BTSDB ORIGINAL · ENGLISH

Verifying South Korean Business Partners

Check any Korean company before you sign or pay — with official government data

Same material, two ways. Pick whichever fits your day.

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LISTEN · 22 min
Verify Korean Business Partners with BTSDB

Two hosts talk it through, so you can follow along without looking at the screen — while driving, cooking, or winding down for the night.

0:00 / 22 min

💡 Keep this tab open while you work — playback stops if you navigate away. On a phone it keeps playing with the screen off.

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WATCH · 7 min
South Korean B2B with BTSDB
CHAPTERS — click to jump

1. THE PROBLEMYou can't judge a Korean company by its website

Korean suppliers, factories, agencies and clinics all look equally polished online. What you usually get is a company name, a bank account, and a promise. The one thing that actually identifies a Korean business is its 10-digit business registration number (사업자등록번호) — and unlike most countries, Korea publishes enough open data that you can check it yourself, for free, in about ten seconds.

2. TAX STATUSWhat those codes mean for your invoice

The video walks through the tax-status codes because they decide what paperwork you can get. This matters more than most buyers expect: a supplier who cannot issue a proper tax invoice can leave you unable to reclaim VAT.

01 · General
Standard VAT taxpayer. Issues full tax invoices — the safe default for B2B.
02 · Simplified
Small business on a simplified scheme. Usually cannot issue a standard tax invoice.
04 · Tax-exempt
Supplies VAT-exempt goods or services; issues a plain invoice instead.
07 · Simplified (invoice issuer)
Simplified taxpayer that is required to issue tax invoices.
Not found
The number was never registered, or has been deleted. Stop and ask questions.

Korean tax invoices explained →

3. SIZE & SUBSTANCEReal operation, or an empty shell?

Registration alone doesn't prove a company can deliver. Korean public data also shows how many people they actually employ and roughly what they pay — useful when you're deciding whether a "factory" is a factory or a middleman with a laptop.

4. TOOLSBeyond verification — work out the numbers

If you hire in Korea, quote in Korean won, or pay a Korean freelancer, the same site does the arithmetic for you with current-year rates: VAT, payroll deductions, severance and withholding on freelance fees.

Public records show what has been registered. They do not guarantee a counterparty's credit or ability to deliver, and carry no legal force as evidence. For large contracts, also ask for the corporate registry extract (등기부등본) and financial statements.

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