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Foreign Founder’s Guide to Preparing Documents for Company Registration in Korea (Part 1 of 2)

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If you're a foreign founder looking to incorporate in Korea, you've probably already discovered the first hard truth: nobody hands you a clean checklist. You ask one lawyer and get one answer. You ask a government office and get another. You search online and find outdated forum posts from 2019. Meanwhile, the clock on your business plan keeps ticking.


Here's the good news. Once you understand the logic behind Korea's paperwork, the process is actually quite linear. There are seven personal documents you need to prepare before you ever file for incorporation, and there's a good reason each one exists. Get these seven right, in the right order, and everything that follows (from the incorporation application to your first corporate bank account) falls into place much more easily.


This guide walks you through the key documents commonly required when a foreign founder is preparing to establish a company in Korea, from making your personal seal to preparing the documents needed for corporate registration, business registration and your corporate bank account.


The first part of the guide covers those seven documents in full: what they are, why they matter, and where the timing traps are hiding. Once you've got these sorted, Part 2 picks up with the incorporation application form and walks through the rest of the journey, from filing to opening your corporate bank account. You can find that post here: [Part 2: From Application to Bank Account].


The 7 Documents Every Foreign Founder Needs To Prepare


1. A Personal Seal (인감도장)

Korea still runs on registered personal seals for many official processes, and as a founder you'll need one of your own.

  • Choose a seal maker. You can go to a physical seal shop or order online. If ordering online, check the design of the seal before it's registered.
  • Decide how your name will be engraved. You can use your name in English lettering, or transliterate it into Korean characters. Whichever you choose, use it consistently going forward, since it will appear on contracts, the company registry, and other official records.
  • Pick your material and size. Options include wood, horn, or titanium. Production typically takes anywhere from same day to one or two days.
  • Collect the finished seal. Check it carefully once it arrives, since you'll need it for the next step: officially registering it.


2. A Certificate of Seal Impression (인감증명서)

This is the official government certification that your seal is legally yours, and it's one of the most commonly requested documents in Korean bureaucracy.

What to bring:

  • Your registered seal (the one from step one)
  • Your Alien Registration Card, or if you hold domestic residence status, your Domestic Residence Report plus passport

Registering the seal:

  • Visit the community center (Jumin Center) that covers your registered address. It must be the one for your specific neighborhood, not just any branch.
  • Bring your ID and your seal.
  • Request "inkan shingo" (seal registration).
  • A staff member will stamp your seal onto the official seal register and take your right thumbprint. Once this is done, your seal is officially on record.

Requesting the certificate:

  • After registration, you can get the certificate issued at any community center or district office nationwide, regardless of where you live.
  • Only you can request it. Proxy requests generally aren't allowed.
  • You don't need the physical seal with you, just your ID.
  • It cannot be issued through unmanned kiosks or online. An in-person visit is required.
  • Cost is roughly 600 to 1,000 KRW per copy, and it's issued on the spot.

If you're overseas when this needs to happen: If you can't be in Korea, a proxy can handle it, but they'll need your ID, a power of attorney, and either confirmation from a government office in your home country or a notarized document from a notary public there. If your country is part of the Apostille Convention, you'll need an apostille. If not, you'll need confirmation from a Korean consulate or embassy abroad instead.

One more thing to keep in mind: this certificate is only valid for three months from the date of issue, so time it carefully against your planned registration date.


3. A Certificate of Alien Registration Fact (Foreign Registration Proof)

This document essentially serves the same function that a resident registration record does for Korean nationals, confirming your registered status as a foreigner in Korea.

Ways to get it:

Online process via Government24:

  1. Log in (you'll need a digital certificate or simplified authentication).
  2. Search for "Foreign Registration Fact Certificate (외국인등록 사실증명)."
  3. Fill out the application and click issue.
  4. Once submitted, check and print your result under "My Applications" in MyGOV.

In-person process:

  1. Visit a nearby community center or immigration office.
  2. Bring your Alien Registration Card, or your passport.
  3. Fill out and submit the application.
  4. It's issued immediately. Even if you haven't physically received your Alien Registration Card yet, you can still get this as long as a registration number has been assigned to you.

