BTSDB Guide · Business — K-beauty, K-pop merch, fashion and wholesale
Korean products are everywhere — and so are fake "Korean" shops. Scam sites copy real brands' photos, quote unbeatable prices, and disappear after payment. Korea's consumer law works in your favor here: every legitimate Korean online seller must register with the Fair Trade Commission and display its business number on the site. That gives you a verification trail most countries don't have.
| What you see | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Active + e-commerce registration normal | A registered seller | Compare the registered name and domain with the site |
| Active, no e-commerce record | Exempt small seller, or unregistered | If the site prints a licence number that cannot be found, be careful |
| E-commerce record shows suspended or closed | The seller stopped trading | Do not order |
| Tax status Closed | The registration was cancelled | The number is likely borrowed. Walk away |
| Registered name or domain differs from the site | Possibly another company's number | Ask the seller; no answer means no order |
A missing e-commerce record is not proof of fraud by itself. Sellers with fewer than 50 online transactions in the previous year, and sellers taxed as simplified taxpayers, are exempt from registration. They must still display their business registration number, so the status and name check still works.
On Korean marketplaces the seller's business details are on a "seller information" tab of the product page; check that number the same way. On Instagram or messenger-based shops there is often no such page. Ask for the business registration number before paying. A seller who is a private individual with no registration is not necessarily dishonest, but you then have none of the protections above, so use a payment method that lets you dispute the charge.
Related: Full company verification guide · What the 10 digits mean
Most do. Sellers with fewer than 50 online transactions in the previous year, and simplified taxpayers, are exempt from registration, but they must still display their business registration number.
It usually means the site copied another company's details. Ask the seller to explain; if there is no clear answer, do not order.
A transfer cannot be disputed the way a card payment can. If transfer is the only option offered and the price is far below market, treat it as a warning sign.
Look up the business number on BTSDB. Where the Fair Trade Commission record includes the seller's registered domains, they are shown in the result; the address you are browsing should be among them.
Report it to the Korean National Police Agency's cybercrime reporting system and contact your card issuer about a chargeback as soon as possible.
Everything above comes from open government data, and it is free. But four things about a Korean company exist only in the court register or on a certificate: who the directors actually are, how much capital was paid in, whether dissolution has begun, and whether taxes are in arrears. Before a contract or a wire transfer, those are usually the ones that matter.