Set up your Korean entity, the right way.
A Korean limited company (유한회사) lets you import, sell on every Korean channel and own the business outright. Set it up badly and you get a rejected business registration, a bank account capped at ₩1M a day, and months lost.
We've walked more than a thousand foreign brand executives through this process. We know where it breaks, and how to keep yours from breaking.
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You don't need an entity to sell in Korea. You need one to own the business there.
There are three ways to sell in Korea, and none of them is a required first step. Choose by what you need now: start light and add an entity later, or set one up from day one.
Cross-border on Coupang (no Korean entity)
Your brand stays the seller and ships from abroad. Korean shoppers buy on Coupang and import for personal use, while Coupang Global Fulfillment (CGF) stores and ships your stock. We can run the store for you (Direct).
Best for
Testing Korea with no entity, no importer registration and no Korean bank account. Open to brands shipping from the US, Europe, Japan, mainland China or Hong Kong.
Limits
Orders ship from abroad under personal-import rules, so delivery takes days, and you can't sell B2B, offline or on other channels.
Spark — Kontactic as Importer & Seller of Record
Our Korean entity imports your goods and sells them, so you sell locally without a Korean company of your own. Spark Projects (B2B distribution, events, one-off imports) are scoped per project; Spark Subscription is for Coupang-approved sellers in mainland China.
Best for
Stock and sales inside Korea without an entity of your own: a defined project such as B2B distribution, or selling on Coupang as an approved seller in mainland China.
Limits
Our entity, not yours, holds the import and seller registrations. You keep control of pricing, your brand and what happens to unsold stock.
Your own Korean entity
We set up a Korean limited company (유한회사) that you own outright. It is the importer and the seller, and every account is in its name.
Best for
Owning the business in Korea: Coupang and every other channel (Naver, Kakao, SSG, Gmarket, Auction, 11st), B2B and offline, with the full P&L in your hands. Run it with your own team, or have us run it under Blaze — from day one if you like.
Limits
It takes paperwork, a tax-office review of your business plan, and a bank willing to open a working corporate account. That is what this page covers.
Many brands start light and add an entity later; others set up the entity and Blaze together from the start. Either way, the tax office will want to see a real business behind the company, as explained below.
Two ways to set up your Korean entity. FDI is only one of them.
A common misunderstanding is that Korean law forces foreigners to incorporate as a Foreign-Invested Enterprise (FDI / 외국인투자기업). It doesn't. The Foreign Investment Promotion Act defines who qualifies for FDI benefits; it doesn't require you to be one. These are the two real options.
FDI — Foreign-Invested Enterprise
외국인투자기업 (외투기업)
Qualifies if
- Paid-in capital of ₩100M or more (about USD 70,000+)
- The foreign investor holds 10% or more of the voting shares — both conditions are required
How you file
A Foreign Investment Notification (외국인투자신고) to a designated foreign-exchange bank under the Foreign Investment Promotion Act.
What you get
- D-8 (investment) visa eligibility for the foreign director
- Foreign-investment corporate tax incentives, where applicable
- A statutory guarantee of profit repatriation and capital recovery
Standard Korean LLC
일반 상법상 유한회사
Qualifies if
- Any amount of paid-in capital — there has been no minimum since the 2011 Commercial Act revision
- Where most foreign-owned e-commerce brands fall
How you file
A Securities Acquisition Filing (증권취득 신고) to a foreign-exchange bank under Article 18 of the Foreign Exchange Transaction Act, not under the FDI act.
What you don't get
- No D-8 investor visa eligibility and no FDI tax incentives
- No statutory profit-repatriation guarantee (the Securities Acquisition Filing is what lets you wire dividends out)
The misconception, cleared up
The Foreign Investment Promotion Act sets the requirements for FDI benefits; it does not force foreigners to incorporate under it. Invest Korea (KOTRA), Korea's official investment agency, confirms that an investment under ₩100M is still a valid incorporation. The company simply doesn't qualify as a Foreign-Invested Enterprise and files a Securities Acquisition Filing under the Foreign Exchange Transaction Act instead. For most foreign e-commerce brands, a standard LLC (Option 2) is the right and fully legal choice.