A proxy can request this on your behalf with a power of attorney.


4. Your Passport

This one is simple in principle, though it can come with an extra requirement depending on where it's used.

  • Submit the original passport you already hold. There's nothing to prepare here.
  • Some procedures, like opening a bank account or submitting to the court registry, may require a notarized copy rather than the original.
  • If a notarized copy is required, check with the requesting institution first, then either visit a Korean consulate abroad to notarize the copy, or use a domestic notary office in Korea.


5. A Bank Balance Certificate (예금잔액증명서)

This proves that the founder actually has the funds behind the capital being declared.

  • Visit the branch where you hold your account, or use online/mobile banking if your bank supports it.
  • In person: bring your ID (Alien Registration Card or passport) and request a "deposit balance certificate" at the counter.
  • Online: major banks such as Kookmin, Shinhan, and Woori often allow this through their apps, though it varies by bank, so check first.
  • The fee is usually around 1,000 to 2,000 KRW, and it's issued instantly.

Timing matters here more than it might seem. If the purpose of this certificate is to show a balance greater than your company's registered capital, you need to make sure that balance is still there when the certificate is issued, ideally right around your registration filing date. If time passes and the balance drops afterward, it can become a problem.


6. An Office Lease Agreement (임대차계약서)

Every Korean company needs a registered address, and the lease has a few requirements that are easy to overlook.

  • Finding a space: either a full-time office or a shared, non-resident office will work. Before signing anything, confirm with the landlord that they allow the address to be used for company incorporation and business registration purposes. Not all landlords do.
  • Drafting the contract: the tenant can be listed under the founder's personal name, or as "[Company Name] (in the process of incorporation)." Make sure the landlord's and tenant's information, the address, the lease term, and the deposit and monthly rent are all clearly stated.
  • Check the lease term carefully. This is one of the most common places founders get tripped up. The registry office will only accept your filing if at least six months remain on the lease as of your registration date. If your remaining term is shorter, you'll need to renew or re-sign before moving forward.
  • Signing: both landlord and tenant sign and stamp the agreement. As a foreign founder, you can use the personal seal from step one, or a standard signature.
  • Keep the original. Depending on the institution's requirements, you may need to submit either the original or a copy at registration time.


7. Documents for the Company Auditor (Controller)

If the person serving as your company's auditor (감사) is also a foreign national, they'll need to complete the same core steps as the founder.

  1. Confirm they hold a valid Alien Registration Card or Domestic Residence Report.
  2. Obtain their Certificate of Alien Registration Fact (same process as step three above).
  3. Have them make a personal seal (same process as step one above).
  4. Register that seal and obtain their Certificate of Seal Impression (same process as step two above).


If the auditor lives abroad: they'll need a notarized or apostilled copy of their passport. If seal registration isn't practical from overseas, a signature verification certificate from a Korean consulate can sometimes substitute for it, so it's worth checking with a licensed Korean legal administrator (a "beomusa") ahead of time.


A quick but important distinction: personal seal vs. corporate seal

Everything covered in steps one and two applies to the personal seals of the founder, directors, and auditor, and these are prepared before you ever file for incorporation. A corporate seal is a completely different thing: it's made after the company is officially registered, engraved with the company's name, filed with the registry office, and used afterward for every company contract, payment, and government filing. Getting a corporate seal certificate later on also follows a different process, available only through registry office kiosks or counters.


Practical Tips Before You Move to Part 2


Since seal certificates and balance certificates typically expire after three months, it's safest to request them last, timed as close as possible to your actual registration filing date.


If you're based overseas and can't easily travel to Korea, your very first move should be checking whether your home country is part of the Apostille Convention. That single fact determines whether the rest of your process runs through notarization or through consular confirmation, and the two paths look quite different.


Once these seven documents are in hand or close to it, you're ready for the next stage: filling out the incorporation application form and handing everything off to a legal administrator. That's covered in full in Part 2: [From Application to Bank Account].


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