This study is based on the survey data of 74 Korean multinational corporations, which undertook foreign direct investments from 1980 to 1996. The study examined the firm-specific as well as the host country-specific factors affecting the decision between shared and full ownership. According to the results of this study, as for the firm-specific factors, Korean firms entering foreign markets in order to penetrate local markets prefer shared ownership while those pursuing core business diversification prefer full ownership. As for the host country factors, the more advanced the host country(such as OECD countries) is, the more preference is given to full ownership.