2015			1,992.0
December 30, 2015			1,960.3
January 29, 2016			1,912.1
February 29, 2016			1,916.7
March 31, 2016			1,995.8
April 29, 2016			1,994.2
May 31, 2016			1,983.4
June 30, 2016			1,970.4
July 29, 2016			2,016.2
August 31, 2016			2,034.7
September 30, 2016			2,043.6
October 31, 2016			2,008.2
November 30, 2016			1,983.5
December 29, 2016			2,026.5
January 31, 2017			2,067.6
February 28, 2017			2,091.6
March 31, 2017			2,160.2
April 28, 2017			2,205.4
May 31, 2017			2,347.4
June 30, 2017			2,391.8
July 31, 2017			2,402.7
August 31, 2017			2,363.2
September 29, 2017			2,394.5
October 31, 2017			2,523.4
November 30, 2017			2,476.4
December 28, 2017			2,467.5
January 31, 2018			2,566.5
February 28, 2018			2,427.4
March 30, 2018			2,445.9
April 30, 2018			2,515.4
May 31, 2018			2,423.0
June 29, 2018			2,326.1
July 31, 2018			2,326.1
August 31, 2018			2,295.3
September 28, 2018			2,322.9
October 31, 2018			2,343.1
November 30, 2018			2,029.7
December 31, 2018			2,096.9
January 31, 2019			2,041.0
February 28, 2019			2,204.9
March 29, 2019			2,140.7

As liquidity and credit concerns and volatility in the global financial markets increased significantly since September 2008, there was a significant overall decline in the stock prices of Korean companies during the fourth quarter of 2008 and first half of 2009 and the index has fluctuated since then. The index was 2,179.3 on April 26, 2019.

Supervision System

The Office of Bank Supervision, the Securities Supervisory Board, the Insurance Supervisory Board and all other financial sector regulatory bodies merged in January 1999 to form the Financial Services Commission. The Financial Services Commission acts as the executive body over the Financial Supervisory Service. The Financial Services Commission reports to, but operates independently of, the Prime Minister’s office.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance focuses on financial policy and foreign currency regulations. The Bank of Korea manages monetary policy focusing on price stabilization.

Deposit Insurance System

The Republic’s deposit insurance system insures amounts on deposit with banks, non-bank financial institutions, securities companies and life insurance companies.

Since January 2001, deposits at any single financial institution are insured only up to W50 million per person regardless of the amount deposited.

The Government excluded certain deposits, such as repurchase agreements, from the insurance scheme, expanded the definition of unsound financial institutions to which the insurance scheme would apply and gradually increased the insurance premiums payable by insured financial institutions.

Monetary Policy

The Bank of Korea

The Bank of Korea was established in 1950 as Korea’s central bank and the country’s sole currency issuing bank. A seven-member Monetary Policy Committee, chaired by the Governor of The Bank of Korea, formulates and controls monetary and credit policies.

Inflation targeting is the basic system of operation for Korean monetary policy. The consumer price index is used as The Bank of Korea’s target indicator. To achieve its established inflation target, the Monetary Policy Committee of The Bank of Korea determines and announces the “Bank of Korea Base Rate,” the reference rate applied in transactions such as repurchase agreements between The Bank of Korea and its financial institution counterparts. The Bank of Korea uses open market operations as its primary instrument to keep the call rate in line with the Monetary Policy Committee’s target rate. In addition, The Bank of Korea is able to establish policies regarding its lending to banks in Korea and their reserve requirements.

Interest Rates

On October 9, 2008, The Bank of Korea cut its policy rate to 5.0% from 5.25%, and continued to lower it further to 4.25% on October 27, 2008, 4.0% on November 7, 2008, 3.0% on December 11, 2008, 2.5% on January 9, 2009 and 2.0% on February 12, 2009, in order to address financial market instability and to help combat the slowdown of the domestic economy. On July 9, 2010, The Bank of Korea raised the policy rate to 2.25% from 2.0%, which was further raised to 2.5% on November 16, 2010, in response to signs of inflationary pressures and the continued growth of domestic economy. On January 13, 2011, The Bank of Korea raised the policy rate to 2.75%, which was further increased to 3.0% on March 10, 2011 and to 3.25% on June 10, 2011, in response to inflationary pressures driven mainly by rises in the prices of petroleum products and farm products. The Bank of Korea lowered its policy rate to 3.0% from 3.25% on July 12, 2012, which was further lowered to 2.75% on October 11, 2012, 2.5% on May 9, 2013, 2.25% on August 14, 2014, 2.0% on October 15, 2014, 1.75% on March 12, 2015, 1.5% on June 11, 2015 and 1.25% on June 9, 2016, in order to address the sluggishness of the global and domestic economy. On November 30, 2017, The Bank of Korea raised its policy rate to 1.5% from 1.25%, which was further raised to 1.75% on November 30, 2018, in response to signs of inflationary pressures and the continued growth of the global and domestic economy.

With the deregulation of interest rates on banks’ demand deposits on February 2, 2004, The Bank of Korea completed the interest rate deregulation based upon the “Four-Stage Interest Rate Liberalization Plan” announced in 1991. The prohibition on the payment of interest on ordinary checking accounts was, however, maintained.

Money Supply

The following table shows the volume of the Republic’s money supply:


	December 31,
	2014			2015			2016			2017			2018
	(billions of Won)
Money Supply (M1) ⁽¹⁾		585,822.6			708,452.9			795,531.1			849,862.4			865,851.8
Quasi-money ⁽²⁾		1,491,411.4			1,538,922.1			1,611,928.0			1,680,491.2			1,834,510.6
Money Supply (M2) ⁽³⁾		2,077,234.0			2,247,375.0			2,407,459.1			2,530,353.6			2,700,362.4
Percentage Increase Over Previous Year		8.1	%		8.2	%		7.1	%		5.1	%		6.7	%

(1)	Consists of currency in circulation and demand and instant access savings deposits at financial institutions.

(2)	Includes time and installment savings deposits, marketable instruments, yield-based dividend instruments and financial debentures, excluding financial instruments with a maturity of more than two years.

(3)	Money Supply (M2) is the sum of Money Supply (M1) and quasi-money.

Source: The Bank of Korea.

Exchange Controls

Authorized foreign exchange banks, as registered with the Ministry of Economy and Finance, handle foreign exchange transactions. The ministry has designated other types of financial institutions to handle foreign exchange transactions on a limited basis.

Korean laws and regulations generally require a report to either the Ministry of Economy and Finance, The Bank of Korea or authorized foreign exchange banks, as applicable, for issuances of international bonds and other instruments, overseas investments and certain other transactions involving foreign exchange payments.

In 1994 and 1995, the Government relaxed regulations of foreign exchange position ceilings and foreign exchange transaction documentation and created free Won accounts which may be opened by non-residents at Korean foreign exchange banks. The Won funds deposited into the free Won accounts may be converted into foreign currencies and remitted outside Korea without any governmental approval. In December 1996, after joining the OECD, the Republic freed the repatriation of investment funds, dividends and profits, as well as loan repayments and interest payments. The Government continues to reduce exchange controls in response to changes in the world economy, including the new trade regime under the WTO, anticipating that such foreign exchange reform will improve the Republic’s competitiveness and encourage strategic alliances between domestic and foreign entities.

In September 1998, the National Assembly passed the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, which became effective in April 1999 and has subsequently been amended numerous times. In principle, most currency and capital transactions, including, among others, the following transactions, have been liberalized:

•

the investment in real property located overseas by Korean companies and financial institutions;

•

the establishment of overseas branches and subsidiaries by Korean companies and financial institutions;

•

the investment by non-residents in deposits and trust products having more than one year maturities; and

•

the issuance of debentures by non-residents in the Korean market.

To minimize the adverse effects from further opening of the Korean capital markets, the Ministry of Economy and Finance is authorized to introduce a variable deposit requirement system to restrict the influx of short-term speculative funds.

The Government has also embarked on a second set of liberalization initiatives starting in January 2001, under which ceilings on international payments for Korean residents have been eliminated, including overseas travel expenses, overseas inheritance remittances and emigration expenses. Overseas deposits, trusts, acquisitions of foreign securities and other foreign capital transactions made by residents and the making of deposits in Korean currency by non-residents have also been liberalized. In line with the foregoing liberalization, measures will also be adopted to curb illegal foreign exchange transactions and to stabilize the foreign exchange market.

Effective as of January 1, 2006, the Government liberalized the regulations governing “capital transactions.” The regulations provide that no regulatory approvals are required for any capital transactions. The capital transactions previously subject to approval requirements are now subject only to reporting requirements.

In January 2010, the Financial Supervisory Services released FX Derivative Transactions Risk Management Guideline to prevent over-hedging of foreign exchange risk by corporate investors. According to the guideline as amended in July 2010, if a corporate investor, other than a financial institution or a public enterprise, wishes to enter into a foreign exchange forward, option or swap agreement with a bank, the bank is required to verify whether the corporate investor’s assets, liabilities or contracts face foreign exchange risks that could be mitigated by a foreign exchange forward, option or swap agreement. In addition, the bank is required to ensure that the corporate investor’s risk hedge ratio, which is the ratio of the aggregate notional amount to the aggregate amount of risk, does not exceed 100%.

Foreign Exchange

The following table shows the exchange rate between the Won and the U.S. Dollar (in Won per U.S. Dollar) as announced by the Seoul Money Brokerage Services, Ltd. as of the dates indicated:


	Won/U.S. Dollar Exchange Rate
December 31, 2014		1,099.2
January 30, 2015		1,090.8
February 27, 2015		1,099.2
March 31, 2015		1,105.0
April 30, 2015		1,068.1
May 29, 2015		1,108.0
June 30, 2015		1,124.1
July 31, 2015		1,166.3
August 31, 2015		1,176.3
September 30, 2015		1,194.5
October 30, 2015		1,142.3
November 30, 2015		1,150.4
December 31, 2015		1,172.0
January 29, 2016		1,208.4
February 29, 2016		1,235.4
March 31, 2016		1,153.5
April 29, 2016		1,143.9
May 31, 2016		1,190.6
June 30, 2016		1,164.7
July 31, 2016		1,125.7
August 31, 2016		1,118.5


	Won/U.S. Dollar Exchange Rate
September 30, 2016		1,096.3
October 31, 2016		1,145.2
November 30, 2016		1,168.5
December 30, 2016		1,208.5
January 31, 2017		1,157.8
February 28, 2017		1,132.1
March 31, 2017		1,116.1
April 28, 2017		1,130.1
May 31, 2017		1,123.9
June 30, 2017		1,139.6
July 31, 2017		1,119.1
August 31, 2017		1,122.8
September 29, 2017		1,146.7
October 31, 2017		1,125.0
November 30, 2017		1,082.4
December 29, 2017		1,071.4
January 31, 2018		1,071.5
February 28, 2018		1,071.0
March 30, 2018		1,066.5
April 30, 2018		1,076.2
May 31, 2018		1,081.3
June 29, 2018		1,121.7
July 31, 2018		1,116.7
August 31, 2018		1,108.8
September 28, 2018		1,112.7
October 31, 2018		1,140.6
November 30, 2018		1,121.8
December 31, 2018		1,118.1
January 31, 2019		1,117.2
February 28, 2019		1,117.8
March 29, 2019		1,137.8

During the period from January 2, 2008 through April 16, 2009, the value of the Won relative to the U.S. dollar declined by approximately 29.9%, due primarily to adverse economic conditions resulting from liquidity and credit concerns and volatility in the global credit and financial markets and repatriations by foreign investors of their investments in the Korean stock market. The exchange rate between the Won and the U.S. Dollar has fluctuated since then. The market average exchange rate was W1,158.7 to US$1.00 on April 26, 2019.

Balance of Payments and Foreign Trade

Balance of Payments

Balance of payments figures measure the relative flow of goods, services and capital into and out of the country as represented in the current balance and the capital balance. The current balance tracks a country’s trade in goods and services and transfer payments and measures whether a country is living within its income from trading and investments. The capital balance covers all transactions involving the transfer of capital into and out of the country, including loans and investments. The overall balance represents the sum of the current and capital balances. An overall balance surplus indicates a net inflow of foreign currencies, thereby increasing demand for and strengthening the local currency. An overall balance deficit indicates a net outflow of foreign currencies, thereby decreasing demand for and weakening the local currency. The financial account mirrors the overall balance. If the overall balance is positive, the surplus, which represents the nation’s savings, finances the overall

deficit of the country’s trading partners. Accordingly, the financial account will indicate cash outflows equal to the overall surplus. If, however, the overall balance is negative, the nation has an international deficit which must be financed. Accordingly, the financial account will indicate cash inflows equal to the overall deficit.

The following table sets out certain information with respect to the Republic’s balance of payments:

Balance of Payments⁽¹⁾


Classification	2014			2015			2016			2017			2018⁽⁴⁾
	(millions of dollars)
Current Account		83,029.6			105,118.6			97,923.7			75,230.9			76,408.5
Goods		86,145.0			120,275.0			116,461.7			113,592.9			111,866.6
Exports ⁽²⁾		613,396.5			543,082.5			511,926.1			580,310.2			625,437.4
Imports ⁽²⁾		527,251.5			422,807.5			395,464.4			466,717.3			513,570.8
Services		(3,290.1	)		(14,625.8	)		(17,338.4	)		(36,734.1	)		(29,737.1	)
Income		5,159.4			4,454.6			4,567.1			5,336.9			2,777.7
Current Transfers		(4,984.7	)		(4,985.2	)		(5,766.7	)		(6,964.8	)		(8,498.7	)
Capital and Financial Account		86,340.5			102,724.3			99,765.1			84,398.5			70,678.2
Capital Account		(8.9	)		(60.2	)		(46.2	)		(26.8	)		188.9
Financial Account ⁽³⁾		86,349.4			102,784.5			99,811.3			84,425.3			70,489.3
Net Errors and Omissions		3,328.7			(2,273.9	)		1,933.8			9.221.2			(6,108.1	)

(1)

Figures are prepared based on the sixth edition of Balance of Payment Manual, or BPM6, published by International Monetary Fund in December 2010 and implemented by the Government in December 2013. In December 2018, The Bank of Korea revised the Republic’s balance of payments information to capture new economic activities and reflect the changes in raw data.

(2)	These entries are derived from trade statistics and are valued on a free on board basis, meaning that the insurance and freight costs are not included.

(3)	Includes borrowings from the IMF, syndicated bank loans and short-term borrowings.

(4)	Preliminary.

Source: The Bank of Korea.

The current account surplus in 2017 decreased to US$75.2 billion from the current account surplus of US$97.9 billion in 2016, primarily due to an increase in deficit from the service account. Based on preliminary data, the Republic recorded a current account surplus of approximately US$76.4 billion in 2018. The current account surplus in 2018 increased from the current account surplus of US$75.2 billion in 2017, primarily due to a decrease in deficit from the service account which more than offset decreases in surpluses from the current transfers account and the goods account.

Foreign Direct Investment

Since 1960, the Government has adopted a broad range of related laws, administrative rules and regulations, providing a framework for the conduct and regulation of foreign investment activities. In September 1998, the Government promulgated the Foreign Investment Promotion Act, or the FIPA, which replaced previous foreign direct investment related laws, rules and regulations, to promote inbound foreign investments by providing incentives to, and facilitating investment activities in the Republic by, foreign nationals. The FIPA prescribes, among others, procedural requirements for inbound foreign investments, incentives for foreign investments such as tax reductions, and requirements relating to designation and development of foreign investment target regions. The Government believes that providing a stable and receptive environment for foreign direct investment will accelerate the inflow of foreign capital, technology and management techniques.

The following table sets forth information regarding annual foreign direct investment in the Republic for the periods indicated.

Foreign Direct Investment


	2014		2015		2016		2017		2018
	(billions of dollars)
Contracted and Reported Investment
Greenfield Investment⁽¹⁾		11.0		14.1		15.0		15.7		20.0
Merger & Acquisition		8.0		6.8		6.3		7.2		6.9

Total		19.0		20.9		21.3		22.9		26.9

Actual Investment		12.2		16.6		10.8		13.6		17.0	⁽²⁾

(1)	Includes building new factories and operational facilities.

(2)	Preliminary.

