[THE INVESTOR] Despite government efforts to reduce red tape many old and new regulations continue to discourage business activities in South Korea, a report said on Aug. 3.

According to the report from the Federation of Korean Industries, a business lobby that represents the country’s top 600 companies, large firms were currently subject to 81 separate regulations under 39 laws as of end-July.

The number compares with 63 regulations governing mid-sized firms, which also means a midsized company will be subject to an additional 18 regulations once it is labeled a large firm, the report noted.

A company automatically becomes a large firm or a conglomerate once it hires more than 300 employees and has more than 100 billion won (US$89.7 million) in assets.

But because additional regulations inevitably lead to additional costs, many local firms often choose to remain small, the report insisted.

The FKI also noted nearly half, or 39 of 81 government regulations that currently control large conglomerates here, were enacted in just eight years, from 2008-2016.

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