Do you have a business partner in Korea that you want to send a present to?
Presents are a huge part of Korean business culture, as well as for special occasions like weddings, 1 year birthdays of children, funerals, etc. Though it is probably best to give money, it is quite common to give your business partner in Korea flowers or plants when something great happens to celebrate the moment. Also, it is quite customary for students to give their teachers gifts to show their thanks, especially during holidays. And it is quite common to see friends sending gifts to their friends when they open up a new business in Korea.
There is no limit to what kind of gift you can send business partners in Korea for whatever occasion, as long as they are not a government workers or in a company that is directly related to the government. For example, you can send gifts of any value to your friend who is the president of some department in private companies like Samsung, LG, Teen Top Media, Flower Gift Korea, etc. But it is now “illegal” for people in government related jobs to accept gifts that have a value over a certain amount. This was due to the fact that bribery has been perceived as a problem in the Korean government. Now, there is a limit to how much you can spend on a business gifts being sent to people in government relate jobs.
Here are the limits on the value of gifts for government related jobs:
Meals, Food, Drinks, and the like – 30,000won
Flowers and other types of gifts (not food/drink) – 50,000won
Gifts for special occasions in the form of Money or 3-level Wreaths (Weddings/Funerals/1 year birthdays) – 100,000won
What are some of the job types this rule falls under?
Well, you have to follow the above values if you want to give a gift to a teacher, police officer, judge, politician, workers of banks that are government owned, journalists, private school workers, etc.
*More About the Law: The law is called “Kim Young Lan Law”, which is named after the person who created it. She was a judge and is now a government worker with some power. The law has been in effect since July 28, 2016.
It is important to highlight the difference between Hagwons and private schools. Hagwons actually do not fall under this category and can technically accept any value of gifts. Public schools are actually schools that parents pay money for their children to attend. These types of schools give out grades/scores that will be accounted for when children apply to high schools or college, which is why they are considered, “Government related”. However, hagwons are just businesses that help students catch up or get ahead of their classmates, and can’t give out any results that will directly affect their chances of being accepted into a prestigious college in Korea.
How can I send gifts to my business partners in Korea?
We at Flower Gift Korea have sent a lot of business gifts to various types of people in Korea. The only time a gift has been rejected was when the card mentioned something about partnership and/or doing business together and the recipient was working for a government related company.
However, you can still send gifts to your business partners in Seoul South Korea, but it really depends on who they are. You will have to follow the above limits if they work for the government. However, if they don’t, you can send whatever gift you heart pleases.
People have tried to send gifts to people with government jobs, only to have the gift rejected. So please respect the above limits, so that you don’t end up wasting your money. If you are unsure whether or not your business partner is working in a government related company, just message us at Flower Gift Korea and we’ll find out for you.