Source: Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

In 2017, the contracted and reported amount of foreign direct investment in the Republic increased to US$22.9 billion from US$21.3 billion in 2016, primarily due to an increase in foreign investment in the manufacturing sector to US$7.2 billion in 2017 from US$5.0 billion in 2016, which more than offset a decrease in foreign investment in the electricity, gas and construction sector to US$0.3 billion in 2017 from US$0.7 billion in 2016.

In 2018, the contracted and reported amount of foreign direct investment in the Republic increased to US$26.9 billion from US$22.9 billion in 2017, primarily due to an increase in foreign investment in the manufacturing sector to US$10.0 billion in 2018 from US$7.2 billion in 2017.

The following table sets forth information regarding the source of foreign direct investment by region and country for the periods indicated:

Foreign Direct Investment by Region and Country


	2014		2015		2016		2017		2018
	(billions of dollars)
North America
U.S.A.		3.6		5.5		3.9		4.7		5.9
Others		1.4		2.9		1.4		1.6		1.9

		5.0		8.4		5.3		6.3		7.8

Asia
Japan		2.5		1.7		1.2		1.8		1.3
Hong Kong		1.1		1.5		2.1		1.8		1.5
Singapore		1.7		2.5		2.3		1.8		1.5
China		1.2		2.0		2.0		0.8		2.7
Others		0.3		0.7		0.5		2.0		2.4

		6.8		8.4		8.1		8.2		9.4

European Union
Malta		0.4		0.7		4.1		1.1		2.6
Netherlands		2.4		0.5		1.5		1.7		1.4
England		0.4		0.3		0.4		2.2		1.2
Germany		0.2		0.5		0.3		0.7		0.5
France		0.2		0.1		0.2		0.3		0.7
Luxembourg		1.9		0.2		0.2		0.2		0.2
Others		1.2		0.4		0.8		1.1		2.4

		6.7		2.7		7.5		7.3		9.0

Others regions and countries		0.5		1.4		0.4		1.1		0.6

Total		19.0		20.9		21.3		22.9		26.9

Source: Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Trade Balance

Trade balance figures measure the difference between a country’s exports and imports. If exports exceed imports the country has a trade balance surplus while if imports exceed exports the country has a deficit. A deficit, indicating that a country’s receipts from abroad fall short of its payments to foreigners, must be financed, rendering the country a debtor nation. A surplus, indicating that a country’s receipts exceed its payments to foreigners, allows the country to finance its trading partners’ net deficit to the extent of the surplus, rendering the country a creditor nation.

The following table summarizes the Republic’s trade balance for the periods indicated:

Trade Balance


	Exports⁽¹⁾		As% of GDP⁽²⁾			Imports⁽³⁾		As% of GDP⁽²⁾			Balance of Trade		Exports as % of Imports
	(billions of dollars, except percentages)
2014		572.7		40.6	%		525.5		37.2	%		47.2		109.0
2015		526.8		38.1	%		436.5		31.6	%		90.3		120.7
2016		495.4		35.0	%		406.2		28.7	%		89.2		122.0
2017		573.7		37.5	%		478.5		31.3	%		95.2		119.9
2018⁽⁴⁾		604.9		37.3	%		535.2		33.0	%		69.7		113.0

(1)	These entries are derived from customs clearance statistics on a C.I.F. basis, meaning that the price of goods include insurance and freight cost.

(2)	At current market prices.

(3)	These entries are derived from customs clearance statistics on a C.I.F. basis, meaning that the price of goods include insurance and freight cost.

(4)	Preliminary.

Source: The Bank of Korea; Korea Customs Service.

The Republic, due to its lack of natural resources, relies on extensive trading activity for growth. The country meets virtually all domestic requirements for petroleum, wood and rubber with imports, as well as much of its coal and iron needs. Exports consistently represent a high percentage of GDP and, accordingly, the international economic environment is of crucial importance to the Republic’s economy.

The following tables give information regarding the Republic’s exports and imports by major commodity groups:

Exports by Major Commodity Groups (C.I.F.)⁽¹⁾


	2014		As % of 2014 Total		2015		As % of 2015 Total		2016		As % of 2016 Total		2017		As % of 2017 Total		2018⁽²⁾		As % of 2018 Total⁽²⁾
	(billions of dollars, except percentages)
Foods & Consumer Goods		7.0		1.2		6.8		1.3		7.4		1.5		7.8		1.4		7.9		1.3
Raw Materials and Fuels		59.2		10.3		39.5		7.5		33.0		6.7		43.1		7.5		55.1		9.1
Petroleum & Derivatives		51.2		8.9		32.4		6.1		26.8		5.4		35.4		6.2		47.0		7.8
Others		8.0		1.4		7.1		1.3		6.2		1.3		7.7		1.3		8.1		1.3
Light Industrial Products		38.6		6.7		35.4		6.7		35.4		7.1		36.0		6.3		35.8		5.9
Heavy & Chemical Industrial Products		467.9		81.7		445.1		84.5		419.7		84.7		486.8		84.9		506.1		83.7
Electronic & Electronic Products		174.4		30.5		170.5		32.4		159.4		32.2		192.0		33.5		214.8		35.5
Chemicals & Chemical Products		65.6		11.5		55.9		10.6		55.3		11.2		65.7		11.5		74.0		12.2
Metal Goods		47.5		8.3		41.4		7.9		39.9		8.1		46.9		8.2		48.1		8.0
Machinery & Precision Equipment		57.9		10.1		57.3		10.9		55.2		11.1		63.3		11.0		69.4		11.5
Transport Equipment		116.5		20.3		112.8		21.4		101.0		20.4		108.8		19.0		87.4		14.4
Passenger Cars		44.8		7.8		41.7		7.9		37.5		7.6		38.8		6.8		38.2		6.3
Ship & Boat		38.7		6.8		38.8		7.4		33.5		6.8		41.4		7.2		20.7		3.4
Others		33.0		5.8		32.3		6.1		30.0		6.1		28.6		5.0		28.4		4.7
Others		6.0		1.0		7.2		1.4		8.9		1.8		10.1		1.8		12.5		2.1

Total		572.7		100.0		526.8		100.0		495.4		100.0		573.7		100.0		604.9		100.0

(1)	These entries are derived from customs clearance statistics. C.I.F. means that the price of goods includes insurance and freight costs.

(2)	Preliminary.

Source: The Bank of Korea; Korea Customs Service.

Imports by Major Commodity Groups (C.I.F.)⁽¹⁾


	2014		As % of 2014 Total		2015		As % of 2015 Total		2016		As % of 2016 Total		2017		As % of 2017 Total		2018⁽²⁾		As % of 2018 Total⁽²⁾
	(billions of dollars, except percentages)
Industrial Materials and Fuels		311.2		59.2		219.0		50.2		191.0		47.0		233.1		48.7		279.0		52.1
Crude Petroleum		94.9		18.1		55.1		12.6		44.3		10.9		59.6		12.5		80.4		15.0
Mineral		24.6		4.7		17.6		4.0		15.5		3.8		20.3		4.2		22.0		4.1
Chemicals		43.9		8.4		39.6		9.1		39.1		9.6		44.0		9.2		50.0		9.3
Iron & Steel Products		27.0		5.1		21.2		4.9		18.9		4.7		20.3		4.2		19.7		3.7
Non-ferrous Metal		12.8		2.4		11.6		2.7		10.7		2.6		12.1		2.5		12.8		2.4
Others		108.0		20.5		74.0		16.9		62.5		15.4		76.8		16.1		94.1		17.6
Capital Goods		149.0		28.3		150.8		34.5		147.8		36.4		171.8		35.9		174.6		32.6
Machinery & Precision Equipment		50.8		9.7		49.1		11.2		47.8		11.8		63.1		13.2		60.5		11.3
Electric & Electronic Machines		84.5		16.1		87.5		20.0		84.9		20.9		95.8		20.0		100.4		18.8
Transport Equipment		11.6		2.2		12.4		2.8		13.0		3.2		10.8		2.3		11.5		2.1
Others		2.1		0.4		1.9		0.4		2.1		0.5		2.1		0.4		2.2		0.4
Consumer Goods		65.3		12.4		66.7		15.3		67.4		16.6		73.6		15.4		81.6		15.2
Cereals		7.9		1.5		6.9		1.6		6.2		1.5		6.0		1.3		6.8		1.3
Goods for Direct Consumption		16.7		3.2		17.1		3.9		17.8		4.4		19.7		4.1		22.3		4.2
Consumer Durable Goods		24.7		4.7		26.6		6.1		27.0		6.6		30.0		6.3		32.2		6.0
Consumer Nondurable Goods		16.0		3.0		16.0		3.7		16.4		4.0		17.9		3.7		20.3		3.8

Total		525.5		100.0		436.5		100.0		406.2		100.0		478.5		100.0		535.2		100.0

(1)	These entries are derived from customs clearance statistics. C.I.F. means that the price of goods includes insurance and freight costs.

(2)	Preliminary.

Source: The Bank of Korea; Korea Customs Service.

In 2014, the Republic recorded a trade surplus of US$47.2 billion. Exports increased by 2.3% to US$572.7 billion in 2014 from US$559.6 billion in 2013, primarily due to increased demand for semiconductors, wireless communication devices, iron and steel from the United States, the EU and the Southeast Asian nations. Imports increased by 1.9% to US$525.5 billion in 2014 from US$515.6 billion in 2013, primarily due to increased imports of cars, components for wireless communication devices and beef.

In 2015, the Republic recorded a trade surplus of US$90.3 billion in 2015. Exports decreased by 8.0% to US$526.8 billion in 2015 from US$572.7 billion in 2014, primarily due to adverse global economic conditions. Imports decreased by 16.9% to US$436.5 billion in 2015 from US$525.5 billion in 2014, primarily due to a decrease in oil prices, which also decreased unit prices of major raw materials.

In 2016, the Republic recorded a trade surplus of US$89.2 billion in 2016. Exports decreased by 6.0% to US$495.4 billion in 2016 from US$526.8 billion in 2015, primarily due to the continued slowdown of the global economy. Imports decreased by 6.9% to US$406.2 billion in 2016 from US$436.5 billion in 2015, primarily due to a continued decrease in oil prices, which also led to decreased unit prices of other major raw materials.

In 2017, the Republic recorded a trade surplus of US$95.2 billion. Exports increased by 15.8% to US$573.7 billion in 2017 from US$495.4 billion in 2016, primarily due to increased demand for semiconductors and steel products. Imports increased by 17.8% to US$478.5 billion in 2017 from US$406.2 billion in 2016, primarily due to an increase in oil prices, which also led to increased unit prices of other major raw materials, and increased imports of machinery, precision equipment and electronic machines.

Based on preliminary data, the Republic recorded a trade surplus of US$69.7 billion in 2018. Exports increased by 5.4% to US$604.9 billion in 2018 from US$573.7 billion in 2017, primarily due to increased demand for semiconductors and petroleum products. Imports increased by 11.8% to US$535.2 billion in 2018 from US$478.5 billion in 2017, primarily due to an increase in oil prices, which also led to increased unit prices of other major raw materials.

The following table sets forth the Republic’s exports trading partners:

Exports


	2014		As % of 2014 Total		2015		As % of 2015 Total		2016		As % of 2016 Total		2017		As % of 2017 Total		2018⁽¹⁾		As % of 2018 Total⁽¹⁾
	(millions of dollars, except percentages)
China		145,287.7		25.4		137,123.9		26.0		124,432.9		25.1		142,120.0		24.8		162,125.1		26.8
United States		70,284.9		12.3		69,832.1		13.3		66,462.3		13.4		68,609.7		12.0		72,719.9		12.0
Japan		32,183.8		5.6		25,576.5		4.9		24,355.0		4.9		26,816.1		4.7		30,528.6		5.0
Hong Kong		27,256.4		4.8		30,418.2		5.8		32,782.4		6.6		39,112.3		6.8		45,996.4		7.6
Singapore		23,749.9		4.1		15,011.2		2.8		12,458.9		2.5		11,651.9		2.0		11,782.2		1.9
Vietnam		22,351.7		3.9		27,770.8		5.3		32,630.5		6.6		47,753.8		8.3		48,622.1		8.0
Taiwan		15,077.4		2.6		12,004.3		2.3		12,220.5		2.5		14,898.4		2.6		20,783.5		3.4
India		12,782.5		2.2		12,029.6		2.3		11,596.3		2.3		15,055.5		2.6		15,606.2		2.6
Indonesia		11,360.7		2.0		7,872.4		1.5		6,608.5		1.3		8,403.7		1.5		8,833.2		1.5
Mexico		10,846.0		1.9		10,891.9		2.1		9,720.8		2.0		10,932.6		1.9		11,458.2		1.9
Australia		10,282.5		1.8		10,830.6		2.1		7,500.7		1.5		19,861.6		3.5		9,610.4		1.6
Russia		10,129.2		1.8		4,685.7		0.9		4,768.8		1.0		6,906.6		1.2		7,320.9		1.2
Germany		7,570.9		1.3		6,220.2		1.2		6,443.0		1.3		8,483.8		1.5		9,372.7		1.5
Others⁽²⁾		173,501.0		30.3		156,489.1		29.7		143,445.3		29.0		153,088.4		26.7		150,100.2		24.8

Total		572,664.6		100.0		526,756.5		100.0		495,425.9		100.0		573,694.4		100.0		604,859.7		100.0

(1)	Preliminary.

(2)	Includes more than 200 countries and regions.

Source: The Bank of Korea; Korea Customs Service.

The following table sets forth the Republic’s imports trading partners:

Imports


	2014		As % of 2014 Total		2015		As % of 2015 Total		2016		As % of 2016 Total		2017		As % of 2017 Total		2018⁽¹⁾		As % of 2018 Total⁽¹⁾
	(millions of dollars, except percentages)
China		90,082.2		17.1		90,250.3		20.7		86,980.1		19.9		97,860.1		20.5		106,488.6		19.9
Japan		53,768.3		10.2		45,853.8		10.5		47,466.6		10.9		55,124.7		11.5		54,603.7		10.2
United States		45,283.3		8.6		44,024.4		10.1		43,215.9		9.9		50,749.4		10.6		58,868.3		11.0
Saudi Arabia		36,694.5		7.0		19,561.5		4.5		15,741.7		3.6		19,590.5		4.1		26,335.8		4.9
Qatar		25,723.1		4.9		16,474.8		3.8		10,081.3		2.3		11,267.1		2.4		16,293.6		3.0
Australia		20,413.0		3.9		16,437.8		3.8		15,175.9		3.5		19,159.7		4.0		20,718.6		3.9
Germany		21,298.8		4.0		20,956.5		4.8		18,917.0		4.3		19,748.7		4.1		20,854.0		3.9
Kuwait		16,892.0		3.2		8,973.4		2.1		7,262.3		1.7		9,594.0		2.0		12,794.3		2.4
Taiwan		15,689.8		3.0		16,653.9		3.8		16,403.1		3.8		18,073.0		3.8		16,738.4		3.1
United Arab Emirates		16,194.3		3.1		8,614.7		2.0		6,941.1		1.6		9,557.1		2.0		9,287.4		1.7
Indonesia		12,266.3		2.3		8,850.4		2.0		8,285.3		1.9		9,571.0		2.0		11,161.2		2.1
Malaysia		11,097.9		2.1		8,609.4		2.0		7,507.8		1.7		8,714.7		1.8		10,205.7		1.9
Others⁽²⁾		160,111.0		30.5		131,238.1		30.1		122,214.8		34.9		149,468.3		31.2		170,852.9		31.9

Total		525,514.5		100.0		436,499.0		100.0		406,192.9		100.0		478,478.3		100.0		535,202.4		100.0

(1)	Preliminary.

(2)	Includes more than 200 countries and regions.

Source: The Bank of Korea; Korea Customs Service.

In the past, the outbreak of severe health epidemics in Korea and various parts of the world increased uncertainty about prospects for international trade and economic growth for affected countries, as well as world economic prospects in general. In response to these outbreaks, the Government issued advisories on disease prevention and conducted special monitoring. In May 2015, an outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS, resulted in the death of over 30 people and the quarantine of thousands. The Government continues to cooperate with regional and international efforts to develop and implement additional measures to contain and prevent MERS and other diseases. Another outbreak of MERS or similar incidents in the future, however, may have an adverse effect on Korean and world economies and on international trade.

