Overview
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Region | Asia-Pacific |
| ISO 3166-1 | KR / KOR |
| Registry | Supreme Court Registry (대법원 등기소) |
| Last updated | 2026-05-06 |
Identifiers
Collect two identifiers from each business customer in South Korea and submit them as strings on the application body.| API field | Local name | Issuer |
|---|---|---|
businessInfo.taxId | 사업자등록번호 (Business Registration Number, BRN) | NTS / district tax office |
businessInfo.businessEntityId | 법인등록번호 (Corporate Registration Number, CRN) | Supreme Court Registry |
Sector regulators
FSC · FSS · BoK · KRX · KSFC
Legal structures
| Local name | Abbreviation | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 주식회사 (Jusik Hoesa) | JSC | Joint-stock company with freely transferable shares, a board of directors, and full limited liability; the dominant form for listed companies, large enterprises, and FDI subsidiaries under KCC Art. 288 et seq. Equivalent to a US C-Corp. |
| 유한회사 (Yuhan Hoesa) | Ltd. | Quota-based limited company capped at 50 members; transfer restrictions apply; simpler governance than a JSC; popular for small-to-medium foreign-owned entities and joint ventures. Closest US equivalent: LLC. |
| 유한책임회사 (Yuhan Chaegim Hoesa) | LLC | Member-managed limited liability company introduced by the 2011 KCC revision; highly flexible internal governance via articles of association; all members have limited liability. Closest US equivalent: LLC (multi-member). |
| 합명회사 (Hapmyeong Hoesa) | — | Unlimited partnership in which all partners bear joint and unlimited personal liability for company debts; rarely used in practice. Closest US equivalent: General Partnership (GP). |
| 합자회사 (Hapja Hoesa) | — | Limited partnership with at least one general partner (unlimited liability) and at least one limited partner (liability capped at contribution); rarely used in practice. Closest US equivalent: Limited Partnership (LP). |
| 개인사업자 (Gaeinsaeopja) | — | Sole proprietor; a single natural person registered with the NTS (BRN issued); no separate legal entity and no court CRN; owner bears unlimited personal liability. Equivalent to a US Sole Proprietorship. |
| 협동조합 (Hyeopdong Johap) | — | Cooperative incorporated under the Framework Act on Cooperatives (2012); member-owned and democratically governed; separate legal personality; not a commercial company under the KCC. Closest US equivalent: Cooperative. |
| 외국회사 국내지점 (Foreign Company Branch Office) | — | Domestic branch of a foreign company registered under KCC Art. 181; not a separate legal entity — the foreign parent bears full liability; may conduct commercial activities and must appoint a local representative. Closest US equivalent: Branch/Rep Office. |
| 외국회사 연락사무소 (Foreign Company Liaison Office) | — | Non-commercial representative office of a foreign company; restricted to liaison, research, and promotional activities; may not generate revenue; registered only with the NTS (BRN), no court registration required. Closest US equivalent: Branch/Rep Office. |
How documents combine
For each evidence area, this table shows whether the listed documents are alternatives (any one of) or a bundle (all required). The artifact-by-artifact lookup follows below.| Evidence area | Documents needed |
|---|---|
| Legal Registration | 등기사항전부증명서 |
| Constitutive Documents | 정관 |
| Tax Registration | 사업자등록증 |
| Ownership Records | 주주명부 |
| Signing Authority | All required: 이사회 의사록 + 법인인감증명서 |
| Address | Any one of: 임대차계약서 · 공공요금 청구서 · 은행 거래내역서 |
Documents to collect
The physical documents you’ll collect from your customer, with the evidence area each one proves. One document can prove multiple areas — for example, Brazil’s Cartão CNPJ covers both tax and business-registration proof, so it appears once with both areas listed.| Document | Proves |
|---|---|
| 등기사항전부증명서 (Corporate Registry Extract) | Legal Registration |
| 정관 (Articles of Incorporation) | Constitutive Documents |
| 사업자등록증 (Business Registration Certificate) | Tax Registration |
| 주주명부 (Shareholders Register) | Ownership Records |
| 이사회 의사록 (Board Resolution / Minutes) | Signing Authority |
| 법인인감증명서 (Corporate Seal Certificate) | Signing Authority |
| 임대차계약서 | Address |
| 공공요금 청구서 (최근 90일 이내) | Address |
| 은행 거래내역서 (최근 90일 이내) | Address |
| Sector-Specific License | FSC/FSS license, BoK payment institution registration, KRX member approval |
Collection notes
- Legal Registration: Obtained from iros.go.kr; confirms CRN, legal existence, directors, capital.
- Constitutive Documents: Notarized at formation for JSC; filed with court registry; obtain certified copy from iros.go.kr or direct from company.
- Tax Registration: NTS-issued; bears BRN (XXX-XX-XXXXX); downloadable via hometax.go.kr. BRN and CRN are two distinct numbers.
- Sector-Specific License: Required for financial services, payment processing, securities dealing, insurance.
- Ownership Records: Company-maintained; not a public register.
- Signing Authority: The corporate seal certificate (valid 3 months) accompanies the board resolution and is the standard execution package for binding authority in Korea.
- Address: Conduit universal policy: lease (no time bound) OR utility bill OR bank statement, with utility/bank dated within 90 days. Same evidence satisfies both registered-address and operating-address checks.
Person roles
When you submit a person on the application body, set theirrole to one of Conduit’s canonical BusinessPersonRole values. Use this table to map a local corporate-governance title onto the right canonical role.
| Local role | Canonical API role | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 대표이사 (Daepyo Isa — Representative Director) | LEGAL_REPRESENTATIVE | Sole authority to legally bind the company externally; registered in the court registry; uses the corporate seal. |
| 사내이사 (Sanae Isa — Inside Director) | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Executive director engaged in day-to-day management; board member with operational authority. |
| 사외이사 (Saoe Isa — Outside/Independent Director) | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Non-executive independent director; governance and oversight role; required for large listed companies. |
Additional fields
Country-specific fields you’ll need to collect during onboarding, beyond the document uploads.| Field | Applies to | Reason |
|---|---|---|
Corporate Seal Certificate (법인인감증명서) | founder | Required at incorporation and for binding corporate acts; issued by court registry; valid 3 months only — request fresh copy at onboarding. |
Notes
- Two distinct identifier numbers: the BRN (10-digit, NTS) and CRN (13-digit, court registry) serve different functions — collect both. They are not interchangeable and appear on different documents.
- Corporate Seal Certificate is time-limited: the 법인인감증명서 has a 3-month validity; a stale certificate is routinely rejected. Always request a fresh issuance dated within the prior 3 months.
- CRN format changed 2025-01-31: numbers issued from that date have a 7-digit serial portion and no check digit — validation routines that rely on the old checksum will fail for newly incorporated entities.