Register Your Company in Korea From Anywhere On Your Seat

Yes, a foreigner can be a director of a company in Korea if you are above 18 years old.

To incorporate and start a business in Korea, the Foreign Investment Promotion Act (FIPA) requires procedures which normally take from eight to ten weeks to complete. The procedures are foreign investment notification, investment capital remittance and incorporation registration.

The cost depends on the type and nature of the company you will set up and capital amount you are planing to invest.

The business owner has to obtain a Business Registration Number from the head of a district tax office in their jurisdiction. And the number should be used as their TIN for filling value-added tax returns.

The company must file the motion at the court that has jurisdiction over the primary location of the business or the company’s registered address. The Korean court then requests the liquidator to file a brief to the court which explains the reason for the company’s dissolution.

A representative director executes the decisions made by the board and has the authority to represent the company. Companies can choose to have more than one executive officer appointed by the board instead of representative directors.

Value Added Tax, VAT is in general due when goods or services are sold. A Business Registration Number is a unique 10-digit number that proves that a person/entity is registered for VAT in Korea.

A company incorporated in Korea is deemed a domestic corporation and is subjected to tax from worldwide income while a foreign company is liable to taxation on Korean source income. The corporation tax rates are 10, 20 and 22%.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is defined as an investment with an investment threshold contributed by foreigners amounting to at least KRW 100 million and being 10% or more of the total amount. Foreigners are able to do business in Korea without restraint, except as otherwise prescribed by regulations.

A foreign investor is required to pre-notify the FDI to KOTRA (Foreign Investor Support Center in KOTRA headquarters or at overseas investment hub offices) or a foreign exchange bank.

A foreign investor may remit investment funds by wire transfer to a temporary account at a domestic bank from overseas or hand-carry the foreign currency through customs directly. In the latter case, the investor should declare the funds at the customs office and receive a ‘certificate of declaration of foreign currency’.

The registry division in the court accepts the application for the registration of incorporation and generally it takes four to five working days for the registration . The required documents can be checked on the list of application forms and required documents from the Registry of Supreme Court Internet Register Office.

A foreign investor may open a corporate bank account at a foreign exchange bank immediately after all company registration is done. However, the choice of bank requires careful consideration since opening additional accounts at another bank is restricted for twenty business days.

Branch office is a foreign corporation that carries out business activities of the head office.liaison office is a foreign corporation that cannot carry out business activities but instead conduct market surveys, marketing activities, etc.

National taxes are divided into internal taxes, including corporate tax and income tax, and tariffs imposed on imported goods. Local taxes, which are imposed by local governments, include acquisition tax, registration license tax, and property tax.

Any foreigner holding a long-term visa that permits a stay of 91 days or more must apply for alien registration within 90 days from the date of entry at the local immigration office with jurisdiction over their residence.

Foreigner with an alien registration card employed in Korea eligible for, however, issuance criteria differs depending on the card company. Generally document certifying income (for at least the past 3 months), labor contract, alien registration is required

If a foreigner is a national health insurance subscriber or a dependent family member of a national health insurance subscriber, she can receive the same benefits for medical expenses for pregnancy and childbirth as Korean nationals.

If D-8 visa holder finishes his/her activities in Korea and permanently departs from the country, the visa holder’s status of stay and period of stay expire with his/her departure, and his/ her family members’ status of stay as Dependent Family (F-3) is affected as well.

The employee of a business that has employment insurance becomes the insured person of the employment insurance, but the representative director is not eligible.