In recent years, the value of the Won relative to the U.S. dollar and Japanese Yen has fluctuated widely. An appreciation of the Won against the U.S. dollar and Japanese Yen increases the Won value of the Republic’s export sales and diminishes the price-competitiveness of export goods in foreign markets in U.S. dollar and Japanese Yen terms, respectively. However, it also decreases the cost of imported raw materials in Won terms and the cost in Won of servicing the Republic’s U.S. dollar and Japanese Yen denominated debt. In general, when the Won appreciates, export dependent sectors of the Korean economy, including automobiles, electronics and shipbuilding, suffer from the resulting pressure on the price-competitiveness of export goods, which may lead to reduced profit margins and loss in market share, more than offsetting a decrease in the cost of imported raw materials. If the export dependent sectors of the Korean economy suffer reduced profit margins or a net loss, it could result in a material adverse effect on the Korean economy.

Since the Government announced its plans to pursue free trade agreements, or FTAs, in 2003, the Republic has entered into FTAs with key trading partners. The Republic has had bilateral FTAs in effect with Chile since 2004, Singapore since 2006, India since 2010, Peru since 2011, the United States since 2012, Turkey since 2013, Australia since 2014, Canada, China, New Zealand and Vietnam since 2015 and Colombia since July 2016. In

March 2017, the Republic signed a regional FTA with each of Panama, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua. The Republic is currently in negotiations with a number of other key trading partners. In addition, the Republic has had regional FTAs in effect with the European Free Trade Association since 2006, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations since 2009 and the European Union since 2011 and is currently negotiating additional regional FTAs, including one with China and Japan. The Republic and the United States have recently completed revisions to their bilateral FTA, which became effective in January 2019.

Non-Commodities Trade Balance

The Republic had non-commodities trade deficits of US$4.5 billion in 2014, US$16.3 billion in 2015, US$19.7 billion in 2016 and US$38.4 billion in 2017. Based on preliminary data, the Republic had a non-commodities trade deficit of US$35.5 billion in 2018.

Foreign Currency Reserves

The foreign currency reserves are external assets that are readily available to and controlled by monetary authorities for meeting balance of payments financing needs and for other related purposes. The following table shows the Republic’s total official foreign currency reserves:

Total Official Reserves


	December 31,
	2014		2015		2016		2017		2018
	(millions of dollars)
Gold	$	4,794.7	$	4,794.8	$	4,794.8	$	4,794.8	$	4,794.8
Foreign Exchange ⁽¹⁾		353,600.5		358,513.8		361,701.4		379,476.6		393,332.5

Total Gold and Foreign Exchange		358,395.2		363,308.6		366,496.2		384,271.3		398,127.2

Reserve Position at IMF		1,917.1		1,411.8		1,727.5		1,621.1		2,140.4
Special Drawing Rights		3,280.5		3,241.4		2,878.0		3,374.3		3,426.6

Total Official Reserves	$	363,592.7	$	367,961.9	$	371,101.6	$	389,266.7	$	403,694.3

(1)	More than 95% of the Republic’s foreign currency reserves are comprised of convertible foreign currencies.

Source: The Bank of Korea; International Monetary Fund

The Government’s foreign currency reserves increased to US$262.2 billion as of December 31, 2007 from US$8.9 billion as of December 31, 1997, primarily due to continued balance of trade surpluses and capital inflows. In 2008, the Government’s foreign currency reserves decreased, falling to US$201.2 billion as of December 31, 2008, partially as a result of the Government’s use of the foreign currency reserve to provide foreign currency liquidity to Korean financial institutions. The Government’s foreign currency reserves increased to US$363.6 billion as of December 31, 2014, US$368.0 billion as of December 31, 2015, US$371.1 billion as of December 31, 2016, US$389.3 billion as of December 31, 2017 and US$403.7 billion as of December 31, 2018, primarily due to continued trade surpluses and capital inflows. The amount of the Government’s foreign currency reserve was US$405.3 billion as of March 31, 2019.

Government Finance

The Ministry of Economy and Finance prepares the Government budget and administers the Government’s finances.

The Government’s fiscal year commences on January 1. The Government must submit the budget, which is drafted by the Minister of Economy and Finance and approved by the President of the Republic, to the National

Assembly not later than 90 days prior to the start of the fiscal year and may submit supplementary budgets revising the original budget at any time during the fiscal year.

2017 budgeted revenues increased by 5.8% to W391.2 trillion from W369.9 trillion in 2016, led by an increase in budgeted tax revenues (including revenues from social security contributions, taxes on goods and services and taxes on income, profits and capital gains). 2017 budgeted expenditures and net lending increased by 2.9% to W378.2 trillion from W367.4 trillion in 2016, led by increases in budgeted expenditures on welfare services for senior citizens, children, unemployed people and temporary workers, military services, infrastructure and community development. The 2017 budget anticipated a W13.0 billion budget surplus.

2018 budgeted revenues increased by 6.4% to W416.1 trillion from W391.2 trillion in 2017, led by an increase in budgeted tax revenues (including revenues from social security contributions, taxes on goods and services and taxes on income, profits and capital gains). 2018 budgeted expenditures and net lending increased by 5.2% to W397.7 trillion from W378.2 trillion in 2017, led by increases in budgeted expenditures on the agriculture, forestry and fisheries industry, welfare services for senior citizens, children, unemployed people and temporary workers, health and medical services, education services and military services. The 2018 budget anticipated a W18.4 billion budget surplus.

2019 budgeted revenues increased by 7.3% to W446.4 trillion from W416.1 trillion in 2018, led by an increase in budgeted tax revenues (including taxes on income, profits and capital gains). 2019 budgeted expenditures and net lending increased by 10.6% to W439.9 trillion from W397.7 trillion in 2018, led by increases in budgeted expenditures on economic growth (including job creation and research and development), child care and education, welfare services for senior citizens, children, disabled people, unemployed people and temporary workers and military services. The 2019 budget anticipated a W6.5 billion budget surplus.

The following table shows consolidated Government revenues and expenditures:

Consolidated Central Government Revenues and Expenditures


	Actual										Budget
	2014		2015		2016		2017		2018⁽¹⁾		2017		2018		2019
	(billions of Won)
Total Revenues		320,895		339,186		371,264		403,839		438,262		391,175		416,085		446,398
Current Revenues		318,185		335,911		367,888		400,659		435,558		387,376		413,304		443,271
Total Tax Revenues		255,313		270,974		299,451		325,845		358,424		313,086		337,402		364,539
Taxes on income, profits and capital gains		95,976		105,751		120,612		134,242		155,399		126,847		135,942		159,618
Social security contributions		49,793		53,089		56,889		60,460		64,854		62,010		69,273		69,747
Tax on property		9,054		11,113		11,112		12,945		15,473		11,459		11,931		14,611
Taxes on goods and services		79,055		79,442		89,221		95,535		99,056		90,282		97,390		97,263
Taxes on international trade and transaction		8,721		8,495		8,045		8,529		8,815		8,991		9,418		9,056
Other tax		12,715		13,084		13,571		14,133		14,828		13,498		13,450		14,244
Non-Tax Revenues		62,872		64,936		68,437		74,814		77,134		74,290		75,902		78,732
Operating surpluses of departmental enterprise sales and property income		23,112		22,129		24,489		27,692		28,616		26,981		27,154		28,692
Administration fees & charges and non-industrial sales		7,997		8,664		8,469		9,067		9,004		8,978		9,460		9,940
Fines and forfeits		19,556		20,777		22,266		23,769		24,455		22,879		23,140		23,726
Contributions to government employee pension fund		9,915		10,929		11,289		12,311		13,206		12,370		13,200		6,476
Current revenue of non-financial public enterprises		2,292		2,437		1,924		1,974		1,853		3,082		2,947		2,929
Capital Revenues		2,710		3,276		3,376		3,180		2,703		3,800		2,781		3,127
Total Expenditures and Net Lending		312,394		339,351		354,354		379,809		407,099		378,196		397,739		439,868
Total Expenditures		311,507		330,537		342,612		363,671		389,610		367,705		388,134		425,270
Current Expenditures		280,466		296,216		309,981		332,719		360,176		336,209		358,912		394,567
Expenditure on goods and service		59,616		63,160		65,145		67,536		71,459		71,542		75,281		80,219
Interest payment		14,057		14,056		13,964		13,976		14,287		14,486		14,334		14,362
Subsidies and other current transfers		203,649		216,189		228,349		248,513		272,080		246,987		265,631		295,970
Current expenditure of non-financial public enterprises		3,143		2,810		2,524		2,694		2,350		3,193		3,666		4,016
Capital Expenditures		31,041		34,322		32,631		30,952		29,434		31,496		29,222		30,704
Net Lending		888		8,814		11,741		16,138		17,489		10,490		9,605		14,597

(1)	Preliminary.

Source: Ministry of Economy and Finance; The Bank of Korea; Korea National Statistical Office

The consolidated Government account consists of a General Account, Special Accounts (including a non-financial public enterprise special account) and Public Funds. The Government segregates the accounts of certain functions of the Government into Special Accounts and Public Funds for more effective administration and fiscal control. The Special Accounts and Public Funds relate to business type activities, such as economic development, road and railway construction and maintenance, monopolies, and communications developments and the administration of loans received from official international financial organizations and foreign governments.

Revenues derive mainly from national taxes and non-tax revenues. Taxes in Korea can be roughly classified into the following types:

•

income tax and capital gains tax,

•

property tax,

•

value-added tax,

•

customs duty tax, and

•

other taxes.

Income tax and capital gains tax are imposed on income derived from labor, business operation and ownership of assets and profits derived from capital appreciation. Income tax and capital gains tax, depending on the type of taxpayer, can be further classified into corporate income tax and individual income tax. Property tax is imposed on exchange or ownership of property and includes inheritance tax and gift tax. Value-added tax is imposed on value added to goods and services. Customs duty tax is imposed on imported goods. Other taxes include tax on certain securities transactions and a stamp tax for certain documents.

Expenditures include general administration, national defense, community service, education, health, social security, certain annuities and pensions and local finance, which involves the transfer of tax revenues to local governments.

For 2014, the Republic recorded total revenues of W320.9 trillion and total expenditures and net lending of W312.4 trillion. The Republic had a fiscal surplus of W8.5 trillion in 2014.

For 2015, the Republic recorded total revenues of W339.2 trillion and total expenditures and net lending of W339.4 trillion. The Republic had a fiscal deficit of W0.2 trillion in 2015.

For 2016, the Republic recorded total revenues of W371.3 trillion and total expenditures and net lending of W354.4 trillion. The Republic had a fiscal surplus of W16.9 trillion in 2016.

For 2017, the Republic recorded total revenues of W403.8 trillion and total expenditures and net lending of W379.8 trillion. The Republic had a fiscal surplus of W24.0 trillion in 2017.

Based on preliminary data, the Republic recorded total revenues of W438.3 trillion and total expenditures and net lending of W407.1 trillion in 2018. The Republic had a fiscal surplus of W31.2 trillion in 2018.

Debt

The Government estimates that the total outstanding debt of the Government (including guarantees by the Government) as of December 31, 2016 amounted to approximately W616.1 trillion, an increase of 5.7% over the previous year. The Government estimates that the total outstanding debt of the Government (including guarantees by the Government) as of December 31, 2017 amounted to approximately W648.5 trillion, an increase of 5.3% over the previous year. The Ministry of Economy and Finance administers the national debt of the Republic.

External and Internal Debt of the Government

The following table sets out, by currency and the equivalent amount in U.S. dollars, the estimated outstanding direct external debt of the Government as of December 31, 2017:

Direct External Debt of the Government


	Amount in Original Currency		Equivalent Amount in U.S. Dollars⁽¹⁾
	(millions)
US$	US$	4,900.0	US$	4,900.0
Chinese Yuan (CNY)	CNY	3,000.0		458.2
Euro (EUR)	EUR	1,125.0		1,343.2

Total			US$	6,701.4

(1)	Amounts expressed in currencies other than US$ are converted to US$ at the arbitrage rate announced by the Seoul Money Brokerage Services, Ltd. in effect on December 31, 2017.

The following table summarizes, as of December 31 of the years indicated, the outstanding direct internal debt of the Republic:

Direct Internal Debt of the Government


	(billions of Won)
2013		453,674.0
2014		493,584.9
2015		547,625.6
2016		584,785.0
2017		619,971.9

The following table sets out all guarantees by the Government of indebtedness of others:

Guarantees by the Government


	December 31,
	2013		2014		2015		2016		2017
	(billions of Won)
Domestic		32,978.5		29,158.4		26,393.8		24,241.6		21,130.5
External ⁽¹⁾		—		—		—		—		—

Total		32,978.5		29,158.4		26,393.8		24,241.6		21,130.5

(1)	Converted to Won at foreign exchange banks’ telegraphed transfer selling rates to customers or the market average exchange rates in effect on December 31 of each year.

For further information on the outstanding indebtedness, including guarantees, of the Republic, see “—Tables and Supplementary Information”.

External Liabilities


	December 31,
	2014		2015		2016		2017		2018⁽¹⁾
	(billions of dollars)
Long-term Liabilities		307.9		291.7		277.4		296.1		314.0
General Government		65.2		62.8		64.5		78.0		83.5
Monetary Authorities		25.9		20.1		10.8		14.5		15.2
Banks		104.0		103.1		93.8		91.7		100.3
Other Sectors		112.9		105.7		108.2		111.8		115.1
Short-term Liabilities		116.4		104.3		104.8		116.0		126.6
General Government		1.8		2.3		2.5		2.0		1.0
Monetary Authorities		12.2		12.0		6.9		8.1		12.8
Banks		79.9		74.8		78.4		85.5		90.3
Other Sectors		22.5		15.2		17.0		20.4		22.5

Total External Liabilities		424.3		396.1		382.2		412.0		440.6

(1)	Preliminary

Debt Record

The Government has always paid when due the full amount of principal of, interest on, and amortization of sinking fund requirements of, all of its indebtedness.

Tables and Supplementary Information

A. External Debt of the Government

(1) External Bonds of the Government


Series	Issue Date		Maturity Date		Interest Rate (%)		Currency		Original Principal Amount		Principal Amount Outstanding as of December 31, 2017
2005-001		November 2, 2005		November 3, 2025		5.625		USD		400,000,000		400,000,000
2006-002		December 7, 2006		December 7, 2021		4.250		EUR		375,000,000		375,000,000
2009-001		April 16, 2009		April 16, 2019		7.125		USD		1,500,000,000		1,500,000,000
2013-001		September 11, 2013		September 11, 2023		3.875		USD		1,000,000,000		1,000,000,000
2014-001		June 10, 2014		June 10, 2044		4.125		USD		1,000,000,000		1,000,000,000
2014-002		June 10, 2014		June 10, 2024		2.125		EUR		750,000,000		750,000,000
2015-003		December 16, 2015		December 16, 2018		3.000		CNY		3,000,000,000		3,000,000,000
2017-001		January 19, 2017		January 19, 2027		2.750		USD		1,000,000,000		1,000,000,000

Total External Bonds in Original Currencies												USD 4,900,000,000
												EUR 1,125,000,000
												CNY 3,000,000,000

Total External Bonds in Equivalent Amount of Won⁽¹⁾											W	7,179,966,250,000

(1)

U.S. dollar amounts are converted to Won amounts at the rate of US$1.00 to W1,071.40, the market average exchange rate in effect on December 31, 2017, as announced by Seoul Money Brokerage Services, Ltd. Euro amounts are converted to Won amounts at the rate of EUR1.00 to W1,279.25, the market average exchange rate in effect on December 31, 2017, as announced by Seoul Money Brokerage Services, Ltd. CNY amounts are converted to Won amounts at the rate of CNY1.00 to W163.65, the market average exchange rate in effect on December 31, 2017, as announced by Seoul Money Brokerage Services, Ltd.

(2) External Borrowings of the Government

None.

B. External Guaranteed Debt of the Government

None.

