A corporation which is established in Korea by a foreign individual or a company shall be regarded as a Korean corporation and be governed by the laws such as the Foreign Investment Promotion Act and the Commercial Act.

Incorporation procedures are summarized as follow:

• Notification of investment
• Carrying-in of investment capital
• Registration of incorporation to the court
• Business registration to tax office
• Account transfer of investment capital
• Registration of foreign-invested company( if necessary)

Minimum amount of investment would be KRW 100 million, if you want to register the incorporated company as a foreign-invested company according to Foreign Investment Promotion Act. Such registration is required when the incorporated company applies for the tax exemption which is given to a foreign-invested company which involves in high technology businesses or is located in a free trade zone, and etc.

So, if your company to be incorporated in Korea is not a high technology company nor is located in free trade zone, tax exemption is not applicable and the company will be taxed in a same way as local Korean companies are taxed. And, if you don't need the registration of foreign-invested company, there would be no minimum amount of investment so you can incorporate a company with any investment amount you decide, i.e. KRW 10 million, KRW 50 million, and etc.  

Another reason for the registration of foreign-invested company is the application of investment visa. So, if you need apply for an investment visa after incorporation, such registration is required.

Once the investment capital is carried in and required documents are received, it takes maximum 10 working days to finish the incorporation of a company.

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Establishment of branch office would not require capital investment. So, you can establish a Korea branch if you provide the required documents from head office and the branch representative and a copy of the lease agreement of the office to be used by Korea branch.  

Establishment  procedures of Korea branch are summarized as follow:                                                

• Notification to a foreign exchange bank(approval from Ministry of Finance and Economy could be necessary based on the type of business)
• Branch registration to the court
• Business registration to the tax office

Once the required documents are received, it takes maximum 10 working days to finish the establishment of a branch office.

Please send us an email if you have questions or want to receive the list or templates of required documents