BTSDB Guide · Business — the document every Korean partner will send you
Ask any Korean company for proof of registration and you'll receive a one-page certificate called 사업자등록증 (business registration certificate), issued by the National Tax Service. Suppliers attach it to quotes, platforms require it for onboarding, and scammers love to send doctored screenshots of it. Here's how to actually read one — and how to check it's real.
A certificate is just an image once it's in your inbox. Photoshopped names, dates and numbers are common in fraud cases. The registry behind it, however, is queryable live:
| Text near the title | Meaning | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 법인사업자 | Corporation | A 법인등록번호 (13-digit corporate registration number) is also printed |
| 일반과세자 | General VAT taxpayer | Can issue tax invoices |
| 간이과세자 | Simplified VAT taxpayer | A small sole proprietor; below KRW 48 million in annual sales it cannot issue tax invoices |
| 면세사업자 | VAT-exempt business | Issues plain invoices (계산서) with no VAT |
The tax type printed on an old certificate may be out of date: simplified and general status is reassessed every year and changes take effect on 1 July. The live lookup shows the current classification.
| Document | Issued by | Shows |
|---|---|---|
| 사업자등록증명 (Certificate of Business Registration) | National Tax Service, via Hometax | The same registration facts as the licence, freshly issued and dated. An English version can be issued |
| 법인등기부등본 (corporate registry extract) | Court registry | Directors, capital, head-office address, history of changes |
| 통장 사본 (bank-book copy) | The company's bank | Account holder name — must match the company or representative |
| 납세증명서 (tax payment certificate) | National Tax Service | That no national taxes are overdue |
A freshly issued certificate of business registration is harder to fake than a years-old photo of the licence, because it carries an issue date and a document number that can be validated on Hometax. If a supplier cannot provide one, our document service explains which records can be obtained on your behalf.
Next step: the full 5-step verification checklist.
It is the business registration certificate issued by a Korean tax office. It shows the registration number, the business name, the representative, the start date, the address and the registered lines of business.
You cannot tell from the image. Enter the registration number in a live lookup and confirm that the status is active and that the registered name matches the certificate.
The standard certificate is in Korean. A company can obtain an English certificate of business registration from the National Tax Service through Hometax.
They are the registered business category and the specific items — for example wholesale and retail as the category and cosmetics as the item. They should fit what the company is selling you.
The date shows when this registration began. A business that re-registered, incorporated or moved to a new entity will show a newer date, so ask for the explanation and for the earlier registration if it matters.
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.