C. Internal Debt of the Government


Title	Range of Interest Rates		Range of Years of Issue		Range of Years of Original Maturity		Principal Amounts Outstanding as of December 31, 2017
	(%)						(billions of Won)
1. Bonds
Interest-Bearing Treasury Bond for Treasury Bond Management Fund		1.00-5.75		2006-2017		2018-2066		546,715.2
Interest-Bearing Treasury Bond for National Housing I		1.25-3.00		2007-2017		2012-2022		68,635.3
Interest-Bearing Treasury Bond for National Housing II		0.0-3.0		1992-2017		2012-2030		779.2
Interest-Bearing Treasury Bond for National Housing III		0		2005		2015		1.6
Non-interest-Bearing Treasury Bond for Contribution to International Organizations⁽¹⁾		0		1968-1985		—		9.4

Total Bonds								616,140.6

2. Borrowings
Borrowings from The Bank of Korea		1.362-1.453		2016-2017		2018		1,336.2
Borrowings from the Sports Promotion Fund		1.205-1.265		2016		2019		100.0
Borrowings from The Korea Foundation Fund		1.515-1.73		2016-2017		2018-2019		40.0
Borrowings from the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund		2.305-2.755		2014		2018		455.0
Borrowings from Korea Technology Finance Corporation		1.215-2.755		2014-2016		2018		195.0
Borrowings from the Credit Guarantee Fund for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Suppliers		1.875-3.215		2014-2015		2018-2020		1,100.0
Borrowings from the Government Employees’ Pension Fund		1.467		2015		2018		10.0
Borrowings from the Film Industry Development Fund		1.385-2.16		2015-2017		2018-2020		69.0
Borrowings from the Housing Finance Credit Guarantee Fund		1.385-1.67		2016		2019-2021		526.1

Total Borrowings								3,831.3

Total Internal Funded Debt								619,971.9

(1)	Interest Rates and Years of Original Maturity not applicable.

D. Internal Guaranteed Debt of the Government


Title	Range of Interest Rates		Range of Years of Issue		Range of Years of Original Maturity		Principal Amounts Outstanding as of December 31, 2017
	(%)						(billions of Won)
1. Bonds of Government-Affiliated Corporations
Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation		1.34-3.38		2013-2017		2018-2020		9,680.0
Korea Student Aid Foundation		Floating-5.07		2010-2017		2018-2037		11,430.0

Total Bonds								21,110.0

2. Borrowings of Government-Affiliated Corporations
Rural Development Corporation and Federation of Farmland		5.5		1989		2023		20.5
Total Borrowings								20.5

Total Internal Guaranteed Debt								21,130.5

DESCRIPTION OF THE DEBT SECURITIES

The Republic will issue debt securities under a fiscal agency agreement or agreements. The term “debt securities”, as used in this prospectus, refers to all debt securities issued and issuable from time to time under such fiscal agency agreement or agreements. The description below summarizes the material provisions of the debt securities and the fiscal agency agreement. Since it is only a summary, the description may not contain all of the information that may be important to you as a potential investor in the debt securities. Therefore, you should read the form of fiscal agency agreement and the form of global debt security before deciding whether to invest in the debt securities. The Republic has filed a copy of these documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. You should refer to such exhibits for more complete information.

The financial terms and other specific terms of your debt securities will be described in the prospectus supplement relating to your debt securities. The description in the prospectus supplement will supplement this description or, to the extent inconsistent with this description, replace it.

The Republic will appoint a fiscal agent or agents in connection with debt securities whose duties will be governed by the fiscal agency agreement. The Republic may replace the fiscal agent or appoint different fiscal agents for different series of debt securities.

General Terms of the Debt Securities

The Republic may issue debt securities in separate series at various times. The prospectus supplement that relates to your debt securities will specify some or all of the following terms:

•

the aggregate principal amount;

•

the currency of denomination and payment;

•

any limitation on principal amount and authorized denominations;

•

the percentage of their principal amount at which the debt securities will be issued;

•

the maturity date or dates;

•

the interest rate for the debt securities and, if variable, the method by which the interest rate will be calculated;

•

whether any amount payable in respect of the debt securities will be determined based on an index or formula, and how any such amount will be determined;

•

the dates from which interest, if any, will accrue for payment of interest and the record dates for any such interest payments;

•

where and how the Republic will pay principal and interest;

•

whether and in what circumstances the debt securities may be redeemed before maturity;

•

any sinking fund or similar provision;

•

whether the debt securities are subject to “enhanced collective action clauses” (as described in “—Events of Default—Enhanced Collective Action Debt Securities” and “—Modifications and Amendments; Debt Securityholders’ Meetings—Enhanced Collective Action Debt Securities” below) or “collective action clauses” (as described in “—Events of Default—Collective Action Debt Securities” and “—Modifications and Amendments; Debt Securityholders’ Meetings—Collective Action Debt Securities” below) or “non-collective action clauses” (as described in “Description of the Debt Securities—Events of Default— Non-Collective Action Debt Securities” and “—Modifications and Amendments; Debt Securityholders’ Meetings—Non-Collective Action Debt Securities”);

•

whether any part or all of the debt securities will be in the form of a global security and the circumstances in which a global security is exchangeable for certificated securities;

•

if issued in certificated form, whether the debt securities will be in bearer form with interest coupons, if any, or in registered form without interest coupons, or both forms, and any restrictions on exchanges from one form to the other; and

•

other specific provisions.

The Republic may issue debt securities at a discount below their stated principal amount, bearing no interest or interest at a rate which at the time of issuance is below market rates.

Depending on the terms of the debt securities issued by the Republic, the prospectus supplement relating to the debt securities may also describe applicable U.S. federal income tax and other considerations additional to the disclosure in this prospectus.

Payments of Principal, Premium and Interest

On every payment date specified in the relevant prospectus supplement, the Republic will pay the principal, premium and interest due on that date to the registered holder of the relevant debt security at the close of business on the related record date. The Republic will make all payments at the place and in the currency set out in the prospectus supplement. Unless otherwise specified in the relevant prospectus supplement or the debt securities, the Republic will make payments in U.S. dollars at the New York office of the fiscal agent or, outside the United States, at the office of any paying agent. Unless otherwise specified in the applicable prospectus supplement or debt securities, the Republic will pay interest by check, payable to the registered holder.

If the Republic issues any debt securities in bearer form, it will make any payments on debt securities in bearer form at the offices and agencies of the fiscal agent or any other paying agent outside the United States as the Republic may designate. At the option of the holder of the bearer debt securities, the Republic will make such payments by check or by transfer to an account maintained by the holder with a bank located outside of the United States. The Republic will not make payments on bearer debt securities at the corporate trust office of the fiscal agent in the United States or at any other paying agency in the United States. In addition, the Republic will not make any payment by mail to an address in the United States or by transfer to an account maintained by a holder of bearer debt securities with a bank in the United States. Nevertheless, the Republic will make payments on a bearer debt security denominated and payable in U.S. dollars at an office or agency in the United States if:

•

payment outside the United States is illegal or effectively precluded by exchange controls or other similar restrictions; and

•

the payment is then permitted under United States law, without material adverse consequences to the Republic.

If the Republic issues bearer debt securities, the Republic will designate the offices of at least one paying agent outside the United States as the location for payment.

Repayment of Funds; Prescription

Any funds held by the fiscal agent or paying agent in respect of any debt securities remaining unclaimed for two years after those amounts have become due and payable will be returned by the fiscal agent or paying agent to the Republic. After such repayment, the fiscal agent or paying agent will not be liable with respect to the amounts so repaid, and you may look only to the Republic for any payment under the debt securities.

Under Korean law, you will not be permitted to file a claim against the Republic for payment of principal or interest on any series of debt securities unless you do so within five years from the date on which such payment

was due; provided, however, in the event one or more payments of interest on any particular series of debt securities is to be made within one year, you will not be permitted to file a claim against the Republic for the payment of such interest unless you do so within the three-year period commencing the date on which such interest payment was due.

Global Securities

The prospectus supplement relating to a series of debt securities will indicate whether any of that series of debt securities will be represented by a global security. The prospectus supplement will also describe any unique specific terms of the depositary arrangement with respect to that series. Unless otherwise specified in the prospectus supplement, the Republic anticipates that the following provisions will apply to depositary arrangements.

Registered Ownership of the Global Security

The global security will be registered in the name of a depositary identified in the prospectus supplement, or its nominee, and will be deposited with the depositary, its nominee or a custodian. The depositary, or its nominee, will therefore be considered the sole owner or holder of debt securities represented by the global security for all purposes under the fiscal agency agreement. Except as specified below or in the applicable prospectus supplement, beneficial owners:

•

will not be entitled to have any of the debt securities represented by the global security registered in their names;

•

will not receive physical delivery of any debt securities in definitive form;

•

will not be considered the owners or holders of the debt securities;

•

must rely on the procedures of the depositary and, if applicable, any participants (institutions that have accounts with the depositary or a nominee of the depositary, such as securities brokers and dealers) to exercise any rights of a holder; and

•

will receive payments of principal and interest from the depositary or its participants rather than directly from the Republic.

The Republic understands that, under existing industry practice, the depositary and participants will allow beneficial owners to take all actions required of, and exercise all rights granted to, the registered holders of the debt securities.

The Republic will register debt securities in the name of a person other than the depositary or its nominee only if:

•

the depositary for a series of debt securities is unwilling or unable to continue as depositary; or

•

the Republic determines, in its sole discretion, not to have a series of debt securities represented by a global security.

In either such instance, an owner of a beneficial interest in a global security will be entitled to registration of a principal amount of debt securities equal to its beneficial interest in its name and to physical delivery of the debt securities in definitive form.

Beneficial Interests in and Payments on a Global Security

Only participants, and persons that may hold beneficial interests through participants, can own a beneficial interest in the global security. The depositary keeps records of the ownership and transfer of beneficial interests

in the global security by its participants. In turn, participants keep records of the ownership and transfer of beneficial interests in the global security by other persons (such as their customers). No other records of the ownership and transfer of beneficial interests in the global security will be kept.

All payments on a global security will be made to the depositary or its nominee. When the depositary receives payment of principal or interest on the global security, the Republic expects the depositary to credit the depositary’s participants’ accounts with amounts that correspond to their respective beneficial interests in the global security. The Republic also expects that, after the participants’ accounts are credited, the participants will credit the accounts of the owners of beneficial interests in the global security with amounts that correspond to the owners’ respective beneficial interests in the global security.

The depositary and its participants establish policies and procedures governing payments, transfers, exchanges and other important matters that affect owners of beneficial interests in a global security. The depositary and its participants may change these policies and procedures from time to time. The Republic has no responsibility or liability for the records of ownership of beneficial interests in the global security, or for payments made or not made to owners of such beneficial interests. The Republic also has no responsibility or liability for any aspect of the relationship between the depositary and its participants or for any aspect of the relationship between participants and owners of beneficial interests in the global security.

Bearer Securities

The Republic may issue debt securities in a series in the form of one or more bearer global debt securities deposited with a common depositary for the Euroclear Bank SA/NV, or Euroclear, and Clearstream Banking, société anonyme, or Clearstream, or with a nominee identified in the applicable prospectus supplement. The specific terms and procedures, including the specific terms of the depositary arrangement, with respect to any portion of a series of debt securities to be represented by a global security will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement.

Additional Amounts

The Republic will make all payments of principal of, and premium and interest, if any, on the debt securities without withholding or deducting any present or future taxes imposed by the Republic or any of its political subdivisions, unless required by law. In that event, the Republic will pay additional amounts as necessary to ensure that you receive the same amount as you would have received without such withholding or deduction.

The Republic will not pay, however, any additional amounts if you are liable for Korean tax because:

•

you are connected with the Republic other than by merely owning the debt security or receiving income or payments on the debt security;

•

you failed to comply with any certification or other reporting requirement concerning your nationality, residence, identity or connection with the Republic, or any of its political subdivisions or taxing authorities, and the Republic, or any of its political subdivisions or taxing authorities requires compliance with these reporting requirements as a precondition to exemption from Korean withholding taxes; or

•

you failed to present your debt security for payment within 30 days of when the payment is due or, if the fiscal agent did not receive the money prior to the due date, the date notice is given to holders that the fiscal agent has received the full amount due to holders.

The Republic will not pay any additional amounts for taxes on the debt securities except for taxes payable through deduction or withholding from payments of principal, premium or interest. Examples of the types of taxes for which the Republic will not pay additional amounts include the following: estate or inheritance taxes,

gift taxes, sales or transfer taxes, personal property or similar taxes, assessments or other governmental charges. The Republic will pay stamp or other similar taxes that may be imposed by the Republic, the United States or any political subdivision or taxing authority in one of those two countries in connection with the execution of the fiscal agency agreement or the issuance of the debt securities. Upon request, the Republic will provide holders with copies of official receipts (or other comparable documentation) evidencing the payment of any Korean withholding tax withheld or deducted from payments on the debt securities.

Status of Debt Securities

The debt securities will constitute direct, general, unconditional and unsubordinated External Indebtedness of the Republic for which the full faith and credit of the Republic is pledged. The debt securities will rank without any preference among themselves and equally with all other unsubordinated External Indebtedness of the Republic. It is understood that this provision shall not be construed so as to require the Republic to make payments under the debt securities ratably with payments being made under any other External Indebtedness of the Republic.

“External Indebtedness” means all obligations of the Republic in respect of money borrowed and guarantees given by the Republic in respect of money borrowed by others, payable by its terms or at the option of its holder in any currency other than the currency of Korea.

Negative Pledge Covenant

If any debt securities of a series are outstanding, the Republic will not create or permit to subsist any Security Interests on the Republic’s assets as security for any of the Republic’s Public External Indebtedness unless the debt securities are secured equally and ratably with such Public External Indebtedness. However, the Republic may create or permit Security Interests:

(a)

upon any property or asset (or any interest in properties or assets) at the time of their purchase, improvement, construction, development or redevelopment, solely as security for the payment of the purchase, improvement, construction, development or redevelopment costs of such property or assets, provided that (1) such Security Interest does not extend to any other assets or revenues of the Republic and (2) in the case of construction, the Security Interest may extend to unimproved real property for the construction;

(b)

securing Public External Indebtedness incurred for the purpose of financing all or part of the costs of the acquisition, construction or development of a project, provided that (1) the holders of the Public External Indebtedness expressly agree to limit their recourse to the assets and revenues of the project as their principal source of repayment and (2) the property over which the Security Interest is granted consists solely of the assets and revenues of the project (provided that in the case of construction, the Security Interest may extend to unimproved real property for the construction and to any trust account into which the proceeds of the offering creating such Public External Indebtedness may be temporarily deposited pending use in connection with such construction);

(c)

arising in the ordinary course of borrowing activities of the Republic to secure Public External Indebtedness with a maturity of one year or less;

(d)

existing on any property or asset at the time of its acquisition (or arising after its acquisition pursuant to an agreement entered into prior to, and not in contemplation of, such acquisition), and extensions and renewals of such Security Interest limited to the original property or asset covered thereby and securing any extension or renewal of the original secured financing;

(e)

arising out of the renewal, extension or replacement of any Public External Indebtedness permitted under paragraphs (a) or (c) above; provided, however, that the principal amount of such Public External Indebtedness is not increased;

(f)

which (1) arises pursuant to an attachment, distraint or similar legal process arising in connection with court proceedings so long as the execution or other enforcement thereof is effectively stayed and in which the secured claims are being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings or (2) secures the reimbursement obligation under any bond given in connection with the release of property from any Security Interest referred to in (1) above, provided that in each of (1) and (2), such Security Interest is released or discharged within one year of its imposition;

(g)

in existence as of the date of issuance of the debt securities of a series; and

(h)

arising by operation of law, provided that the Republic may not create such Security Interest solely for the purpose of securing any Public External Indebtedness.

“Security Interest” means any lien, pledge, mortgage, deed of trust, charge or other encumbrance or preferential arrangement which has the practical effect of constituting a security interest.

“Public External Indebtedness” means any External Indebtedness represented by bonds, notes, debentures or other securities that are or were intended to be quoted, listed or traded on any securities exchange or other securities market.

The international reserves of The Bank of Korea represent substantially all of the official gross international reserves of the Republic. Because The Bank of Korea is an independent entity, the Republic is of the view that international reserves owned by The Bank of Korea are not subject to the negative pledge covenant in the debt securities and that The Bank of Korea could in the future incur Public External Indebtedness secured by such reserves without securing amounts payable under the debt securities.

