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Setting up a Korean branch for a Japanese corporation
A Japanese corporation wants to set up a branch office in Korea.
In this case, we usually check what type of business you are doing in Korea, because there are many cases where a liaison office is initially established, then changed to a branch office, or changed to a foreign-invested company. Changing the type of company is time-consuming and expensive, and it is not easy to close a previously established company.
This time, the client did a lot of research and decided to set up a branch office, so we went ahead with it.
Prepare your Japanese corporation documents
For branch offices, there is a corporate registration process, so all documents must be translated into Korean.
We received scanned copies in advance and translated all certificates of resume and articles of incorporation into Korean, and provided forms such as acceptance of office, appointment letter, and power of attorney in both Japanese and Korean because the general public is not familiar with them.
In particular, in the case of board resolutions, if the content is written incorrectly, there is a problem with registration, so it takes a lot of time, such as having to re-do the apostille, so we pre-write it in both Japanese and Korean so that there are no mistakes according to our form, and send it to the Japanese headquarters so that they can only do the apostille procedure.
The documents to prepare at the Japan headquarters include
- Our HistoryAllCertificates
- Articles of Incorporation
- Board resolutions
- Shareholder List
- A copy of the headquarters representative’s passport
- Notarize the address signature of the headquarters representative
- A copy of the South Korean branch manager’s passport
- Letter of Acceptance for Korea Branch Manager
- Letter of Appointment for Korea Branch Manager
- Power of Attorney
Here’s what you’ll need to do to prepare
- Office lease agreement
- If the branch manager is Korean, a copy of the ID, seal stamp, seal certificate, or original resident registration card
What happens next and how long it takes
I think it took me about a month to prepare the documents and apostille in Japan, so you should prepare well in advance because it won’t happen as fast as in Korea. Once the documents are ready, the process in Korea is usually on time.
The process of opening a bank account in Korea is also quite tricky, as it is not a common practice for most banks, and not many employees are familiar with the process of filing for a branch office, which can lead to delays and additional documentation.
| Procedure | How long it takes |
| Preparing apostille documents (offshore headquarters) | |
Report of establishment of domestic branch (foreign exchange bank) Report foreign correspondent bank designation | 1 day |
| Entity Registration (Court Registry) | 3-5 days |
| Business Registration (Tax Office) | 2 days |
| Corporate Bank Account Opening (Designated Foreign Exchange Bank) | 1 day |
Inquiries about setting up a Korean branch for a Japanese corporation
Already, Korea Relocation has been working with foreigners.
Unlike other companies that rely on the client to prepare all the documents, we provide non-stop support from document preparation to translation, registration, business license issuance, and account opening.
We translate all documents so that only apostilles are required at our offices abroad, so we can get things done quickly and accurately.
Provide samples for accurate documentation
- 외국인 투자신고 / 지점, 연락사무소 설치신고
- 거래은행 지정신청
- 법인설립 등기
- 사업자등록증 / 고유번호증 발급
- 외투기업등록증 발급
- 은행계좌개설
- 비자발급
- 세무대행
