We import your goods into Korea — and sell them — under our name.
No Korean entity, no importer license, no local bank account required. Kontactic's Korean entity acts as your Importer of Record (IoR) — and, when you need a legal seller too, your Seller of Record (SoR). Sell on Coupang on a monthly subscription, or engage us per shipment for one-off imports and retail events.
What "IoR & SoR" actually means
Before anyone can sell your product in Korea, someone with a Korean business identity has to import it — clear customs, pay duties and import VAT, meet Korean labeling rules, and carry the legal liabilities that attach to the importer. And before any won changes hands, someone has to be the legal seller — issuing receipts, filing Korean VAT, and standing on the other side of the transaction from the consumer.
With Kontactic, that someone is us. Import first (IoR), then sell (SoR) — in that order, because physical goods do not work any other way. Our Korean entity takes both roles so you do not have to form a company, register as an importer, or open a Korean bank account.
You keep ownership of your products and your brand the entire time. Kontactic acts on your behalf, deducts agreed costs and fees, and remits the net proceeds to you.
Two roles, one operator
They are separate jobs with separate liabilities. You can take both from us, or only the one your setup is missing.
Importer of Record (IoR)
Our entity is the importer on the customs declaration. We clear your goods, pay duties and import VAT, check that Korean labeling requirements are met, and carry the importer's legal responsibilities on the Korean side. What we do not do is take ownership of your goods — this is not a distributor purchase.
Seller of Record (SoR)
Our entity is the legal seller on the transaction. We take the payment, issue the receipt, file the Korean VAT, and settle the net proceeds to your overseas account. Product-level compliance — claims, certifications, labeling — remains the brand's responsibility, as it does on every tier.
Where your products can go once they are in
Goods have to cross the border before anyone can sell them. Once they are cleared, the destination is a separate decision — and not every route works the same way.
- Coupang — our flagship channel, and the one we know best. Kontactic is an officially verified Coupang SPN partner, and Spark is a productized monthly subscription for it.
- Other marketplaces — possible in some configurations and not in others. Ask us and we will tell you plainly what we can carry today on the channel you have in mind.
- Pop-up stores and offline retail events — handled as scoped projects rather than an off-the-shelf package. Talk to us early; import and payment rails both take lead time.
- Your own Korean partner — if you already have a distributor or agency who sells but cannot take importer liability, we can carry the import leg alone and hand the goods over after clearance.
Two ways to engage
The same two roles, bought two different ways. Which one fits depends on whether you are building an ongoing business in Korea or moving a single shipment.
Spark — the Coupang commerce subscription
Our most mature package. Your products go live on Korea's #1 marketplace under our seller account, with logistics into Rocket Growth, Korean-language customer service, and monthly settlement. $300 per month plus 3% of gross sales (minimum $500 per month). Everything below on this page describes Spark.
IoR & SoR Projects — per shipment
A trade shipment with no consignee in Korea, stock for a retail event, a one-off import for a partner who cannot be the importer. We take the import — and, where a legal seller is required, the selling — for that shipment only. Scoped and quoted per project rather than priced off a rate card, because the duty base, the compliance work, and the payment route differ every time.
Everything Spark handles for you
One monthly fee covers the full local selling infrastructure on Coupang. You supply the product and the marketing; we are the import and selling authority on the ground.
Importer of Record
We clear your goods through Korean customs under our entity — you never need an importer license.
Seller of Record
Your products are listed and sold under Kontactic's Coupang seller account.
Tax Representative
VAT is filed under our entity at no separate cost to you.
Local Representative
A real, reachable on-the-ground contact in Korea for anything that requires one.
Korean Tier-1 Customer Service
Native Korean-language support for your buyers' first-line questions.
Payment Processing
Sales revenue is collected through Kontactic's accounts — no Korean PG setup for you.
Logistics Coordination
Post-import receipt at our partner 3PL through to Coupang Rocket Growth inbound.
Settlement & Remittance
We deduct costs and fees transparently, then remit your net proceeds.
From first call to live in weeks
A typical Spark launch takes about 2–4 weeks once your inventory arrives.
Discovery & demand validation
A 30–60 minute call to review your cross-border demand evidence, your products, and any compliance considerations.
Contract signing
You e-sign a consignment selling agreement (위탁판매대행). Product ownership and brand control stay with you.
Product information submission
You provide product details, specs, images, and certificates. We review import requirements; you apply Korean labels.
Inventory shipment (DDP)
You ship DDP to our partner warehouse. We handle import clearance as IoR and Rocket Growth inbound.
Listing & go live
Listings go live on Coupang under our seller account — create them yourself or add our Korean PDP service.
You stay in control
Taking the import and selling roles off your plate does not mean taking anything from you. Kontactic is your agent — not a distributor, not a buyer, not an equity partner.
- You own your products and inventory the entire time.
- You own your brand, your pricing strategy, and your customer relationship.
- You receive the net proceeds of every sale, with transparent deductions.
- You can move to your own Korean entity (Flame or Blaze) whenever you're ready.
Simple, low-barrier pricing
No entity setup fee. No annual tax-filing fee. Start selling locally for less than the cost of one Korean hire.
- Kontactic entity as your IoR & SoR
- VAT filed under our entity (tax representative included)
- Korean-language Tier-1 customer service
- Payment processing, settlement & remittance
- Logistics into Coupang Rocket Growth
- No entity setup fee · no tax-filing fee
Spark is our Coupang commerce subscription, and demand evidence is required to engage it — brands without proven Korean demand are pointed to our free educational content first. Per-shipment IoR and SoR projects are scoped and quoted individually; talk to us about the shipment you have in mind.
Add only what you need
These are included by default in Flame and Blaze. With Spark, add them à la carte.
Korean Product Pages & Storefront
Conversion-focused Korean PDPs and a branded storefront. $300 per SKU.
Localization Advisory
Ongoing guidance on Korean market fit, claims, and positioning. $400 / month.
Coupang PPC Management
Hands-on management of your Coupang ad campaigns. $500 / month.
Seller of Record — also known as Merchant of Record
If you know Merchant of Record (MoR) from the software world, this is the same idea applied to physical goods: we are the legal seller, we take the payment, and we file the tax. The difference is that physical goods have to be imported before they can be sold — which is why our SoR always rides on our IoR, and why we say Seller of Record rather than Merchant of Record.
Common questions
No. That's the whole point. Kontactic's entity acts as your Importer of Record and, where you need it, your Seller of Record — so you can import into Korea and sell locally without forming anything here.
Tell us what needs to get into Korea.
Book a free consultation. Whether it's an ongoing commerce business or a single shipment, we'll map the route in and tell you honestly which engagement fits — and what it will take.