Korn Ferry will be able to operate in the free trade zone with only 22 workers

The Executive Branch modified the Free Trade Zone agreement of Korn Ferry CR Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada and set a minimum employment level of 22 workers, along with a fixed asset investment of at least US$300,000. The decision is contained in executive agreement ACU-RZF-0015-2026-COMEX, published in La Gaceta No. 199 on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, in the Executive Branch Agreements section (reference IN202601133895).

The company, with legal entity ID 3-102-309659 and previously named Korn Ferry Hay Group Costa Rica Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada, has operated under the regime since Executive Agreement number 148-2017 of May 22, 2017, published in La Gaceta No. 165 on August 31, 2017. In that instrument, it was classified as a service company, in accordance with subsection c) of article 17 of Law No. 7210 and its Regulations.

The reduction request

According to the recitals of the agreement, the company submitted documentation on December 22, 2025, March 18 and 23, and April 08, 20, 27, and 30, 2026, to request a decrease in its employment level. In its writing, it explained that “our parent company made the decision to separate the team,” and that the other part of the team “was assumed by another national legal entity (therefore, outside the regime).”

The company further maintained that “currently, no considerable improvement is projected in the short term that would allow us to sustain the previously agreed number of workers,” and that the request seeks to “preserve the operation, the investment made, and the possibility of maintaining our work team with job stability.”

The technical process

The internal instance of the Foreign Trade Promoter of Costa Rica (PROCOMER) reviewed the request and, based on the Special Regimes Directorate report number 1432026, recommended that the Executive Branch modify the executive agreement. The file also incorporates official letter DM-911-1 of September 26, 2001, from the Ministry of Foreign Trade, which instructs to assess financial crises, marketing problems, and force majeure situations, as well as “the impact that a considerable modification in investment and employment levels represents compared to the definitive closure of the company.”

The new sixth clause

The agreement reforms the sixth clause of Executive Agreement 148-2017, which henceforth establishes:

• A minimum employment level of 22 workers, enforceable from the notification of the executive agreement.
• A total initial minimum new investment in fixed assets of at least US$300,000.00, with a maximum deadline of July 1, 2018, according to the maintained text.
• The obligation to comply with the National Added Value (VAN) percentage under the terms of the Regulations to the Free Trade Zone Regime Law.
• Monitoring of the investment level by PROCOMER, with the Executive Branch having the power to revoke the regime in case of non-compliance.

Article 2 stipulates that everything not expressly modified remains in accordance with Executive Agreement 148-2017, and the agreement takes effect from its notification.

Signatures and validity

The instrument was issued at the Presidency of the Republic on the third day of the month of August 2026 and signed by Alexander Astorga Monge for Laura Fernández Delgado, by virtue of the delegation contained in Presidential Agreement number 040-P of July 14, 2026, published in La Gaceta No. 133, Scope No. 91 of July 17, 2026. It is also signed by the Minister of Foreign Trade, Indiana Trejos Gallo.

The modification consolidates a significantly lower labor floor for a service company installed in the free trade zone regime, a figure that grants tax benefits in exchange for verifiable investment and employment. The precedent is important for other beneficiaries: the agreement itself recognizes that the reduction is approved to avoid the closure of the operation, meaning that formal employment associated with the regime is subject to case-by-case review and oversight by PROCOMER.

Source: La Gaceta, No. 199 of October 21, 2026, Agreements of the Executive Branch — Ministry of Foreign Trade, pág. 3-4 (official reference: ACU-RZF-0015-2026-COMEX / IN202601133895).