A new report ranks Korea as the eighth most business-friendly country in the world. The 2013 edition of the World Bank's "Doing Business" report had Korea as the third Asian country in the top 10 after Singapore and Hong Kong. Japan ranked 24th and China 91st.

The report surveys the business environments of 185 economies, taking into account the multiple aspects involved in starting a business, such as getting licensing approvals, and the easing of cross-border trade. Korea climbed one spot from last year.