Critical: the Securities Acquisition Filing is not optional
FDI or standard LLC, if a non-resident foreigner wires capital into Korea, the Securities Acquisition Filing must be on file with a foreign-exchange bank. Without it, you may later be unable to send dividends, capital or sale proceeds out of Korea. We handle it as Step 4: we open a temporary FX account at our partner bank, receive your capital wire, and file the form in the format the regulator expects.
Statutory references
- · Commercial Act (상법) Arts. 170–171, 543–613 — limited company formation
- · Foreign Investment Promotion Act (외국인투자 촉진법) Art. 2, Art. 5 — FDI definition and notification
- · Foreign Exchange Transaction Act (외국환거래법) Art. 18, Form 7-6 — Securities Acquisition Filing
Business registration for non-resident foreigners is harder than ever.
Over the last two years the Korean tax office has tightened its review of companies set up by non-resident foreigners. Incorporating with no track record used to be routine; now applications without a credible business behind them are rejected, sent back for re-filing, or returned with long lists of questions.
Stricter checks on intent
Tax officers want a real business, not a paper company: genuine local operations, realistic sales and a real operator behind the entity.
More documents
Lease contracts, business plans, product proof, evidence of demand. What used to be a checklist is now an interview-style review with follow-up questions.
Less patience with vague answers
If the application can't say clearly who buys your product, where and why, and who will run the Korean operation, it gets sent back. A polished generic plan won't pass.
Evidence of demand helps most
Records of Korean customers buying from you — cross-border orders, distributor or reseller sales, invoices, shipments — make approval much easier. Without them, the plan, the lease, the director and the operator behind the company have to carry the application.
Come with evidence that Korean customers buy from you and a clear answer to who runs the company, and you are not a stranger to the tax office: you are a business putting its Korean operation on a formal footing. Tell us what you have, and we build the application around it.
Two approvals decide whether your Korean entity can actually trade.
Registering the company with the court is the easy part. Whether it can trade depends on the tax-office business registration and the corporate bank account. Get either wrong and you have a legally registered company that can't do business.
Business registration at the tax office
Without 사업자등록 your company can't issue tax invoices, import legally, register as a Coupang seller or operate at all. Approval depends on the tax officer's view of your intent, your plan and your track record.
How we clear it
We file a complete case — Korean order and sales records where you have them, your distribution plan, a real lease, a real director — written by people who do this several times a month and know what tax officers look for.
Corporate bank account
Your company isn't operational until it has a corporate bank account (법인 통장) that can actually move money. Most foreigners discover this gate only after the company is formed, often the hard way.
How we clear it
We handle this through long-standing banking relationships, covered in the next section.
₩1,000,000 a day vs. essentially unlimited.
The most undersold benefit of working with us, and the problem that quietly stalls foreign companies that incorporate without the right partner.
The problem nobody warns foreign founders about
When a new Korean company owned by a non-resident foreigner opens a corporate account, Korean banks usually set a daily wire limit of about ₩1,000,000 (roughly USD 700–750), sometimes lower. It protects the bank against fraud, and it can last for months. In practice the company can't pay its tax accountant, its 3PL, its logistics partner or its supplier, because each bill exceeds the daily limit. The business is legally alive and unable to operate.
What we do differently
Our team has spent 15+ years building relationships with Korea's major banks. The corporate accounts we open start with effectively unlimited wire limits from day one, high enough for B2B settlements, supplier and tax payments, and remittances to your parent company. We don't request a limit review after the fact; we open the account on the track banks use for operating companies.
An operating limit from day one
The account opens set up for real B2B transaction volumes, not the default fraud-prevention cap.
KRW and FX accounts together
Korean won and foreign-currency (외화) corporate accounts are opened at the same time, ready for international remittances and settlements with your parent company.
Bank compliance review handled
We submit the corporate documents, operating plan and KYC packet in the format the bank's compliance team expects, so the review is quick rather than adversarial.
A relationship banker
You get a named relationship banker, not a call-center number. It matters the first time something unexpected happens.
The one thing to remember
Don't let anyone — agency, lawyer or consultant — set up your Korean entity without a concrete plan for the bank account. A frozen account is the most common silent failure of foreign-owned Korean companies.
How we set it up: nine steps, four to six weeks.
