Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)

2024-04-06BY Immikorea

Establishing a Foreign Investment Corporation

A foreigner or foreign company is classified as a foreign-invested company if it invests more than 100 million won to participate in management and acquires 10% or more shares with voting rights after establishing a direct incorporated company. You can also invest in companies run by Koreans.

A foreign-invested corporation is recognized as a domestic corporation under the Commercial Code, and the scope of its business activities is unrestricted within the scope of its license. Loans are available based on the creditworthiness of the local corporation and can be made using the

Documents required to establish a foreign investment corporation

For documents from abroad, an apostille, notarization is required.

Foreign Investment Report
Individual: Copy of passport
Corporations: Certificate of existence of overseas headquarters, board of directors’ resolution, shareholder list of headquarters
Articles of Incorporation
Shareholder List
Inauguration acceptance letter
Notarize representative’s address, notarize signature
Office lease contract
Power of Attorney

If you are applying for a D8 visa at the same time, you will need more documents.

Procedures and time frame for establishing a foreign investment corporation

It may take different amounts of time if the investor is in-country versus if it’s done by power of attorney.

Procedure	How long does it take
Prepare notarized documents (headquarters or personal)
⇒ Foreign Investment Report (KOTRA or Foreign Exchange Bank)	1 day
⇒ Remittance of investment funds (foreign exchange bank, customs carry-on)	2-3 days
⇒ Registration of incorporation (court registry)	3-5 days
⇒ Obtaining a license (Related Industries)	variation
⇒ Incorporation and Business Registration (Tax Office)	2-3 days
⇒ Corporate Bank Account Opening (Foreign Exchange Bank)	1 day
⇒ Issuance of Foreign Investment Company Registration Certificate (KOTRA or Foreign Exchange Bank)	1 day
⇒ Apply for a D8 visa (if needed)

Employee hiring and tax obligations for foreign-invested corporation

Employee recruitment and accounting books must be kept in accordance with the accounting standards of Korean companies. You are required to pay corporate taxes, and all profits generated by your local corporation are aggregated and taxable.

“There are tax incentives for foreign-invested enterprises, small and medium-sized enterprises, and loans are available depending on the creditworthiness of the local company.

Related visa: D8 visa

If you are an individual investor, you can apply for a D8 visa on your own behalf, or if you are an overseas company investing, you can send an employee on a D8 visa.

d8비자 알아보기