1.

0 IntroductionThis report focuses on the external factors that are likely to have an impact onthe maki ng of a Lobster hatchery in South Korea. In order to minimize possiblemarket barriers, Political, Eco nomic, Socio-cultural and Technological (PEST)analysis has been conducted on the country of int erest. The analysis hassupported to gain more information regarding the marketing environment o f SouthKorea and the potentiality of the success of the Lobster hatchery. 2.0 Political AnalysisThe South Korean political system is classified under the constitutionaldemocra cy governance which is divided into three major categories which areexecutive, judicial and legislative in the order of descending hierarchy. Withthe president being highest in the hierarchy, South Korea ho lds a public votingevery five years time for the presidential election. While the legal system inKorea is a combination of Anglo-American law, civil law system as well asChinese classical thoughts (World Fac tbook, 2008)For a successful entry into the South Korean market, long term investmentstrategies ar e recommended. This includes matching and assembling the LobsterHatchery requirements according to the local preferences, research and buildinglong-term relationship with the potential local business h olders. South Korea isalso a member of the WTO as a result to which entering their market has beenm ade much uncomplicated due to the removal of certain physical trade andnon-tariff barriers. A num ber of industry giants have been known to have ventured into South Korea recently and the government of the country in turnappreciates foreign inve stments into the country especially in any business thatrelates IT and specialisation after the Asian finan cial crisis in 1997. A numberof restrictions have been known to have become laissez-faire in South Kor earegarding foreign investments venturing into the country. At the same time,South Korea is also me mbers of bi-lateral and multilateral trade organisationssuch as WTO, APEC and OECD.However, some c onstraints regarding the market entry with Lobster hatchery mightinclude the inconsistent food stand ards policies and law regulations.Organisations like Korean Food and Drug Regulations (KFDR) a nd Nationalveterinary research and quarantine office (NVRQS) are required to get aclearance from before opening a lobster hatchery. 3.0 Economic AnalysisSouth Koreas economy has boosted and have come a long way after the affect of the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Its GDP per capita (PPP) now stands at $24,800(World Factbook, 2008) wi th a real growth rate of 5%. South Korea holds the famefor being one of the leading Technology based p roduct exporting country in theworld. Infact the countrys specialisation into science and technology hasassisted in its rapid economic growth making it the thirteenth largest in theworld. Amongst the list of sophisticated industries that South Korea concentrateinclude automobiles, construction, computers, electronics, robotics,semiconductors, shipbuilding and most importantly biotechnology, which is amaj or competitive advantage favouring the proposed lobster hatchery project.With moderate inflation an d unemployment rates which stand at 2.5% and 3.3%respectively, venturing into their local seafood market is relatively risk free.The agricultural sector of South Korea contributes only 4% to the total G DPwhere only 7% of the total labour force is employed. This is largely due to thescarcity of arable lands and heavy industrialization. Consequently, seafoodimport into South Korea has exceeded to that of th e export (Australian TradeCommission, 2008). Live and frozen lobsters are one of the major import sec tionof the Korean market. Opening a lobster hatchery will help the local economywith the adequate s upply of fresh lobsters at a competitive price while at thesame time minimizing the heavy imports of lo

bsters from countries like Canadaand Australia. Another important factor that contributes to the limit ed agriculture in thecountry is the lack of adequate labour force in the agricultural sector. Thiscriterio n could be worked out with the increasing number of foreign labour forcewho are prone to migrate to S outh Korea every year due to the positive prospects of the country. 4.0 Socio-cultural AnalysisThe age structure of the South Korean population reveals the greater presenc e ofthe younger generation that is between 15-65 years with a median age of 36.7years (The World Fa ctbook, 2008). This establishes the fact that the averageKorean population are mostly younger genera tion who falls under the workingclass category. Typically, this class of people seek for differences in theirtastes and lifestyles and are tend to be more liberal and westernized. Although,lobsters are availabl e in many regions around the globe but traditionally thecooking and flavouring style of this particul ar seafood has been verywesternized with the usage of a number of sauce and gravies. Thus the cuisi ne of