Events of Default

Each of the following constitutes an event of default with respect to any series of debt securities:

(a)

the Republic fails to pay principal or interest or premium or deposit any sinking fund payment on any debt securities of the series when due and such failure to pay continues for 30 days;

(b)

the Republic fails to perform or breaches any of the covenants or agreements in the series of debt securities (other than non-payment) for 60 days after written notice of the default is delivered to the Republic at the office of the fiscal agent by holders representing at least 10% of the aggregate principal amount of the debt securities of the series;

(c)

the Republic fails to make any payment in respect of:

(1)

Public External Indebtedness (other than Public External Indebtedness constituting guarantees by the Republic) in an aggregate principal amount in excess of US$30,000,000, or its equivalent in any other currency, when due, and such failure continues beyond the applicable grace period (whether at maturity, upon acceleration by reason of any default or otherwise); or

(2)

any Public External Indebtedness constituting guarantees by the Republic in an aggregate principal amount in excess of US$30,000,000, or its equivalent in any other currency, when due (whether at maturity, upon acceleration by reason of default or otherwise), and such failure continues until the earlier of (A) the expiration of any applicable grace period or 30 days, whichever is longer, or (B) the acceleration of any such Public External Indebtedness by any holder thereof; or

(d)

the Republic declares a moratorium on the payment of any Public External Indebtedness.

You should note that:

•

the Republic is not required to provide periodic evidence of the absence of defaults; and

•

the fiscal agency agreement does not require the Republic to notify holders of the debt securities of an event of default or grant any debt security holder a right to examine the security register.

Non-Collective Action Debt Securities

The following provisions apply to any series of debt securities that are not “collective action debt securities” (as described below). These securities are referred to in this prospectus as “non-collective action debt securities”.

Upon the occurrence of an event of default:

•

in the case of any event of default described in clause (b), the holders of at least 25% in aggregate principal amount of all non-collective action debt securities of that series (not counting debt securities held by the Republic) then outstanding may by written demand given to the Republic, with a copy to the fiscal agent, declare the non-collective action debt securities of that series held by it to be immediately due and payable; or

•

in the case of any other event of default, each holder of non-collective action debt securities of that series may by written demand given to the Republic, with a copy to the fiscal agent, declare the non- collective action debt securities of that series held by it to be immediately due and payable,

and upon such declaration the principal and interest accrued on the relevant non-collective action debt securities will become immediately due and payable upon the date that such written notices are received at the office of the fiscal agent, unless prior to such date all events of default in respect of the relevant non-collective action debt securities has been cured.

Collective Action Debt Securities

The following provisions apply to any series of debt securities that are “collective action debt securities” as described below.

The following provisions and the provisions regarding voting on amendments, modifications and waivers described under “—Modifications and Amendments; Debt Securityholders’ Meetings—Collective Action Debt Securities” are referred to in this prospectus as “collective action clauses” and any series of debt securities that are subject to the collective action clauses are referred to in this prospectus as “collective action debt securities”.

If any of the events of default described above occurs and is continuing, the holders of at least 25% of the aggregate principal amount of all debt securities of that series outstanding (as described in “—Modifications and Amendments; Debt Securityholders’ Meetings—Collective Action Debt Securities”) may, by written notice to the fiscal agent, declare all debt securities of that series to be due and payable immediately.

Upon any declaration of acceleration, the principal, interest and all other amounts payable on the relevant debt securities will become immediately due and payable on the date the Republic receives written notice of the declaration, unless the Republic has remedied the event or events of default prior to receiving the notice. The holders of more than 50% of the aggregate principal amount of the outstanding relevant debt securities may rescind a declaration of acceleration if the event or events of default giving rise to the declaration have been cured or waived.

Enhanced Collective Action Debt Securities

The following provisions apply to any series of debt securities that are “enhanced collective action debt securities” as described below.

The following provisions and the provisions regarding voting on amendments, modifications and waivers described under “—Modifications and Amendments; Debt Securityholders’ Meetings—Enhanced Collective Action Debt Securities” are referred to in this prospectus as “enhanced collective action clauses” and any series of debt securities that are subject to the enhanced collective action clauses are referred to in this prospectus as “enhanced collective action debt securities”.

If any of the events of default described above occurs and is continuing, the holders of at least 25% of the aggregate principal amount of all enhanced collective action debt securities of that series outstanding (as described in “—Modifications and Amendments; Debt Securityholders’ Meetings—Enhanced Collective Action Debt Securities”) may, by written notice to the fiscal agent, declare all enhanced collective action debt securities of that series to be due and payable immediately.

Upon any declaration of acceleration, the principal, interest and all other amounts payable on the relevant enhanced collective action debt securities will become immediately due and payable on the date the Republic receives written notice of the declaration, unless the Republic has remedied the event or events of default prior to receiving the notice. The holders of more than 50% of the aggregate principal amount of the outstanding relevant enhanced collective action debt securities may rescind a declaration of acceleration if the event or events of default giving rise to the declaration have been cured or waived.

Modifications and Amendments; Debt Securityholders’ Meetings

Non-Collective Action Debt Securities

The following provisions apply to any non-collective action debt securities.

Each holder of a series of non-collective action debt securities must consent to any amendment or modification of the terms of that series of non-collective action debt securities or the fiscal agency agreement that would, among other things:

•

change the stated maturity of the principal of the debt securities or any installment of interest;

•

reduce the principal amount of, or the interest rate on, or any premium payable upon redemption of any debt security of such series;

•

change the currency or place of payment of principal, interest or premium on debt securities of that series; or

•

reduce the percentage of the outstanding principal amount needed to modify or amend the fiscal agency agreement or the terms of such series of debt securities.

The Republic and the fiscal agent may, with the exception of the above changes, either (a) at a meeting duly called and held as described below, upon the affirmative vote of the holders of not less than 66²/₃% in aggregate principal amount of the non-collective action debt securities of a series then outstanding that are represented at the meeting or (b) with the written consent of the holders of at least 66²/₃% in aggregate principal amount of the non-collective action debt securities of a series that are outstanding, modify and amend other terms of that series of non-collective action debt securities.

The Republic may at any time call a meeting of the holders of a series of non-collective action debt securities to seek the holders of the debt securities’ approval of the modification, or amendment, or obtain a waiver, of any provision of that series of debt securities. The meeting will be held at the time and place in the Borough of Manhattan in New York City as determined by the Republic. The notice calling the meeting must be given at least 30 days and not more than 60 days prior to the meeting.

While an event of default with respect to a series of non-collective action debt securities is continuing, holders of at least 10% of the aggregate principal amount of that series of debt securities may compel the fiscal agent to call a meeting of all holders of debt securities of that series by providing to the fiscal agent a written request setting forth in reasonable detail the action proposed to be taken at the meeting.

Holders of non-collective action debt securities who hold, in the aggregate, a majority in principal amount of the debt securities of the series that are outstanding at the time will constitute a quorum at a meeting. At the reconvening of any meeting adjourned for a lack of a quorum, the persons entitled to vote 25% in principal amount of the debt securities of the series that are outstanding at the time will constitute a quorum for taking any action set out in the original notice. To vote at a meeting, a person must either hold outstanding debt securities of the relevant series or be duly appointed as a proxy for a debt security holder. The fiscal agent may make all rules governing the conduct of any meeting.

No consent of holders is or will be required for any modification or amendment requested by the Republic or by the fiscal agent to:

•

add covenants made by the Republic that benefit holders of any series of non-collective action debt securities;

•

surrender any right or power of the Republic;

•

provide security or collateral for any series of non-collective action debt securities;

•

cure any ambiguity or correct or supplement any defective provision in the fiscal agency agreement or any series of non-collective action debt securities; or

•

amend the fiscal agency agreement or any series of non-collective action debt securities in any manner which would not be inconsistent with such debt securities and would not adversely affect the interests of any holder of the affected debt securities.

Collective Action Debt Securities

The following provisions apply to any collective action debt securities.

The Republic may call a meeting of the holders of a series of collective action debt securities at any time regarding the fiscal agency agreement or the debt securities. The Republic will determine the time and place of the meeting. The Republic will notify the holders of the time, place and purpose of the meeting not less than 30 and not more than 60 days before the meeting.

In addition, the fiscal agent will call a meeting of the holders of a series of collective action debt securities if the holders of at least 10% of the aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities have delivered a written request to the fiscal agent setting forth the action they propose to take. The fiscal agent will notify the holders of the time, place and purpose of any meeting called by the holders not less than 30 and not more than 60 days before the meeting.

Only holders of a series of collective action debt securities and their proxies are entitled to vote at a meeting of holders. Holders or proxies representing a majority of the aggregate principal amount of the outstanding collective action debt securities will normally constitute a quorum. However, if a meeting is adjourned for a lack of a quorum, then holders or proxies representing 25% of the aggregate principal amount of that series of outstanding collective action debt securities will constitute a quorum when the meeting is rescheduled. For purposes of a meeting of holders that proposes to discuss reserved matters, which are specified below, holders or proxies representing 75% of the aggregate principal amount of that series of outstanding debt securities will constitute a quorum, and at the reconvening of any such meeting adjourned for a lack of a quorum, the persons entitled to vote 75% of the aggregate principal amount of that series of outstanding debt securities shall constitute a quorum for the taking of any action set forth in the original meeting. The fiscal agent may set the procedures governing the conduct of the meeting.

The Republic, the fiscal agent and the holders may amend, modify, supplement or waive the terms of the collective action debt securities (other than reserved matters specified below and matters that do not require consent of any holder of the debt securities for amendment described below) or the fiscal agency agreement:

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with the affirmative vote of the holders of not less than 66²/₃% of the aggregate principal amount of that series of outstanding debt securities that are represented at a meeting; or

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with the written consent of the holders of 66²/₃% of the aggregate principal amount of that series of outstanding debt securities.

However, the holders of not less than 75% of the aggregate principal amount of that series of outstanding collective action debt securities, voting at a meeting or by written consent, must consent to any amendment, modification, supplement or waiver of the terms of the collective action debt securities or the fiscal agency agreement that would:

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change the due dates for the payment of principal of or interest on the debt securities;

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reduce any amounts payable on the debt securities;

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reduce the amount of principal payable upon acceleration of the maturity of the debt securities;

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change the payment currency or places of payment for the debt securities;

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permit early redemption of the debt securities or, if early redemption is already permitted, set a redemption date earlier than the date previously specified or reduce the redemption price;

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reduce the percentage of holders of the debt securities whose vote or consent is needed to amend, supplement or modify the fiscal agency agreement (as it relates to the debt securities) or the terms and conditions of the debt securities or to take any other action with respect to the debt securities or change the definition of “outstanding” with respect to the debt securities;

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change the Republic’s obligation to pay any additional amounts;

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change the governing law provision of the debt securities;

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change the courts to the jurisdiction of which the Republic has submitted, the Republic’s obligation to appoint and maintain an agent for service of process in the Borough of Manhattan, The City of New York or the Republic’s waiver of immunity, in respect of actions or proceedings brought by any holder based upon the debt securities;

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in connection with an exchange offer for the debt securities, amend any event of default under the debt securities; or

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change the status of the debt securities, as described under “—Status of Debt Securities”.

The above matters are referred to in this prospectus as “reserved matters.” A change to a reserved matter, including the payment terms of a series of collective action debt securities, can be made without the consent of holders of debt securities of that series, as long as a supermajority of the holders (that is, the holders of at least 75% of the aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series) agree to the change.

The Republic and the fiscal agent may, without the vote or consent of any holder of the collective action debt securities, amend the fiscal agency agreement or the collective action debt securities to:

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add covenants made by the Republic that benefit holders of the debt securities;

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surrender any right or power of the Republic;

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provide security or collateral for the debt securities;

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cure any ambiguity or correct or supplement any defective provision in the fiscal agency agreement or the debt securities; or

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amend the fiscal agency agreement or the debt securities in any manner which would not be inconsistent with the debt securities and would not adversely affect the interests of any holder of the debt securities.

For purposes of determining the “outstanding” principal amount of any collective action debt securities and whether the required percentage of holders of any collective action debt securities has approved any amendment, modification, supplement or waiver of the terms of the debt securities or the fiscal agency agreement, or whether the required percentage of holders has delivered a notice of acceleration of the debt securities, any debt securities owned, directly or indirectly, by the Republic or any public sector instrumentality of the Republic will be disregarded and deemed not to be outstanding, except that in determining whether the fiscal agent shall be protected in relying upon any amendment, modification, change or waiver, or any notice from holders, only debt securities that the fiscal agent knows to be so owned shall be so disregarded. As used in this paragraph, “public sector instrumentality” means The Bank of Korea, any department, ministry or agency of the Republic or any corporation, trust, financial institution or other entity majority-owned and controlled by the Republic or any of the foregoing, and “control” means the power, directly or indirectly, through the ownership of voting securities or other ownership interests or otherwise, to direct the management of or elect or appoint a majority of the board of directors or other persons performing similar functions in lieu of, or in addition to, the board of directors of a corporation, trust, financial institution or other entity.

Enhanced Collective Action Debt Securities

The following provisions apply to any enhanced collective action debt securities.

The Republic may call a meeting of the holders of a series of enhanced collective action debt securities at any time regarding the fiscal agency agreement or the debt securities. The Republic will determine the time and place of the meeting. The Republic will notify the holders of the time, place and purpose of the meeting not less than 30 and not more than 60 days before the meeting.

In addition, the fiscal agent will call a meeting of the holders of a series of enhanced collective action debt securities if the holders of at least 10% of the aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities have delivered a written request to the fiscal agent setting forth the action they propose to take. The fiscal agent will notify the holders of the time, place and purpose of any meeting called by the holders not less than 30 and not more than 60 days before the meeting.

Only holders of a series of enhanced collective action debt securities and their proxies are entitled to vote at a meeting of holders. The Republic will set the procedures governing the conduct of the meeting and if additional procedures are required, the Republic, in consultation with the fiscal agent, will establish such procedures as are customary in the market.

Modifications may also be approved by holders of enhanced collective action debt securities pursuant to written action with the consent of the requisite percentage of enhanced collective action debt securities of the relevant series. The Republic will solicit the consent of the relevant holders to the modification not less than 10 and not more than 30 days before the expiration date for the receipt of such consents as specified by the Republic.

The holders of a series of enhanced collective action debt securities may generally approve any proposal by the Republic to modify or take action with respect to the fiscal agency agreement or the terms of the enhanced collective action debt securities of that series with the affirmative vote (if approved at a meeting of the holders) or consent (if approved by written action) of holders of more than 50% of the outstanding principal amount of the enhanced collective action debt securities of that series.

Holders of any series of enhanced collective action debt securities issued under the fiscal agency agreement may approve, by vote or consent through one of three modification methods described below, any modification,

amendment, supplement or waiver proposed by the Republic that would do any of the following (such subjects referred to as “enhanced reserved matters”) with respect to such series of enhanced collective action debt securities:

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change the due dates for the payment of principal of (or premium, if any) or interest on the debt securities;

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reduce the amount of principal amount of the debt securities, the interest rate thereon, the premium payable upon redemption thereof, or the portion of such principal amount which is payable upon acceleration of the maturity of the debt securities;

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change the payment currency or places of payment for the debt securities;

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shorten the period during which the Republic is not permitted to redeem the debt securities, or permit the Republic to redeem the debt securities if, prior to such action, the Republic is not permitted to do so;

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reduce the percentage of holders of the debt securities whose vote or consent is needed to modify, amend, supplement or waive the fiscal agency agreement (as it relates to the debt securities) or the terms and conditions of the debt securities or to take any other action with respect to the debt securities or change the definition of “outstanding” with respect to the debt securities;

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change the definition of “uniformly applicable” or “enhanced reserved matter modification”;

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change the identity of the obligor;

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change the Republic’s obligation to pay any additional amounts;

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change the governing law provision of the debt securities;

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in connection with an exchange offer for the debt securities, amend any event of default under the debt securities; or

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change the status of the debt securities, as described under “—Status of Debt Securities”.

