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(...) FDI in a few sectors remains restricted: out of 1,145 categories of businesses, foreign investment is not permitted in 5.2% of businesses activities (such as nuclear power generation, broadcasting, and rice and barley growing), and is partially permitted in 2.5% of business activities (such as transport services, broadcasting and telecom services, and some financial services). (...)

Table 2.1 Main trade- and investment-related legislation amended since 2012
Subject - Legislation
Tax and incentives - Traffic, Energy and Environmental Tax Act, most recently amended in 2015
(...)

Other recent amendments or newly issued legislation related to anti-corruption include:
a. the Public Interest Whistle-Blower Protection Act, enacted in 2011, to encourage people to report violations of the public interest (including acts that infringe on the health and safety of the public, the environment, consumer interests, and fair competition) to prevent such violations;
(...)

(...) Foreign investment restrictions apply in the following cases: where it threatens the maintenance of national safety and public order; where it has harmful effects on public hygiene or environmental preservation or is against Korean morals and customs; and where it violates the Acts and subordinate statutes of the Republic of Korea. (...)

Table 2.3 FDI restricted sectors
Sector/business FDI limitation
A. Closed
Nuclear power generation Wholly closed
(...)
B. Partially closed
Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products, and manufacture of basic metal products Allowed, excluding the manufacture and supply of fuel for nuclear power generation

Electricity
Hydroelectric, fire, and other power generation (except for nuclear power generation) Foreign nationals may purchase from the KEPCO (Korea Electric Power Corporation) no more than 30% of all domestic power generation facilities

Waste collection, disposal and material recovery Allowed, except for disposal of radioactive waste
(...)

(...) Import licensing requirements cover numerous tariff items and prohibitions are maintained mostly for the protection of public morals, human health, hygiene and sanitation, animal and plant life, environmental conservation, or essential security interests in compliance with domestic legislation requirements or international commitments. (...) During the review period, a mandatory organic certification programme was introduced and changes were made, inter alia, in the areas of reporting, declaration of conformity, testing and environmental impact review as well as maximum residue limits, food additives, and genetically engineered animals. (...) A traceability system for infant/baby food and health functional foods, labelling requirements for tobacco health warnings and biotech crops and food were introduced. (...)

Measures involving grants, tax concessions, and low-interest loans continued to support production and trade of various agricultural, forestry, fishing, coal mining and manufactured products, and to encourage SMEs, R&D, and environmental-protection activities. (...)

(...) Meanwhile, government procurement is still seemingly used as an instrument of economic policy for promoting SMEs, companies in a disadvantageous position (firms owned by women and disabled people), regional development, and green purchasing despite the non-utilization of price preference schemes. Most procurement remains decentralized.

(...) According to Korea's submission to the WTO Trade Monitoring Exercise, as of 1 January 2016, the MFN applied tariff rates on 54 items contained in the September 2012 APEC List of Environmental Goods (EGs) that directly and positively contribute to green growth and sustainable development objectives were 5% or less; however, according to the 2016 customs tariff supplied for this trade policy review exercise, some of these items remain subject to an 8% tariff rate, which in virtually all cases reflects the implementation terms of this commitment. (...)

(...) Import licensing procedures are maintained in order to protect national security, human, animal or plant life or health, and the environment and are not intended to restrict the quantity or value of imports. In 2016, these requirements covered some 3,000 six-digit HS tariff items (1,000 in 2008), including petroleum, LPG (liquefied petroleum gas), agricultural fertilizers, crop seeds, animals, and animal products, nuclear materials, narcotics, foods and food additives, foreign publications, firearms and explosives.