According to Art. 48 of the Software Promotion Act, participation in government-led software procurement is limited to SMEs. The Act allows the participation of "large" companies in exceptional circumstances.

As of January 2021, pursuant to Art. 4 of the National Intelligence Service Korea Act (introduced by the amendment - Act No. 11104 - of 2011) and Art. 56 of the Electronic Government Act (introduced by the amendment - Act No. 10012 - of 2010), the National Intelligence Service (NIS) applies the Security Verification Scheme to network equipment and cyber-security software imported for government procurement. Generally, suppliers may satisfy this scheme in two ways: first, cybersecurity software, such as firewalls and intrusion prevention systems, is certified by a Common Criteria Recognition Arrangement (CCRA) accredited lab outside Korea. However, the Common Criteria (CC) certification may not be sufficient for two reasons. First, NIS may substitute the CC certification with other certification mechanisms that were internally developed (e.g., GS Certification). Second, NIS may reject a CC certification when it deems that the certification does not cover particular functions of the product that the government entity needs.
Second, network equipment must undergo a security function test. The equipment that has already passed this test may come in. NIS has recently required some of the cyber-security software that had been subject to the CCRA scheme to pass a security test report conducted by national test agencies. This software includes a software-based security USB (since January 2020), virtualisation product (January 2020), host data leakage prevention product (January 2021), network data leakage prevention product (January 2021), and inter-network data transmission product (January 2022).
There have been reported concerns, starting in 2014, over the additional verification requirement for network equipment, including equipment products that are "not normally considered as 'security' products, such as routers, switches, and IP-PBXs." It is also reported that the NIS has applied the verification scheme "in a non-transparent fashion."

In 2016, the Korea Internet Security Agency (KISA) developed a cloud security certificate (KCSC) system governing public-sector cloud service procurement. This is based on the 2016 Notice on Protection of Information for Cloud Computing Services promulgated pursuant to Art. 23-2 of the Act on the Development of Cloud Computing and Protection of Its Users, which was inserted into the statute in 2015. It is reported that this constitutes a key barrier for cloud service providers because they are unable to meet some requirements for the certification without creating a separate, Korean-unique product.

Korea is a party to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA). Although its commitments include a service sector regarded as central to digital trade, namely computer and related services (CPC 84), they only partially include telecommunication services (CPC 752) and do not include telecommunication‑related services (CPC 754).

Art. 8.1 of the Telecommunications Business Act stipulates that foreign governments or foreign nationals may collectively hold no more than 49% of the total issued shares of a facilities‑based telecommunications business operator that satisfies the criteria prescribed by Presidential Decree regarding the type, installation area and other characteristics of telecommunications line equipment. Under Art. 2.11, a “facilities‑based telecommunications service” is a service that transmits or receives voice, data, images and similar content without altering their form or substance and leases telecommunications line equipment to enable such transmission or reception, including services such as telephony and Internet connectivity.

Under Art. 14 of the Broadcasting Act, no foreign ownership is allowed in terrestrial broadcasting businesses or community radio broadcasting entities. Only 20% of foreign ownership is allowed to a program provider engaging in general programming or a CATV relay broadcasting business entity. Up to 49% of foreign ownership is allowed to a CATV broadcasting entity, satellite broadcasting business entity, or a single transmission network business entity. This restriction has been in place since 2009.
Additionally under Art. 9 of the Internet Multimedia Broadcasting Services Act, only up to 49% of foreign ownership is allowed for Internet multimedia broadcasting service providers or Internet multimedia broadcast content business operators. Only up to 20% of foreign ownership is allowed for internet multimedia broadcast content business operators engaged in general programming or specialised programming of news reports. This restriction has been in place since 2009.

Since 1998, Art. 4 of the Foreign Investment Promotion Act has provided that the national government has a right to decline a foreign investment if there is clear evidence that this investment poses a threat to the national security or public interest. This is not sector-specific but applies horizontally. A decision of the national government about restricting a foreign investment is followed by a notification of the Minister of Knowledge Economy including the categories of business and content of restriction. Korea uses a negative list system, which means that the country is open to foreign investments unless it is explicitly restricted.

Korea is a signatory of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Information Technology Agreement (ITA) of 1996 and its 2015 expansion (ITA II).

Art. 10 of the "Decision on the Management of Telecommunication and ICT Equipment" provides that telecommunications and ICT equipment must be inspected prior to manufacture, importation, exportation, use, or distribution within the Lao PDR, while Art. 37 stipulates that any such equipment to be imported by individuals, legal entities, or domestic and foreign organisations must be inspected and certified by the Ministry of Technology and Telecommunications before importation is authorised. Art. 11 further classifies technical standards inspections into three principal categories, namely radio frequency (RF), electromagnetic compatibility (EMC), and electromagnetic field (EMF) inspections. Pursuant to Art. 6, telecommunications and ICT equipment is divided into two types: Type 1 equipment, which requires both technical standards certification and a declaration of conformity, and Type 2 equipment, which requires only a declaration of conformity. Type 1 equipment, specified in Annex 5, includes, inter alia, mobile telephones, whereas Type 2 equipment is listed in Annex 6. Under Art. 25, applications for a technical standards certificate must include, among other documents, technical inspection reports issued by laboratories designated or approved by the Ministry of Technology and Communications, EMF inspection reports for radio frequency equipment, and a sample of the equipment where required by the regulatory authority. Finally, Art. 18 distinguishes between two categories of testing laboratories: designated laboratories, being domestic facilities within Laos authorised by the Ministry to conduct inspections of technical parameters prior to production, importation, exportation, use, or distribution, and recognised laboratories, being international facilities whose inspection results are accepted by the Ministry for the same regulatory purposes.

Art. 9 of Decree No. 296/GOV stipulates that foreign shareholders are prohibited from holding more than 90% of the shares of the legal entity operating an electronic marketplace.

Arts. 14 and 15 of Decree No. 296/GOV stipulate that obtaining a business operation licence for electronic commerce from the Ministry of Industry is mandatory for engaging in e-commerce activities. To support this application, the following certificates must be procured: an Enterprise Registration Certificate, a certificate on technical standards of the e-commerce channel, and a certificate to use electronic payment system services.

Laos does not implement any de minimis threshold, which is the minimum value of goods below which customs do not charge duties.

It is reported that online taxi operators are required to maintain a physical office within Laos for correspondence purposes. This requirement is said to be provided for in "Notice No. 23902 on the Management of Taxi Operation Services Conducted via Online Platforms or Applications", reportedly issued by the Ministry of Public Works and Transport on 6 October 2025. However, the Notice could not be located in publicly available online sources.