A change to an enhanced reserved matter, including the payment terms of the enhanced collective action debt securities of any series, can be made without your consent as long as the change is approved, pursuant to one of the three following modification methods by vote or consent by:

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in the case of a proposed modification to a single series of enhanced collective action debt securities, the holders of more than 75% of the aggregate principal amount of the outstanding enhanced collective action debt securities of that series;

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where such proposed modification would affect the outstanding enhanced collective action debt securities of any two or more series issued under the fiscal agency agreement, the holders of more than 75% of the aggregate principal amount of the outstanding enhanced collective action debt securities of all series affected by the proposed modification, taken in the aggregate, if certain “uniformly applicable” requirements are met; or

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where such proposed modification would affect the outstanding enhanced collective action debt securities of any two or more series issued under the fiscal agency agreement, whether or not the “uniformly applicable” requirements are met, (i) the holders of more than 66 ²/₃% of the aggregate principal amount of the outstanding enhanced collective action debt securities of all series affected by the proposed modification, taken in the aggregate, and (ii) the holders of more than 50% of the aggregate principal amount of the outstanding enhanced collective action debt securities of each series affected by the modification, taken individually.

Any modification consented to or approved by the holders of enhanced collective action debt securities pursuant to the above provisions will be conclusive and binding on all holders of the relevant series of enhanced collective action debt securities or all holders of all series of enhanced collective action debt securities affected by a cross-series modification, as the case may be, whether or not they have given such consent or approval, and on all future holders of those enhanced collective action debt securities whether or not notation of such modification is made upon the enhanced collective action debt securities. Any instrument given by or on behalf of any holder of an enhanced collective action debt security in connection with any consent to or approval of any such modification will be conclusive and binding on all subsequent holders of that enhanced collective action debt security.

The Republic may select, in its discretion, any modification method for an enhanced reserved matter modification in accordance with the fiscal agency agreement and to designate which series of enhanced collective action debt securities will be included for approval in the aggregate of modifications affecting two or more series of enhanced collective action debt securities. Any selection of a modification method or designation of series to be included will be final for the purpose of that vote or consent solicitation.

“Uniformly applicable,” as referred to above, means a modification by which holders of enhanced collective action debt securities of any series affected by that modification are invited to exchange, convert or substitute their enhanced collective action debt securities on the same terms for (x) the same new instruments or other consideration or (y) new instruments or other consideration from an identical menu of instruments or other consideration. It is understood that a modification will not be considered to be uniformly applicable if each exchanging, converting or substituting holder of enhanced collective action debt securities of any series affected by that modification is not offered the same amount of consideration per amount of principal, the same amount of consideration per amount of interest accrued but unpaid and the same amount of consideration per amount of past due interest, respectively, as that offered to each other exchanging, converting or substituting holder of enhanced collective action debt securities of any series affected by that modification (or, where a menu of instruments or other consideration is offered, each exchanging, converting or substituting holder of enhanced collective action debt securities of any series affected by that modification is not offered the same amount of consideration per amount of principal, the same amount of consideration per amount of interest accrued but unpaid and the same amount of consideration per amount of past due interest, respectively, as that offered to each other exchanging, converting or substituting holder of enhanced collective action debt securities of any series affected by that modification electing the same option under such menu of instruments).

The Republic and the fiscal agent may, without the vote or consent of any holder of the enhanced collective action debt securities, amend the fiscal agency agreement or the enhanced collective action debt securities to:

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add covenants made by the Republic that benefit holders of the debt securities;

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surrender any right or power of the Republic;

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provide security or collateral for the debt securities;

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cure any ambiguity or correct or supplement any defective provision in the fiscal agency agreement or the debt securities; or

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Before soliciting any consent or vote of any holder of enhanced collective action debt securities for any change to an enhanced reserved matter, the Republic will provide the following information to the fiscal agent for distribution to the holders of enhanced collective action debt securities of any series that would be affected by the proposed modification:

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a description of the Republic’s economic and financial circumstances that are in the Republic’s opinion, relevant to the request for the proposed modification, a description of the Republic’s existing debts and description of its broad policy reform program and provisional macroeconomic outlook;

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if the Republic shall at the time have entered into an arrangement for financial assistance with multilateral and/or other major creditors or creditor groups and/or an agreement with any such creditors regarding debt relief, (x) a description of any such arrangement or agreement and (y) where permitted under the information disclosure policies of the multilateral or other creditors, as applicable, a copy of the arrangement or agreement;

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a description of the Republic’s proposed treatment of foreign debt instruments that are not affected by the proposed modification and its intentions with respect to any other major creditor groups; and

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if the Republic is then seeking any enhanced reserved matter modification affecting any other series of debt securities, a description of that proposed modification.

For purposes of determining the “outstanding” principal amount of any enhanced collective action debt securities and whether the required percentage of holders of any enhanced collective action debt securities has approved any amendment, modification, supplement or waiver of the terms of the debt securities or the fiscal agency agreement, or whether the required percentage of holders has delivered a notice of acceleration of the debt securities, any debt securities owned, directly or indirectly, by the Republic or any public sector instrumentality of the Republic will be disregarded and deemed not to be outstanding, except that in determining whether the fiscal agent shall be protected in relying upon any amendment, modification, change or waiver, or any notice from holders, only debt securities that the fiscal agent knows to be so owned shall be so disregarded. As used in this paragraph, “public sector instrumentality” means The Bank of Korea, any department, ministry or agency of the Republic or any corporation, trust, financial institution or other entity majority-owned and controlled by the Republic or any of the foregoing, and “control” means the power, directly or indirectly, through the ownership of voting securities or other ownership interests or otherwise, to direct the management of or elect or appoint a majority of the board of directors or other persons performing similar functions in lieu of, or in addition to, the board of directors of a corporation, trust, financial institution or other entity.

Fiscal Agent

The fiscal agency agreement governs the duties of each fiscal agent. The Republic may maintain bank accounts and a banking relationship with each fiscal agent. The fiscal agent is an agent of the Republic and does not act as a trustee for the holders of the debt securities.

Further Issues of Debt Securities

The Republic may, without the consent of the holders of the debt securities, create and issue additional debt securities with the same terms and conditions as any series of debt securities (or that are the same except for the amount of the first interest payment and for the interest paid on the series of debt securities prior to the issuance of the additional debt securities). The Republic may consolidate such additional debt securities with the outstanding debt securities to form a single series.

Governing Law, Jurisdiction, Consent to Service and Enforceability

The debt securities will be governed by the laws of the State of New York, except for the Republic’s authorization, execution and delivery and any other matters that must be governed by the laws of the Republic.

It may be difficult for investors to obtain or enforce judgments against the Republic. The Republic is a foreign sovereign. Foreign sovereigns are generally immune from lawsuits and from the enforcement of judgments under U.S. law. Foreign sovereigns may waive this immunity and limited exceptions to this rule are spelled out in the U.S. Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976.

The Republic has agreed to submit to the jurisdiction of any state or federal court in The City of New York, for lawsuits brought by investors on the debt securities. Investors may also bring action against the Republic in appropriate Korean courts. The Republic will appoint its Consul in New York as its authorized agent to receive any process that may be served in an action brought by an investor. The Korean Consulate General in New York is located at 335 East 45th Street, New York, New York 10017. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Republic’s consent to jurisdiction does not extend to actions brought against the Republic arising out of or based upon U.S. federal securities laws or any state securities laws, and the Consul of the Republic in New York is not the agent for service of process relating to actions arising out of or based upon U.S. federal securities laws or any state securities laws.

In addition, the Republic will waive its right to claim immunity for any lawsuits brought by investors in courts present in The City of New York or in any appropriate court in the Republic, provided that under Korean law no execution or attachment can be issued out of any court in the Republic for enforcing any judgment or order against any assets of the Government other than cash assets. Such a waiver will constitute only a limited and specific waiver for the purposes of the debt securities and under no circumstances shall it be interpreted as a general waiver by the Republic or a waiver with respect to proceedings unrelated to the debt securities. Further, the Republic will not agree to waive its right to immunity with regard to:

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actions brought against the Republic under U.S. federal securities laws or any state securities laws;

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present or future “premises of the mission” as defined in the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations signed in 1961;

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“consular premises” as defined in the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations signed in 1963; and

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any other property or assets (including property or assets for military, governmental or public purposes) other than cash.

Thus, the Republic may assert immunity to such actions or with respect to such property or assets. Investors may have difficulty making any claims based upon such securities laws or enforcing judgments against the property or assets described above.

In original actions brought before Korean courts, there is doubt as to the enforceability of civil liabilities based on the U.S. federal securities laws. A judgment obtained against the Republic in a foreign court having valid jurisdiction in accordance with the international jurisdiction principles under Korean law and applicable treaties may be recognized and enforced by the courts of the Republic in an action brought to enforce such judgment, if:

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the judgment is final and conclusive;

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the party against whom such judgment was awarded received service of process (other than by publication or similar means) in sufficient time to prepare its defense in conformity with the laws of the jurisdiction of the court rendering judgment or such party responded to the action without being served with process;

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recognition of such judgment is not contrary to the Republic’s public policy; and

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under similar circumstances such foreign court would recognize and enforce a comparable judgment of Korean courts or the requirements to recognize and enforce a judgment of Korean courts in such foreign court are not considerably prejudicial or substantially different as compared to the requirements to recognize and enforce judgments of such foreign courts in Korea.

LIMITATIONS ON ISSUANCE OF BEARER DEBT SECURITIES

Except as may otherwise be provided in the prospectus supplement applicable thereto, bearer securities (including bearer securities in global form) will not be offered, sold or delivered within the United States or its possessions or to you, if you are a United States person, except in certain circumstances permitted by United States tax regulations. If so specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, bearer securities will initially be represented by one or more temporary global securities (without interest coupons) to be deposited with a common depositary in London for Euroclear and Clearstream for credit to designated accounts. Unless otherwise indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement:

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each such temporary global security will be exchangeable for definitive bearer securities on or after the date that is 40 days following its issuance only upon receipt of certification of non-United States beneficial ownership of the temporary global security as provided for in United States tax regulations, provided that in no event will any bearer security be mailed or otherwise delivered to any location in the United States in connection with such exchange; and

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any interest payable on any portion of a temporary global security with respect to any interest payment date therefor occurring prior to the issuance of definitive bearer securities in exchange for such temporary global security will be paid only upon receipt of certification of non-United States beneficial ownership of the temporary global security as provided for in the United States tax regulations.

Bearer securities (other than temporary global debt securities) with a maturity greater than one year and any related coupons will bear the following legend: “Any United States person who holds this obligation will be subject to limitations under the United States federal income tax laws, including the limitations provided in Sections 165(j) and 1287(a) of the Internal Revenue Code.” The sections referred to in such legend provide that a United States person (other than a financial institution described in such sections and the regulations promulgated thereunder or a United States person holding through such a financial institution) who holds a bearer security or coupon will not be allowed to deduct any loss realized on the sale, exchange or redemption of such bearer security and any gain (which might otherwise be characterized as capital gain) recognized on such sale, exchange or redemption will be treated as ordinary income. Terms used in this paragraph have the meanings given to them by the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and the regulations promulgated thereunder.

TAXATION

The following discussion summarizes certain Korean and U.S. federal income tax considerations that may be relevant to you if you invest in the debt securities. This summary is based on laws, regulations, rulings and decisions now in effect, which may change. Any change could apply retroactively and could affect the continued validity of this summary.

This summary does not describe all of the tax considerations that may be relevant to you or your situation, particularly if you are subject to special tax rules. You should consult your tax adviser about the tax consequences of investing in the debt securities, including the relevance to your particular situation of the considerations discussed below, as well as of state, local or other tax laws.

Korean Taxation

The following summary of Korean tax consideration applies to you so long as you are not:

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a resident of Korea;

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a corporation having its head office or principal place of business, or place of effective management in Korea (a Korean corporation); or

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engaged in a trade or business in Korea through a permanent establishment or a fixed base to which the relevant income is attributable or with which the relevant income is effectively connected.

Interest

Under current Korean tax laws in effect, when the Republic makes payments of interest to you on the debt securities, as long as such debt securities are denominated in a currency other than Won and the issuance of such debt securities is deemed to be an overseas issuance under the Special Tax Treatment Control Law of Korea, no amount will be withheld from such payments for, or on account of, any taxes of any kind imposed, levied, withheld or assessed by Korea or any political subdivision or taxing authority thereof or therein.

Capital Gains

Capital gains earned by you from the sale of the debt securities denominated in a currency other than Won to non-residents of Korea (other than to their permanent establishments in Korea) will not be subject to any Korean income or withholding taxes. In addition, capital gains earned by you from the transfer of the debt securities denominated in a currency other than Won taking place outside of Korea are currently exempt from taxes under the Special Tax Treatment Control Law of Korea, provided that the issuance of such debt securities is deemed to be an overseas issuance under the Special Tax Treatment Control Law of Korea. If you sell or otherwise dispose of such debt securities to a Korean resident or a Korean corporation (or the Korean permanent establishment of a non-resident or a non-Korean corporation) and such disposition or sale is made within Korea, any gain realized on the transaction will be taxable at ordinary Korean withholding tax rates (the lesser of 11% of gross sale proceeds with respect to transactions or (subject to the production of satisfactory evidence of the acquisition cost and certain direct transaction costs of the debt securities) 22% of net gain), unless an exemption is available under an applicable income tax treaty. For example, if you are a resident of the United States for the purposes of the income tax treaty currently in force between Korea and the United States, you are generally entitled to an exemption from Korean taxation in respect of any gain realized on a disposition of the debt securities, regardless of whether the disposition is to a Korean resident. Furthermore, in order to claim the benefit of a tax exemption available under the applicable tax treaties, you should submit to the payer of such Korean source income an application for exemption under a tax treaty along with a certificate of the non-resident holder’s tax residence issued by a competent authority of your residence country as the beneficial owner (“BO Application”). Such application should be submitted to the withholding agent prior to the payment date of the relevant income. Subject to certain exceptions, where the relevant income is paid to an overseas investment

vehicle (which is not the beneficial owner of such income) (“OIV”), a beneficial owner claiming the benefit of an applicable tax treaty with respect to such income must submit its BO Application to such OIV, which must submit an OIV report and a schedule of beneficial owners to the withholding agent prior to the payment date of such income. The withholding agent is required to submit such application (together with the applicable OIV report in the case of income paid to an OIV) to the relevant district tax office by the ninth day of the month following the date of the payment of such income.

Stamp Taxes

You generally will not be subject to any Korean transfer tax, stamp duty or similar documentary tax in respect of or in connection with a transfer of the debt security.

Inheritance Tax and Gift Tax

If you die while you are the holder of the debt securities, the subsequent transfer of the debt securities by way of succession will be subject to Korean inheritance tax. Similarly, if you transfer the debt securities as a gift, the donee will be subject to Korean gift tax and you may be required to pay the gift tax if the donee fails to do so. At present, Korea has not entered into any tax treaty relating to inheritance or gift taxes.

United States Tax Considerations

The following discussion summarizes certain U.S. federal income tax considerations that may be relevant to you if you invest in the debt securities and are a U.S. holder. With respect to U.S. holders, the discussion set forth below is applicable to U.S. holders (i) who are residents of the United States for purposes of the current Convention Between the United States of America and The Republic of Korea for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income and the Encouragement of International Trade and Investment (the “Treaty”), (ii) whose debt securities are not, for purposes of the Treaty, effectively connected with a permanent establishment in Korea and (iii) who otherwise qualify for the full benefits of the Treaty. For U.S. federal income tax purposes, you will be a U.S. holder if you are an individual who is a citizen or resident of the United States, a U.S. domestic corporation or otherwise subject to U.S. federal income tax on a net income basis in respect of your investment in a debt security. This summary deals only with U.S. holders that hold the debt securities as capital assets. This summary does not apply to you if you are an investor that is subject to special tax rules, such as:

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a bank or thrift;

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a real estate investment trust;

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a regulated investment company;

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an insurance company;

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a dealer in securities or currencies;

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a trader in securities or commodities that elects mark-to-market treatment;

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a person that will hold the debt securities as a hedge against interest rate or currency risk or as a position in a “straddle” or conversion transaction;

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nonresident alien individuals present in the United States for more than 182 days in a taxable year;

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a person liable for alternative minimum tax;

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a partnership or other pass-through entity or any partners therein;

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a tax-exempt organization; or

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a person whose “functional currency” is not the U.S. dollar.

Furthermore, the discussion below is based upon the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), and regulations, rulings and judicial decisions thereunder as of the date hereof, and such authorities may be repealed, revoked or modified so as to result in U.S. federal income tax consequences different from those discussed below. The discussion below assumes that all debt securities issued will be classified for U.S. federal income tax purposes as the Republic’s indebtedness, and you should note that in the event of an alternative characterization, the tax consequences would differ from those discussed below. Any special U.S. federal income tax considerations relevant to a particular issue of the debt securities will be provided in the applicable prospectus supplement. This summary does not discuss the treatment of persons that are not U.S. holders.

