Report on Establishing a Domestic Branch of a Foreign Company

Procedure

Procedure

1. 01

   1. Choose between a branch and a liaison office: Report a branch to conclude contracts and earn revenue in Korea, or a liaison office to perform only business liaison, market research or R&D for headquarters. A liaison office may not conduct profit-making business, so define in detail the work to be done in Korea first.

2. 02

   2. Designate the foreign exchange bank and file the report: The foreign company designates one foreign exchange bank as its transaction bank and submits the domestic branch establishment report to the head of that bank. A domestic branch that will engage in financial work, securities or insurance work, or work not permitted by other laws reports to the Minister of Economy and Finance.

3. 03

   3. Bring in operating funds: A branch brings in operating funds from headquarters through the designated foreign exchange bank. Branches and offices in Korea are treated as residents under the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, and post-report management is handled by the designated bank.

4. 04

   4. Register the business location and report to the tax office: A branch registers its purpose, trade name and domestic representative at its business location within 3 weeks of establishment, and may not trade continuously before registering. A branch reports the establishment of its domestic place of business to the tax office within 2 months of acquiring it, and a liaison office that does not receive a business registration number obtains a unique number.

5. 05

   5. Change, closure and net profit remittance: If reported details change, submit a domestic branch change report to the place that received the establishment report. To remit a branch's year-end net profit to headquarters, apply to the designated bank with the balance sheet, income statement and tax payment certificate attached, and file a closure report when closing the branch.

Filing route

Filing route

Deadlines & processing notes

Deadlines & processing notes

Fees & official charges

Fees & official charges

Included in the basic fee — Initial document review, required-document guidance, basic form preparation, one filing support and responses to up to two supplement requests.

Conditional success fee — For this service, any conditional success fee may be separately agreed within the lawful service scope and stated in a written engagement agreement. No outcome is guaranteed.

Displayed amounts are starting estimates, not statutory or standard rates. The final fee is confirmed after consultation and document review in the engagement agreement. Government fees and actual expenses may change.

Basic documents

Basic documents

Making a capital transaction without reporting or with a false report can result in an administrative fine of up to KRW 100 million under the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act. A branch may not trade continuously before completing registration, and a person who trades before registration is jointly liable with the company.