to get a Korean certificate of business registration" width="726" height="329" />to get a Korean certificate of business registration" width="726" height="329" />
Want to get a business registration number (사업자등록증)? A business license is required for many things. You need it to pay tax (e.g. VAT: value-added tax), advertise on a lot of websites like Naver or KakaoTalk and post on shopping websites like Gmarket or Coupang. You can register your business in Korea, if you have one of the following visas: F visa, D-8–4 Startup visa or D-8 Corporate investor visa. Only for a D-8 corporate investor visa you need a capital investment of $100,000. If you don’t have a Korean visa, you have to contact a lawyer to setup a company for you. Example of a business registration certificate:
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If you have a F-2, 4, 5, 6 visa, you can register a business (sole proprietorship) very easily. You just take your ID and lease agreement to the local tax office (in Korean: 세무서), or do it online via Hometax. Follow the link to find a list of tax offices in Naver Maps. Depending on the type of business, you may have to bring additional documents, you may want to call the Seoul Global Center or tax office first. Below is a list of F visas. There are also many sub types of the F visas.
Another way is through the OASIS visa, otherwise know as startup visa or D-8-4. You get the OASIS visa when you have enough points. If not, you need to make a minimum investment of 100,000 USD to get the proper visa (D-8, corporate investor) and get the certificate. Below are the requirements for the startup visa.
1. Required Items and Points (225 Points): At least one item is required.
2. Elective Items and Points (135 Points)
These are the different Korean company types:
If you are thinking of a sole proprietorship, you only need to drop by a district tax office (지방세무) with the lease contract of your office and your Korean ID card (alien registration card: 외국국적등표, or 외국인 체재증) to get a business license. If your landlord agrees you can register your company at your house. Also, it is possible to register more than one person at a sole proprietorship. If you have revenue of around 50,000 USD or more, the tax rate can be quite high for a private business.
As for a corporation, you set a foundation capital and incorporate the company first to apply for a business license. For incorporation, you should go to the Seoul Global Center (서울글로벌센터) office after making an appointment or contact a local lawyer.
Seoul Global Center 38 Jong-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 110-792, Korea, 110-792 서울특별시 종로구 종로 38 (서린동) 서울글로벌센터, TEL +82 2 2075 4139 l FAX +82 2 723 3206
Joint stock companies are the best choice for startups, because it is relatively easy to add shareholders and issue loans like convertible bonds. Minimum starting capital for a corporation is 1 million won, roughly 1,000 US dollar. Another thing is that if you have partners you may want to sign a founders’ agreement so when things don’t go as planned you have security.
Finally, it is very important which categories (e.g. service, with sub category advertising agency) you choose to put your company under. It is quite a hassle and expensive to add categories (업태) and sub categories (종목) later. For example, you need minutes of the shareholder meeting. And, you need to go the central tax office in Gangnam.
What is the cost and duration to setup a corporation in Korea? According to the World Bank report “Doing Business 2020“, it costs an average of 4.9 million won ($4,125) to setup a business in Korea and it takes 8 days. The OECD averages are 1.1 million won and 9 days.
It is not legally necessary to have an accountant as a (stock) company, but it is highly recommended. Because when you are incorporated you have to submit income tax every year, VAT returns every quarter, payroll and electronic invoices every month or you get a penalty. A Korean speaking accountant usually costs 100,000 KRW (100 USD) per month. An English speaking one often costs around 150K won per months (ex. VAT).
If you are looking for a Korean companies directory, there are several:
If you want to look up more info about a Korean company, most websites are in Korean. Example: Dart. Also the ones that offer data in English often do not have a database of all companies in Korea. Example: BizInKorea.
To find out if any company in Korea is active, you can check the Hometax website, officially run by the governmental National Tax Service (NTS). Hometax is where people and businesses in Korea pay / receive their tax (returns) and send electronic invoices. Unfortunately the website is only in Korean. Below are screenshots to find the status of the company in Korea. You need to input the business registration number.