This summary addresses only U.S. federal income tax consequences, and does not address consequences arising under state, local, foreign tax laws or the Medicare tax on net investment income. You should consult your tax adviser about the tax consequences of holding the debt securities, including the relevance to your particular situation of the considerations discussed below, as well as of state, local or other tax laws.

Because bearer securities cannot be offered or sold in connection with their initial distribution to U.S. citizens or residents (or to other persons located in the United States), this summary does not discuss special tax considerations relevant to the ownership and disposal of bearer securities by U.S. holders.

U.S. holders that use an accrual method of accounting for tax purposes (“accrual-basis U.S. holders”) generally are required to include certain amounts in income no later than the time such amounts are reflected on certain financial statements (the “book/tax conformity rule”). The application of the book/tax conformity rule thus may require the accrual of income earlier than would be the case under the general tax rules described below. It is not clear as to what types of income the book/tax conformity rule applies, or, in some cases, how the rule is to be applied if it is applicable. Accrual method holders should consult with their tax advisers regarding the potential applicability of the book/tax conformity rule to their particular situation.

Payments or Accruals of Interest and Additional Amounts

Payments or accruals of “qualified stated interest” (as defined below) on a debt security, but excluding any pre-issuance accrued interest, will be taxable to you as ordinary interest income at the time that you receive or accrue such amounts, in accordance with your regular method of tax accounting. If you use the cash method of tax accounting and you receive payments of interest pursuant to the terms of a debt security denominated in a currency other than U.S. dollars (a “Foreign Currency Note”), the amount of interest income you will realize will be the U.S. dollar value of such foreign currency payment based on the exchange rate in effect on the date you receive the payment regardless of whether you convert the payment into U.S. dollars. No exchange gain or loss is recognized with respect to the receipt of such payment. If you are an accrual-basis U.S. holder, the amount of interest income you will realize will be based on the average exchange rate in effect during the interest accrual period, or with respect to an interest accrual period that spans two taxable years, at the average exchange rate for the partial period within the taxable year. Alternatively, as an accrual-basis U.S. holder you may elect to translate all interest income on a Foreign Currency Note at the spot rate on the last day of the accrual period, or the last day of the taxable year, in the case of an accrual period that spans more than one taxable year, or on the date that you receive the interest payment if that date is within five business days of the end of the accrual period. If you make this election you must apply it consistently to all debt instruments from year to year and you cannot change the election without the consent of the Internal Revenue Service. If you are an accrual-basis U.S. holder you will recognize foreign currency gain or loss on the receipt of a foreign currency interest payment if the exchange rate in effect on the date the payment is received differs from the rate applicable to a previous accrual of that interest income. This foreign currency gain or loss will be treated as ordinary income or loss, but generally will not be treated as an adjustment to interest income received on the debt security.

You will also be required to include in income any additional amounts paid in respect of any Korean tax withheld from the interest payments you receive. You may be entitled to deduct or credit any such tax, subject to

certain limitations (including that the election to deduct or credit foreign taxes applies to all of your foreign taxes for a particular tax year). Interest income on a debt security (including any additional amounts for Korean tax withheld) generally will be considered foreign source income and, for purposes of the U.S. foreign tax credit, generally will be considered passive category income. You will generally be denied a foreign tax credit for any Korean taxes imposed with respect to the debt securities where you do not meet a minimum holding period requirement during which you are not protected from risk of loss. The rules governing the foreign tax credit are complex. You are urged to consult your tax adviser regarding the availability of the foreign tax credit under your particular circumstances.

Purchase, Sale and Retirement of Notes

Initially, your tax basis in a debt security generally will equal the cost of the debt security to you. Your basis will increase by any amounts that you are required to include in income under the rules governing original issue discount and market discount, and will decrease by the amount of any amortized premium and any payments other than qualified stated interest made on the debt security. The rules for determining these amounts are discussed below. If you purchase a Foreign Currency Note, the cost to you, and therefore generally your initial tax basis, will be the U.S. dollar value of the foreign currency purchase price on the date of purchase calculated at the exchange rate in effect on that date. If the Foreign Currency Note is traded on an established securities market and you are a cash-basis taxpayer, or if you are an accrual-basis U.S. holder that makes a special election, then you will determine the U.S. dollar value of the cost of the Foreign Currency Note by translating the amount of the foreign currency that you paid for the Note at the spot rate of exchange on the settlement date of your purchase. The amount of any subsequent adjustments to your tax basis in a Foreign Currency Note in respect of original issue discount, market discount and premium will be determined in the manner described below. If you convert U.S. dollars into a foreign currency and then immediately use that foreign currency to purchase a Foreign Currency Note, you generally will not have any taxable gain or loss as a result of the purchase.

When you sell or exchange a debt security, or if a debt security is redeemed or retired, you generally will recognize gain or loss equal to the difference between the amount you realize on the transaction, less any accrued qualified stated interest, which will be subject to tax in the manner described above, and your adjusted tax basis in the debt security. If you sell or exchange a debt security for a foreign currency, or receive foreign currency on the redemption or retirement of a debt security, the amount you will realize for U.S. federal income tax purposes generally will be the U.S. dollar value of the foreign currency that you receive calculated at the exchange rate in effect on the date such debt security is disposed of or retired. If you dispose of a Foreign Currency Note that is traded on an established securities market and you are a cash-basis taxpayer, or if you are an accrual-basis U.S. holder that makes a special election, then you will determine the U.S. dollar value of the amount realized by translating the amount received at the spot rate of exchange on the settlement date of the sale, exchange, redemption or retirement.

The special election available to you if you are an accrual-basis U.S. holder in respect of the purchase and sale of Foreign Currency Notes traded on an established securities market, which is discussed in the two preceding paragraphs, must be applied consistently to all debt instruments from year to year and cannot be changed without the consent of the Internal Revenue Service.

Except as discussed below with respect to short-term debt securities, market discount, foreign currency gain or loss and with respect to contingent payment debt instruments, which this summary generally does not discuss, the gain or loss that you recognize on the sale, exchange, redemption or retirement of a debt security generally will be treated as capital gain or loss, and, if you have held the debt security for more than one year, long-term capital gain or loss. The Code provides preferential treatment under certain circumstances for net long-term capital gains recognized by individual investors. The ability of U.S. holders to offset capital losses against ordinary income is limited.

Any gain or loss that you recognize on the sale, exchange, redemption or retirement of a debt security generally will be treated as U.S. source income. Consequently, you may not be able to claim a credit for any

Korean tax imposed upon the sale, exchange, redemption or retirement of a debt security unless such credit can be applied (subject to applicable limitations) against tax due on other income treated as derived from foreign sources.

Despite the foregoing, the gain or loss that you recognize on the sale, exchange, redemption or retirement of a Foreign Currency Note generally will be treated as ordinary income or loss to the extent that the gain or loss is attributable to changes in exchange rates during the period in which you held the Note. This foreign currency gain or loss will not be treated as an adjustment to interest income that you receive on the Foreign Currency Note. Taxes are only eligible for the foreign tax credit if they are compulsory. If you may be eligible for the exemption from Korean taxation in respect of any gain realized on a disposition or sale of debt securities to a Korean taxpayer within Korea (as described in “—Korean Taxation—Capital Gains”), you should consult your tax advisers regarding the applicability of the exemption and availability of the U.S. foreign tax credit rules to your particular circumstances.

Original Issue Discount

If the Republic issues debt securities at a discount from their stated redemption price at maturity, and the discount is equal to or more than the product of one-fourth of one percent (0.25%) of the stated redemption price at maturity of the debt securities multiplied by the number of whole years to their maturity (the “de minimis threshold”), the debt securities will be “Original Issue Discount Notes.” The difference between the issue price and their stated redemption price at maturity generally will be the “original issue discount.” The “issue price” of the debt securities will be the first price at which a substantial amount of the debt securities included in the issue of which the specified debt securities are a part are sold to the public (i.e., excluding sales of debt securities to underwriters, placement agents, wholesalers, or similar persons). The “stated redemption price at maturity” will include all payments under the debt securities other than payments of qualified stated interest. The term “qualified stated interest” generally means stated interest that is unconditionally payable in cash or property, other than debt instruments issued by the Republic, at least annually during the entire term of a debt security at a single fixed interest rate or, subject to certain conditions, based on one or more interest indices. Interest is payable at a single fixed rate only if the rate appropriately takes into account the length of the interval between payments. Notice will be given in the applicable prospectus supplement when the Republic determines that a particular debt security will bear interest that is not qualified stated interest.

If you invest in Original Issue Discount Notes you generally will be subject to the special tax accounting rules for original issue discount obligations provided by the Code and certain Treasury regulations. You should be aware that, as described in greater detail below, if you invest in an Original Issue Discount Note you generally will be required to include original issue discount in ordinary gross income for U.S. federal income tax purposes as it accrues, before you receive the cash attributable to that income.

In general, and regardless of whether you use the cash or the accrual method of tax accounting, if you are the holder of an Original Issue Discount Note with a maturity greater than one year, you will be required to include in ordinary gross income the sum of the “daily portions” of original issue discount on that debt security for all days during the taxable year that you own the debt security. The daily portions of original issue discount on an Original Issue Discount Note are determined by allocating to each day in any accrual period a ratable portion of the original issue discount allocable to that period. Accrual periods may be any length and may vary in length over the term of an Original Issue Discount Note, so long as no accrual period is longer than one year and each scheduled payment of principal or interest occurs on the first or last day of an accrual period. If you are the initial holder of the debt security, the amount of original issue discount on an Original Issue Discount Note allocable to each accrual period other than the final accrual period is an amount equal to the excess, if any of:

(i)

the product of the “adjusted issue price” (as defined below) of the debt security at the beginning of the accrual period and its yield to maturity (determined on the basis of compounding at the close of each accrual period and properly adjusted for the length of the accrual period) over

(ii)

the sum of any qualified stated interest allocable to that accrual period.

Original issue discount allocable to a final accrual period is the difference between the amount payable at maturity (other than a payment of qualified stated interest) and the adjusted issue price at the beginning of the final accrual period. Special rules will apply for calculating original issue discount for an initial short accrual period.

The “adjusted issue price” of an Original Issue Discount Note at the beginning of any accrual period will generally be the sum of its issue price and the amount of original issue discount allocable to all prior accrual periods (determined without regard to the amortization of any premium or acquisition premium, as described below), reduced by the amount of all payments other than any qualified stated interest payments on the debt security in all prior accrual periods. All payments on an Original Issue Discount Note, other than qualified stated interest, will generally be viewed first as payments of previously accrued original issue discount, to the extent of the previously accrued discount, and then as a payment of principal. The “yield to maturity” of a debt security is the discount rate that causes the present value on the issue date of all payments on the debt security to equal the issue price. As a result of this “constant yield” method of including original issue discount income, the amounts you will be required to include in your gross income if you invest in an Original Issue Discount Note denominated in U.S. dollars will generally be less in the early years and greater in the later years than amounts that would be includible on a straight-line basis.

In the case of an Original Issue Discount Note that is a floating rate debt security, both the “yield to maturity” and the qualified stated interest generally will be determined for these purposes as though the debt security will bear interest in all periods at a fixed rate generally equal to the rate that would be applicable to interest payments on the debt security on its date of issue or, in the case of some floating rate debt securities, the rate that reflects the yield that is reasonably expected for the debt security. Interest on a floating rate debt security generally will be treated as qualified stated interest and such a debt security generally will not be treated as an Original Issue Discount Note solely as a result of the fact that it provides for interest at a variable rate. Additional rules may apply if interest on a floating rate debt security is based on more than one interest index, or if the principal amount of the debt security is indexed in any manner.

You generally may make an irrevocable election to include in income your entire return on a debt security (i.e., the excess of all remaining payments to be received on the debt security, including payments of qualified stated interest, over the amount you paid for the debt security) under the constant yield method described above. For debt securities purchased at a premium or bearing market discount in your hands, if you make this election you will also be deemed to have made the election (discussed under “Premium and Market Discount”) to amortize premium or to accrue market discount in income currently on a constant yield basis. You should consult with your own tax adviser about this election.

In the case of an Original Issue Discount Note that is also a Foreign Currency Note, you should determine the U.S. dollar amount includible as original issue discount for each accrual period by (i) calculating the amount of original issue discount allocable to each accrual period in the applicable foreign currency using the constant yield method, and (ii) translating the foreign currency amount so determined at the average exchange rate in effect during that accrual period, or, with respect to an interest accrual period that spans two taxable years, at the average exchange rate for each partial period. Alternatively, you may translate the foreign currency amount so determined at the spot rate of exchange on the last day of the accrual period, or the last day of the taxable year, for an accrual period that spans two taxable years, or at the spot rate of exchange on the date of receipt, if that date is within five business days of the last day of the accrual period, provided that you have made the election described under the caption “Payments or Accruals of Interest and Additional Amounts” above. Because exchange rates may fluctuate, if you are the holder of an Original Issue Discount Note that is also a Foreign Currency Note you may recognize a different amount of original issue discount income in each accrual period than would be the case if you were the holder of an otherwise similar Original Issue Discount Note denominated in U.S. dollars. Upon the receipt of an amount attributable to original issue discount, whether in connection with a payment of an amount that is not qualified stated interest or the sale or retirement of the Original Issue Discount Note that is also a Foreign Currency Note, you will recognize ordinary income or loss measured by the

difference between the amount received, translated into U.S. dollars at the exchange rate in effect on the date of receipt or on the date of disposition of such Original Issue Discount Note, as the case may be, and the amount accrued, using the exchange rate applicable to such previous accrual.

If you purchase an Original Issue Discount Note for an amount that is greater than its adjusted issue price but equal to or less than its remaining redemption amount, you will be considered to have purchased that Original Issue Discount Note at an “acquisition premium.” Under the acquisition premium rules, the amount of original issue discount that you must include in gross income with respect to the Original Issue Discount Note for any taxable year will be reduced by the portion of the acquisition premium properly allocable to that year. The “remaining redemption amount” for a debt security is the total of all future payments to be made on the debt security other than payments of qualified stated interest.

Certain of the Original Issue Discount Notes may be redeemed prior to maturity, either at the Republic’s option or at the option of the holder, or may have special repayment or interest rate reset features as indicated in the prospectus supplement. Original Issue Discount Notes containing these features may be subject to rules that differ from the general rules discussed above. If you purchase Original Issue Discount Notes with these features, you should carefully examine the prospectus supplement and consult your tax adviser about their treatment since the tax consequences of original issue discount will depend, in part, on the particular terms and features of the debt securities.

The book/tax conformity rule, discussed above under “United States Tax Considerations,” applies to original issue discount in some cases, and therefore if you are an accrual-basis U.S. holder you may be required to include original issue discount on Original Issue Discount Notes in a more accelerated manner than described above if you do so for financial accounting purposes. It is uncertain what adjustments, if any, should be made in later accrual periods when taxable income exceeds income reflected on your financial statements to reflect the accelerated accrual of income in earlier periods. In addition, it is possible, although less likely, that if you are an accrual-basis U.S. holder you may be required to include original issue discount that would otherwise fall under the de minimis threshold in gross income as such original issue discount accrues on your financial statements. The application of the book-tax conformity rule to original issue discount, including original issue discount that would otherwise fall under the de minimis threshold, is uncertain, and accrual-basis U.S. holders should consult with their own tax advisers on how the rule may apply to their investment in the Notes.

Short-Term Debt Securities

The rules described above will also generally apply to debt securities with maturities of one year or less (“short- term debt securities”), but with some modifications.

