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Three ways to do business in Korea — and everything after.

Incorporation, a branch office or a liaison office, filed turn-key by a Korean law firm. Then the part most providers leave you to solve alone: the address, the books, the payroll and the filings your new entity owes the Korean state every quarter.

Option 01

Local Corporation / FDI Company

USD 3,000professional fee, turn-key

A Korean company that you own. Invest KRW 100 million or more and it is classified as a foreign-invested company, which opens the door to the D-8 investor visa and, in specific cases, to tax incentives the Korean government offers foreign investors.

  • Separate Korean legal entity, owned by you or your company
  • KRW 100 million minimum foreign investment for FDI status
  • D-8 investor visa eligibility for the investor or a dispatched executive
  • Full commercial activity, Korean corporate tax treatment

Fits when: You want a real presence in Korea, local hiring, or a visa.

Option 02

Branch Office

USD 3,000professional fee, turn-key

An extension of your existing company rather than a new one. Head office and Korean branch remain a single legal entity, so no capital has to be put up to register. A branch may earn revenue in Korea and is taxed like a domestic company — but it does not get the incentives an FDI company can.

  • Registered as a foreign entity, not a Korean company
  • No registration capital requirement
  • Profit-generating activity permitted
  • Head office carries the liability

Fits when: You want to trade in Korea now, without setting up a subsidiary.

Option 03

Liaison Office

USD 2,500professional fee, turn-key

The lightest footprint. A liaison office may do market research, sourcing, quality control and liaison work for the head office, but it may not sell. It receives a tax identification number rather than a business registration certificate.

  • Non-sales activities only — no revenue in Korea
  • No capital requirement
  • Tax ID issued by the district tax office
  • The usual first step before committing to a branch or a subsidiary

Fits when: You are testing the market or supporting existing Korean suppliers.

Side by side

The differences thatactually cost money.

FDI companyBranch officeLiaison office
Legal statusKorean companyForeign entityForeign entity
Separate from head officeYes — its own legal personNo — one legal entity with the head officeNo — one legal entity with the head office
Capital required to registerKRW 100m for FDI statusNoneNone
May earn revenue in KoreaYesYesNo — non-sales activity only
D-8 investor visa routeYes, with KRW 100m+ investedNoNo
Tax registration issuedBusiness registration certificateBusiness registration certificateTax identification number
Professional feeUSD 3,000USD 3,000USD 2,500

Registration tax is charged on capital, so an FDI company carries a government cost that a branch or liaison office does not. Where the registered address sits changes that number too. We set both out in the quote.

What turn-key means

One engagement.Three government counters.

Setting up in Korea is not one filing — it is a bank report, a court registration and a tax office registration, each with its own paperwork and its own way of failing. We run all three under a single engagement and a single point of contact, so you are not coordinating three intermediaries in a language you do not read.

  • Foreign investment report

    Filed with your designated foreign exchange bank, which is the gateway to everything that follows. For branch and liaison offices, the corresponding notification or permit.

  • Commercial registration

    Registration at the competent court, including the articles of incorporation, corporate seal and the registered particulars of the entity.

  • Business registration

    Application at the district tax office for the business registration certificate — or the tax identification number, for a liaison office.

  • Pre-filing groundwork

    Company name clearance, business scope drafting, shareholding structure, and the document set your home jurisdiction has to notarise or apostille.

  • Registered address

    A Korean business address if you do not have one yet, through our virtual office service, including mail handling.

  • Handover

    Corporate documents, seal, certificates and a written checklist of what your new entity now has to file, and when.

After registration

A registered companyis the starting line.

A Korean entity starts owing filings the moment it exists. These are the services that keep it compliant, all available under the same engagement.

  • Registered address

    Your entity needs a Korean address to register, and where that address sits changes the registration tax. Standard and Gangnam-premium virtual offices, with mail handling and support if the tax office comes to look.

  • Bookkeeping, VAT and withholding

    Monthly bookkeeping, quarterly VAT returns and withholding tax filings, run with our affiliated accounting firm so the entity stays clean from month one.

  • Annual corporate tax filing

    Financial statements, external accounting adjustment and the corporate tax adjustment statement, filed on the Korean statutory calendar.

  • Payroll and social insurance

    Payroll calculation and the four major insurance acquisition and loss filings for your Korean staff.

  • Local legal counsel

    A standing retainer for the contracts, employment questions and regulatory checks that come up once you are actually operating — or hourly for one-off matters.

  • Immigration coordination

    An FDI company with at least KRW 100 million invested is what makes the D-8 investor visa possible. We structure the incorporation with that in mind and scope the immigration filing separately.

Delivered with our affiliated accounting firm once the entity is registered. Rates for each of these are on the fees page.

Not sure which structure fits?

Tell us what you plan to do in Korea and who will own it. We will come back with the structure, the fee and the government charges you should expect — before you commit to anything.

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