The Jeonse system is a product of South Korea’s development era during the 1960’s and ‘70s. This was a period of rapid urban migration, and in order to facilitate mobility, the South Korean government passed legislation to restrict banks from lending to real estate developers, landlords, or tenants. The idea of “Jeonse” or “helping one’s…
Author: Jonathan Lee
China’s Increasing Private Equity Investment in the US
The United States and China recently planned to restart talks for an investment treaty with “Beijing dropping previous efforts to protect certain sectors of its economy from the start.”1 While government-directed investment into resources and finance remain the vast majority of overall Chinese investment in the United States (over 90%), many private investment players have…
The South Korean Government and Venture Capital: The Costs of Planned Growth
Unlike the U.S. government, the Korean government plays an active and major role in its nation’s venture capital market. Under the “Special Law to Promote Venture Capital Companies (SLPVCC)” passed in 1997, the Korean government is permitted to provide subsidies to select venture capital-backed companies (e.g., companies involved in energy, IT, and electronics), grant tax…
The South Korean Private Equity Market: Transitioning from Foreign to Domestic Funds
Overview and History After the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997, South Korea’s private equity market attracted a multitude of global investors, particularly in the distressed and buyout market.1 In fact, foreign funds such as New Bridge Capital and Carlyle were major players in the corporate restructuring process after the financial crisis.2 It was only in…