First, the original issue discount rules treat none of the interest on a short-term debt security as qualified stated interest, but treat a short-term debt security as having original issue discount. Thus, all short-term debt securities will be Original Issue Discount Notes. Except as noted below, if you are a cash-basis U.S. holder of a short-term debt security and you do not identify the short-term debt security as part of a hedging transaction you will generally not be required to accrue original issue discount currently, but you will be required to treat any gain realized on a sale, exchange, redemption or retirement of the debt security as ordinary income to the extent such gain does not exceed the original issue discount accrued with respect to the debt security during the period you held the debt security. You may not be allowed to deduct all of the interest paid or accrued on any indebtedness incurred or maintained to purchase or carry a short-term debt security until the maturity of the debt security or its earlier disposition in a taxable transaction. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if you are a cash-basis U.S. holder of a short-term debt security you may elect to accrue original issue discount on a current basis, in which case the limitation on the deductibility of interest described above will not apply. A U.S. holder using the accrual method of tax accounting and some cash method holders, including banks, securities dealers, regulated investment companies and certain trust funds, generally will be required to include original issue discount on a

short-term debt security in gross income on a current basis. Original issue discount will be treated as accruing for these purposes on a ratable basis or, at the election of the holder, on a constant yield basis based on daily compounding.

Second, regardless of whether you are a cash- or accrual-basis U.S. holder, if you are the holder of a short-term debt security you can elect to accrue any “acquisition discount” with respect to the debt security on a current basis. Acquisition discount is the excess of the remaining redemption amount of the debt security at the time of acquisition over the purchase price. Acquisition discount will be treated as accruing ratably or, at the election of the holder, under a constant yield method based on daily compounding. If you elect to accrue acquisition discount, the original issue discount rules will not apply.

Finally, the market discount rules described below will not apply to short-term debt securities.

As described above, certain of the debt securities may be subject to special redemption features. These features may affect the determination of whether a debt security has a maturity of one year or less and thus is a short-term debt security. If you purchase debt securities with these features, you should carefully examine the prospectus supplement and consult your tax adviser about these features.

Premium and Market Discount

If you purchase a debt security at a cost greater than the debt security’s remaining redemption amount, you will be considered to have purchased the debt security at a premium, and you may elect to amortize the premium as an offset to interest income, using a constant yield method, over the remaining term of the debt security. If you make this election, it generally will apply to all debt instruments that you hold during the taxable year of the election, as well as any debt instruments that you subsequently acquire. In addition, you may not revoke the election without the consent of the Internal Revenue Service. If you elect to amortize the premium you will be required to reduce your tax basis in the debt security by the amount of the premium amortized during your holding period. Original Issue Discount Notes purchased at a premium will not be subject to the original issue discount rules described above. In the case of premium on a Foreign Currency Note, you should calculate the amortization of the premium in the foreign currency. Amortization deductions attributable to a period reduce interest payments in respect of that period, and therefore are translated into U.S. dollars at the rate that you use for those interest payments. Exchange gain or loss will be realized with respect to amortized premium on a Foreign Currency Note based on the difference between the exchange rate computed on the date or dates the premium is amortized against interest payments on the Note and the exchange rate on the date when the holder acquired the Note. For a U.S. holder that does not elect to amortize premium, the amount of premium will be included in your tax basis when the debt security matures or is disposed of. Therefore, if you do not elect to amortize premium and you hold the debt security to maturity, you generally will be required to treat the premium as capital loss when the debt security matures.

If you purchase a debt security at a price that is lower than the debt security’s remaining redemption amount, or in the case of an Original Issue Discount Note, the debt security’s adjusted issue price, by 0.25% or more of the remaining redemption amount, or adjusted issue price, multiplied by the number of remaining whole years to maturity, the debt security will be considered to bear “market discount” in your hands in the amount of such difference. In this case, any payment, other than qualified stated interest on, or any gain that you realize on the disposition of, the debt security generally will be treated as ordinary interest income to the extent of the market discount that accrued on the debt security during your holding period. In addition, you could be required to defer the deduction of a portion of the interest paid on any indebtedness that you incurred or continued to purchase or carry the debt security. In general, market discount will be treated as accruing ratably over the term of the debt security, or, at your election, under a constant yield method. You must accrue market discount on a Foreign Currency Note in the specified currency. The amount that you will be required to include in income in respect of accrued market discount will be the U.S. dollar value of the accrued amount, generally calculated at the exchange rate in effect on the date that you dispose of the Foreign Currency Note.

You may elect to include market discount in gross income currently as it accrues (on either a ratable or constant yield basis), in lieu of treating a portion of any gain realized on a sale of the debt security as ordinary income. If you elect to include market discount on a current basis, the interest deduction deferral rule described above will not apply. If you do make such an election, it will apply to all market discount debt instruments that you acquire on or after the first day of the first taxable year to which the election applies. The election may not be revoked without the consent of the Internal Revenue Service. Any accrued market discount on a Foreign Currency Note that is currently includible in income will be translated into U.S. dollars at the average exchange rate for the accrual period (or portion thereof within the holder’s taxable year) and, upon disposition of the Foreign Currency Note, you will generally realize exchange gain or loss based on the difference between such average exchange rate and the exchange rate on the date of disposition.

Indexed Notes and Other Notes Providing for Contingent Payments

Special rules govern the tax treatment of certain debt obligations that provide for contingent payments (“contingent debt obligations”). These rules generally require accrual of interest income on a constant yield basis in respect of contingent debt obligations at a yield determined at the time of issuance of the obligation, and may require adjustments to these accruals when any contingent payments are made. In addition, special rules may apply to floating rate debt securities if the interest payable on the debt securities is based on more than one interest index. The Republic will provide a detailed description of the tax considerations relevant to U.S. holders of any debt securities that are subject to the special rules discussed in this paragraph in the relevant prospectus supplement.

Foreign Currency Notes and Reportable Transactions

A U.S. holder that participates in a “reportable transaction” will be required to disclose its participation to the Internal Revenue Service. The scope and application of these rules is not entirely clear. A U.S. holder may be required to treat a foreign currency exchange loss relating to a Foreign Currency Note as a reportable transaction if the loss exceeds $50,000 in a single taxable year if the U.S. holder is an individual or trust, or higher amounts for other U.S. holders. In the event the acquisition, ownership or disposition of a Foreign Currency Note constitutes participation in a “reportable transaction” for purposes of these rules, you will be required to disclose your investment to the Internal Revenue Service, currently on Form 8886. You should consult your tax advisers regarding the application of these rules to the acquisition, ownership or disposition of Foreign Currency Notes.

Specified Foreign Financial Assets

Individual U.S. holders that own “specified foreign financial assets” with an aggregate value in excess of $50,000 are generally required to file an information statement along with their tax returns, currently on Form 8938, with respect to such assets. “Specified foreign financial assets” include any financial accounts held at a non-U.S. financial institution, as well as securities issued by a non-U.S. issuer (which may include debt securities issued in certificated form) that are not held in accounts maintained by financial institutions. Higher reporting thresholds apply to certain individuals living abroad and to certain married individuals. Regulations extend this reporting requirement to certain entities that are treated as formed or availed of to hold direct or indirect interests in specified foreign financial assets based on certain objective criteria. U.S. holders who fail to report the required information could be subject to substantial penalties. You should consult your tax advisers concerning the application of these rules to your investment in the debt securities, including the application of the rules to your particular circumstances.

Information Reporting and Backup Withholding

The paying agent must file information returns with the Internal Revenue Service in connection with payments made on debt securities to certain United States persons. You generally will not be subject to U.S. backup withholding tax on such payments if you provide your taxpayer identification number to the paying

agent, certify as to no loss of exemption from backup withholding and otherwise comply with applicable requirements of the backup withholding rules, or you otherwise establish an exemption. You may also be subject to information reporting and backup withholding tax requirements with respect to the proceeds from a sale of the debt securities (although you generally will not be subject to backup withholding tax if you satisfy the requirements described above). Any amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules will be allowed as a refund or a credit against your U.S. federal income tax liability provided the required information is furnished to the Internal Revenue Service.

PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

The Republic may sell the debt securities in any of three ways:

•

through underwriters or dealers;

•

directly to one or more purchasers; or

•

through agents.

In addition, the Republic may sell the debt securities through a combination of any of the above methods of sale. In some cases, the Republic or dealers acting with the Republic or on the Republic’s behalf may also purchase securities and reoffer them to the public by one or more of the methods described above. This prospectus may be used in connection with any offering of the Republic’s securities through any of these methods or other methods described in the applicable prospectus supplement.

The prospectus supplement relating to a particular series of debt securities will state:

•

the names of any underwriters;

•

the purchase price of the securities;

•

the proceeds to the Republic from the sale;

•

any underwriting discounts and other items constituting underwriters’ compensation;

•

any agent commissions or other items constituting agents’ compensation;

•

the public offering price;

•

any discounts or concessions allowed or paid to dealers; and

•

any securities exchanges on which the securities will be listed.

Any underwriter involved in the sale of securities will acquire the debt securities for its own account. The underwriters may resell the debt securities from time to time in one or more transactions, including negotiated transactions, at a fixed public offering price or at varying prices to be determined at the time of sale. The debt securities may be offered to the public either by underwriting syndicates represented by managing underwriters or by underwriters without a syndicate. Unless the prospectus supplement states otherwise, certain conditions must be satisfied before the underwriters become obligated to purchase securities from the Republic, and they will be obligated to purchase all of the debt securities if any are purchased. The underwriters may from time to time change without notice any public offering price of a particular series of debt securities and any discounts or concessions allowed or reallowed or paid to dealers.

If the Republic sells debt securities through agents, the prospectus supplement will identify the agent and indicate any commissions payable by the Republic. Unless the prospectus supplement states otherwise, all agents will act on a best efforts basis and will not acquire the debt securities for their own account. Agents may be deemed to be “underwriters” as that term is defined in the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act.

The Republic may authorize agents, underwriters or dealers to solicit offers by certain specified entities to purchase the securities from the Republic at the public offering price set forth in a prospectus supplement pursuant to delayed delivery contracts. The prospectus supplement will set out the conditions of the delayed delivery contracts and the commission receivable by the agents, underwriters or dealers for soliciting the contracts.

The Republic may offer debt securities as consideration for the purchase of the Republic’s other debt securities, either in connection with a publicly announced tender offer or in privately negotiated transactions. The

offer may be in addition to or in lieu of sales of debt securities directly or through underwriters or agents. Agents and underwriters may be entitled to indemnification by the Republic against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act or to contribution from the Republic with respect to certain payments which the agents or underwriters may be required to make. Agents and underwriters or their respective affiliates may be customers of, engage in transactions with, or perform services (including commercial and investment banking services) for, the Republic, including in the ordinary course of business for which they may receive customary fees and expense reimbursement.

LEGAL MATTERS

Except as may otherwise be indicated in any prospectus supplement, the validity of any particular series of debt securities will be passed upon on behalf of the Republic by Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, United States counsel to the Republic, and Bae, Kim & Lee LLC, Korean counsel to the Republic. The validity of any particular series of debt securities will be passed upon on behalf of any underwriters or agents by United States and Korean counsel identified in the related prospectus supplement.

AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVES IN THE UNITED STATES

The authorized representative of the Republic in the United States is Mr. Seong-wook Kim, Consul, Korean Consulate General in New York, located at 460 Park Avenue, 9^th Floor, New York, New York 10022.

OFFICIAL STATEMENTS AND DOCUMENTS

The Minister of Economy and Finance of The Republic of Korea, in his official capacity, has supplied the information set out under “The Republic of Korea”. Such information is stated on his authority. The documents identified in the portion of this prospectus captioned “The Republic of Korea” as the sources of financial or statistical data are official public documents of the Republic or its agencies and instrumentalities.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus and any prospectus supplement relating to the securities to be offered by this prospectus may contain future expectations, projections or “forward-looking statements”, as defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The words “believe”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “estimate”, “project” and similar words identify forward-looking statements. In addition, all statements other than statements of historical facts included in this prospectus are forward-looking statements. Although the Republic believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, the Republic can give no assurance that such expectations will prove correct. This prospectus discloses important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Republic’s expectations (“Cautionary Statements”). All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to the Republic or persons acting on the Republic’s behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the Cautionary Statements.

Factors that could adversely affect the future performance of the Korean economy include:

•

difficulties in the financial sectors in Europe and elsewhere and increased sovereign default risks in selected countries and the resulting adverse effects on the global financial markets;

•

adverse conditions or uncertainty in the economies of countries and regions that are important export markets for Korea, such as the United States, Europe, Japan and China, or in emerging market economies in Asia or elsewhere, as well as increased uncertainty in the wake of a referendum in the United Kingdom in June 2016, in which the majority of voters voted in favor of an exit from the European Union (“Brexit”);

•

adverse changes or volatility in foreign currency reserve levels, commodity prices (including oil prices), exchange rates (including fluctuation of the U.S. dollar, the euro or Japanese yen exchange rates or revaluation of the Chinese renminbi and the overall impact of Brexit on the value of the Korean Won), interest rates, inflation rates or stock markets;

•

declines in consumer confidence and a slowdown in consumer spending;

•

increasing levels of household debt;

•

increasing delinquencies and credit defaults by consumer and small- and medium-sized enterprise borrowers;

•

further decreases in the market prices of Korean real estate;

•

the continued growth of the Chinese economy, to the extent its benefits (such as increased exports to China) are outweighed by its costs (such as competition in export markets or for foreign investment and the relocation of the manufacturing base from Korea to China), as well as a slowdown in the growth of China’s economy, which is Korea’s most important export market;

•

the investigations of large Korean conglomerates and their senior management for bribery, embezzlement and other possible misconduct relating to the recent impeachment and dismissal of former President Park Guen-hye;

•

increased sovereign default risk in select countries and the resulting adverse effects on the global financial markets;

•

the economic impact of any pending or future free trade agreements;

•

social and labor unrest;

•

a decrease in tax revenues and a substantial increase in the Government’s expenditures for fiscal stimulus measures, unemployment compensation and other economic and social programs that, together, would lead to an increased Government budget deficit;

•

financial problems or lack of progress in the restructuring of Korean conglomerates, other large troubled companies, their suppliers or the financial sector;

•

loss of investor confidence arising from corporate accounting irregularities or corporate governance issues at certain Korean companies;

•

increases in social expenditures to support an aging population in Korea or decreases in economic productivity due to the declining population size in Korea;

•

geo-political uncertainty and risk of further attacks by terrorist groups around the world;

•

the occurrence of severe health epidemics in Korea or other parts of the world, including an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, swine or avian flu, Ebola or Middle East respiratory syndrome.

•

deterioration in economic or diplomatic relations between Korea and its trading partners or allies, including deterioration resulting from territorial or trade disputes or disagreements in foreign policy (such as the controversy between Korea and China regarding the decision to allow the United States to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system in Korea);

•

political uncertainty or increasing strife among or within political parties in Korea;

•

natural or man-made disasters that have a significant adverse economic or other impact on Korea or its major trading partners;

•

hostilities or political or social tensions involving oil producing countries in the Middle East or North Africa and any material disruption in the supply of oil or sudden increase in the price of oil; and

•

an increase in the level of tensions or an outbreak of hostilities between North Korea and Korea or the United States.

FURTHER INFORMATION

The Republic filed a registration statement with respect to the securities with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Act, and its related rules and regulations. You can find additional information concerning the Republic and the securities in the registration statement and any pre- or post-effective amendment, including its various exhibits, which may be inspected at the public reference facilities maintained by the Securities and Exchange Commission at Room 1024, 100 F Street N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549.

The Securities and Exchange Commission maintains an Internet site that contains reports and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any filings that the Republic makes electronically are available to the public over the Internet at the Securities and Exchange Commission’s website (http://www.sec.gov).

ISSUER

The Republic of Korea

Ministry of Economy and Finance

Sejong Government Complex

477 Galmae-ro

Sejong-si 30109

The Republic of Korea


LEGAL ADVISERS TO THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA

as to matters of Korean law Bae, Kim & Lee LLC 133 Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu Seoul 06133 The Republic of Korea		as to matters of United States law Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP c/o 19th Floor, Ferrum Tower 19 Eulji-ro 5-gil, Jung-gu Seoul 04539 The Republic of Korea

LEGAL ADVISERS TO THE UNDERWRITERS

as to matters of Korean law Lee & Ko Hanjin Building 63 Namdaemun-ro, Jung-gu Seoul 04532 The Republic of Korea		as to matters of United States law Linklaters LLP 22nd Floor, Center One Building 26, Eulji-ro 5-gil, Jung-gu Seoul 04539 The Republic of Korea

FISCAL AGENT & PAYING AGENT

The Bank of New York Mellon

240 Greenwich Street

New York NY 10286

United States of America

SINGAPORE LISTING AGENT

Shook Lin & Bok LLP

1 Robinson Road

#18-00 AIA Tower

Singapore 048542

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