We've done this hundreds of times. The order matters, the timing matters, and every document has to be in the format Korean regulators expect. Here is exactly what happens.
Discovery & document checklist
Days 1–3We confirm fit, look at your products, plans and any Korean sales records, and send a document checklist for your situation (parent structure, products, regulated categories).
Apostille of foreign corporate documents
Days 4–14Your parent company's articles, certificate of incumbency and board resolution are apostilled in your home country. We provide templates and walk your team through it. It's the biggest scheduling variable, so we start it early.
Korean office lease
Days 7–14We secure a compliant Korean business address through licensed real estate brokers (공인중개사). Your entity needs a real, verifiable registered office; virtual addresses get flagged.
Securities Acquisition Filing + temporary FX account
Days 14–21Required for every non-resident foreigner wiring capital into Korea, standard LLC or FDI. We open a temporary FX account at our partner bank, your parent wires the paid-in capital, and we file the Securities Acquisition Filing (증권취득 신고, Form 7-6) under Article 18 of the Foreign Exchange Transaction Act. Without this filing, dividends or capital may not be able to leave Korea later.
Court incorporation
Days 18–26Our partner judicial scriveners (법무사) file your incorporation (법인설립등기) with the court registry. Your 유한회사 is now legally formed.
Tax-office business registration
Days 24–32Critical pass pointThe critical pass point. We file your business registration (사업자등록) with a complete operating case, backed by your Korean sales records where you have them, aimed at clearing the tax-office review on the first pass.
Corporate bank account
Days 26–34Critical pass pointWe open KRW and FX (외화) corporate accounts (법인 통장) through our banking partners, with the higher wire limit set when the account opens, not after. The capital moves from the temporary FX account into the company's own accounts.
Operating accounts & licenses
Days 30–37Corporate mobile line (법인 휴대폰), digital certificate (공동인증서), mail-order sales registration (통신판매업신고증) and importer customs code (사업자통관고유부호), all activated in the new company's name.
Coupang seller onboarding + first transaction
Days 32–44The Coupang seller account is set up and verified under the entity, and the first transactions clear through the new corporate accounts. The company is now operating.
What we need from you.
A clean document package is the biggest single factor in a smooth incorporation. We give you templates for everything and walk your team through each one. Here's what to expect.
From your side
- Notarized and apostilled documents (passport or ID copies of foreign directors and shareholders, seal registration form, director acceptance letters, signature verifications, residency certificates, powers of attorney, etc.)
- Proof of the source of the initial paid-in capital
- Brand and product information (catalogs, website, anything that shows what you sell)
- Anything else that shows you're ready to do business in Korea (any format)
Prepared on our side
- Korean articles of association, drafted to match your parent structure
- Director acceptance letters in Korean
- Shareholder list in the format the registry requires
- Korean office lease contract (we source and negotiate it)
- Business registration application with a complete operating case
- Bank account opening packet, structured for the compliance review
We coordinate the apostille even if you've never done one. Most countries issue it in 3–10 business days, and we schedule it to run alongside our Korea-side work, so no weeks are lost.
Twelve deliverables. One fixed package.
You don't just get a registered company. You get one that can operate straight away, with every license, account and system it needs activated and verified for you.
Apostille coordination
We coordinate the apostille of your foreign corporate documents so Korean authorities accept them, with templates and country-specific instructions.
Office lease
A compliant Korean business address, sourced and negotiated through licensed real estate brokers, so you have a legitimate registered office from day one.
Entity incorporation
Formal incorporation (법인설립등기) of your Korean limited company with the court registry, handled by our partner judicial scriveners (법무사).
Business registration
Tax-office business registration (사업자등록) filed with a complete operating case, so the company can legally invoice, import and trade.
Corporate mobile line
A Korean mobile line in the company's name (법인 휴대폰), needed to open many Korean operating accounts.
Corporate bank accounts in KRW and FX
Korean won and foreign-currency corporate accounts (법인 통장) opened with a major Korean bank in the new company's name.
Higher wire limits
Higher wire limits from day one, through our banking relationships, instead of the default cap most foreign-owned companies are stuck with.
Mail-order sales registration
The 통신판매업신고증, required to sell online in Korea legally.
