BTSDB Guide · Business — the court record behind every Korean corporation
Every Korean corporation is recorded at a court registry office. The printout of that record is the 법인등기부등본, formally called 등기사항전부증명서 (certificate of all registered matters). Where the business registration certificate shows tax registration, the registry extract shows the company's legal existence: when it was incorporated, where its head office is, what it may do, and who its officers are.
| Korean heading | English | What to look for |
|---|---|---|
| 등기번호 / 등록번호 | Registry number / corporate registration number | The 13-digit corporate registration number. Different from the 10-digit business registration number |
| 상호 | Company name | Must match the contract exactly, including 주식회사 before or after the name |
| 본점 | Head office | Compare with the address on the business registration certificate |
| 1주의 금액 / 발행주식의 총수 | Par value / shares issued | Multiply to check the capital figure |
| 자본금의 액 | Paid-in capital | A very small figure next to large claims deserves a question |
| 목적 | Business purposes | The activities the company is set up to carry out |
| 임원에 관한 사항 | Officers | Directors, the representative director (대표이사) and auditor, with appointment dates |
| 회사성립연월일 | Date of incorporation | How long the corporation has existed |
| 지점 | Branches | Registered branch offices, if any |
A Korean corporation is bound by its representative director (대표이사). The extract shows who holds that post now and since when. Check that the person signing your contract is that person, or holds a written delegation from them. Directors change, and a business card or an old company brochure is not evidence of current authority.
An extract can be issued in two forms. One shows only matters currently in effect. The other, marked 말소사항 포함, also shows cancelled entries with a line through them: former names, former addresses, former directors, earlier capital amounts. Ask for the version that includes cancelled entries. Frequent changes of name, address or representative in a short period are worth asking about.
| Corporate registry extract | Business registration | |
|---|---|---|
| Kept by | Court registry office | Tax office |
| Number | 13-digit corporate registration number | 10-digit business registration number |
| Exists for | Corporations only | Every business, including sole proprietors |
| Shows | Legal form, capital, officers, history | Trade name, representative, address, line of business, tax type |
| Live status check | By obtaining a fresh extract | Free online lookup |
General information, not legal or tax advice. Data shown by BTSDB comes from official Korean government open-data services.
It is the extract of a Korean corporation's court registry record. It shows the company name, head office, capital, business purposes and officers, with their history.
Yes. The corporate registry is public and an extract can be viewed or issued online through the Internet Registry Office for a small fee.
No. Shareholders are recorded in the company's own shareholder register, which is not part of the public registry.
No. The registry issues the extract in Korean only. For use abroad it is usually translated, and where required notarised or apostilled.
No. Only corporations are registered at the court. For a sole proprietor, the business registration certificate is the document to ask for.