How to Verify a Korean Company Before You Pay

BTSDB Guide · Business — a 5-minute check that prevents most fraud

Wiring money to a Korean supplier, wholesaler or online shop you found on Instagram? Nearly every cross-border fraud case shares one pattern: money sent before the company was verified. The good news — Korea publishes an unusual amount of official company data, and every legitimate Korean business has a 10-digit business registration number you can check in seconds.

The 5-step check

Get the business registration number. Ask for it directly, or find it in the footer of any Korean website (labeled 사업자등록번호). A legitimate business will provide it without hesitation — refusal is itself a red flag.

Check the registration status. Enter the number in the BTSDB checker. The National Tax Service tells you live whether the business is Active, Suspended or Closed. Scammers frequently reuse numbers of closed companies — if the status isn't Active, stop.

Match the identity. Our results show the officially registered company name, address, industry and employee count from insurance records. Does the name match what the seller told you? A "manufacturer with 200 staff" showing 0 insured employees is lying about scale.

Match the bank account. The account holder name for your payment must match the registered company name or its representative. "Please pay to a different personal account for tax reasons" is, in practice, a confirmed-scam signal.

For online shops: check the e-commerce license. Korean online sellers must register with the Fair Trade Commission. Our checker shows the license number, its status and the registered domains — the shop's URL should be on that list.

Red flags that should end the conversation

The number is not found, or the status is Suspended/Closed
Registered company name is completely different from the brand you were given
Payment requested to a personal account or via untraceable methods only
Prices far below market plus pressure to pay "today only"
Communication only through messenger apps, no company phone or address

Keep the evidence. Save the URL of your verification result page before the deal. If something goes wrong, a record that the company was (or wasn't) properly registered strengthens your report to Korean police (ecrm.police.go.kr, English available) and your bank's recall request.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Data shown by BTSDB comes live from official Korean government open-data services.

What the 10 digits mean, how to tell a corporation from a sole proprietor, and how to validate a number.

Types of Korean Companies: 주식회사, Sole Proprietors & More

Chusik Hoesa, Yuhan Hoesa, sole proprietors — what each legal form means for your contract and risk.

Buying from Korea Safely: Fraud Red Flags to Check First

How to check a Korean online seller's e-commerce license and spot scam shops before wiring money.

How to Read a Korean Business License (사업자등록증)

Field-by-field guide to the document Korean partners send you — and how to tell a real one from a doctored image.