Importer customs code
The customs number (사업자통관고유부호) that lets the company act as Importer of Record for its own shipments.
Coupang seller onboarding
A Coupang seller account set up and verified under your new Korean company, ready for product registration.
Korean digital certificate
The company's 공동인증서, needed for tax filings, banking and government portals.
12 months of bookkeeping
A full year of monthly bookkeeping by our partner Korean tax accountants (세무사).
Everything above is delivered through our partner network of 법무사 (judicial scriveners), 세무사 (tax accountants), 변호사 (attorneys), 공인중개사 (licensed real estate brokers) and 행정사 (administrative agents). One contract, one project manager, one timeline.
Anyone can file the paperwork. Few make sure it works.
Plenty of Korean law firms and agencies will incorporate a company for you. The difference is in the details that decide whether you end up with a business that can actually trade.
Built around how you'll operate
We've trained more than 1,000 foreign brand executives on the Korean market. We know what your company needs to run, not just to exist on paper.
Setup and operation, one team
Set up the entity on its own, or start Blaze alongside it and have us run the business from day one. Either way, your application can say exactly who will operate the company.
Banking relationships that are hard to match
Fifteen years with Korea's major banks. Higher wire limits from day one. A named relationship banker, not a default account.
One partner network, one manager
법무사, 세무사, 변호사, 공인중개사, 행정사: every Korean professional you need, coordinated by one project manager.
Honest advice on timing
If your application is likely to struggle right now, we'll tell you on the first call and what would strengthen it. If a lighter way into Korea fits you better for now, we'll say so.
We stay after incorporation
Tax filing continues as a standalone service. If you want us to run the business itself — operations, Coupang and other Korean channels, growth — that's Blaze, full managed operations on your own entity.
Questions to ask before you incorporate
What brands ask us most often before they commit to a Korean entity.
Yes. Some brands start this way, often with Blaze from day one. Expect a closer review: the tax office has tightened its checks on non-resident foreign incorporations over the last two years. Korean sales records — cross-border orders, distributor or reseller sales — help most. Without them, a concrete operating plan, a real lease and a real director have to carry the application. We'll tell you on the first call what yours needs.
No, and it's one of the most common misconceptions. Korean law does not require foreigners to incorporate as an FDI. The Foreign Investment Promotion Act defines who qualifies for FDI benefits (₩100M+ paid-in capital and 10%+ of voting shares); it doesn't force foreigners into that structure. Invest Korea (KOTRA) confirms that an investment under ₩100M is a valid incorporation. It just doesn't qualify as FDI and is filed as a Securities Acquisition under the Foreign Exchange Transaction Act instead. For most foreign e-commerce brands, a standard LLC is the right and fully legal choice. We'll help you decide on the first call.
When a non-resident foreigner wires capital into Korea to acquire shares in a Korean company, Article 18 of the Foreign Exchange Transaction Act (외국환거래법) requires a Securities Acquisition Filing with a foreign-exchange bank, FDI or not. Without it, you may later be unable to send dividends, capital or sale proceeds out of Korea. We handle the whole filing as Step 4: we open a temporary FX account, receive your parent's capital wire, file Form 7-6, and move the capital into the company's own account once incorporation is complete.
Four to six weeks from kickoff, with several tracks running in parallel. The biggest variable is the apostille of your parent-company documents, which depends on your home country. We start it in week one so it runs alongside our Korea-side work.
Most new foreign-owned Korean companies open with a daily wire cap of about ₩1,000,000 (roughly USD 750), and it can stay in place for months. With that cap, the company is legally alive but can't pay its tax accountant, its logistics partner or its 3PL. We open accounts with higher limits from day one through our banking relationships.
Entity setup is USD 3,000, one-time. Tax filing is USD 1,200 a year, covering up to KRW 100 million in annual revenue. Both are standalone services. If you also want us to run the business on your entity, that's Blaze, quoted per client based on your entity, channels, team needs and growth plan; Blaze asks for evidence of Korean demand.
Let's set up your Korean entity properly.
Apply now and you go straight to the contract after verifying your email. Prefer to talk first? Book a discovery call. We'll look at your products, plans and any Korean sales records, and tell you honestly what your application needs.