Setting up in Seoul runs in a fixed order: entity choice, capital deposit, corporate registration, business registration, then banking — and skipping the order costs you months.
- Entity + capital — a Korean corporation and, for D-8, KRW 100 million
- Two registrations — court registry, then the tax office
- Bank account last — no account opens without a registration certificate
Most guides to opening in Korea read like a list of government offices. What foreign founders actually need is the order those offices go in, because doing this out of sequence is how a launch slips a quarter.
This is the practical sequence for Seoul specifically: entity type, the D-8 visa threshold, the two-step registration, an office you can actually defend under audit, and the bank account that unlocks everything else.
What entity type should a foreign founder use in Seoul?
Most foreign founders register a Korean corporation (유한회사 or 주식회사) rather than a branch, because a corporation supports a D-8 investor visa and limits liability to the entity. A branch office works if you're extending an existing foreign company rather than launching something new.
A subsidiary corporation is a separate Korean legal entity your foreign company owns. A branch is legally the same company as its foreign parent, just operating in Korea.
For a founder who plans to live in Seoul and run the business day to day, the subsidiary route is what qualifies for the D-8 corporate investment visa described below.
Decide the entity type before you sign a lease. Your registered address, the capital deposit, and the visa application all reference the entity structure you pick first.
How much capital do you need for a D-8 visa?
The D-8 corporate investment visa requires a minimum of KRW 100 million per foreign investor, remitted from overseas into the Korean corporate account, plus at least 10% ownership of voting shares. This is the number that anchors your whole budget.
If two foreign co-founders are investing, each one separately needs KRW 100 million — a combined KRW 100 million split between two passports doesn't qualify, per guidance from Invest KOREA, KOTRA's foreign-investment arm.
The funds have to move from an overseas account into the new corporation's domestic account. Money already sitting in a personal Korean account doesn't count as the qualifying investment.
KRW 100 million funds the visa, not the business. Budget separately for office lease, registration fees, and the first several months of runway on top of it.
At renewal, immigration officers increasingly ask for real revenue, tax filings, and operational records — not just proof the original deposit is untouched.
What's the actual registration sequence?
Registration runs in two stages: corporate registration at the local court registry, then business registration at the tax office — you cannot do the second without the first. Treat these as sequential, not parallel.
Corporate registration establishes the legal entity: articles of incorporation, director and shareholder identification, and a lease agreement for your registered address. This step typically takes one to two weeks.
Business registration at the National Tax Service follows, using the corporate registration certificate as proof the entity exists. This is what produces the 사업자등록증 (business registration certificate) that everything downstream needs.
If your home country signed the Apostille Convention, notarized documents from abroad need an Apostille attached rather than consular legalization, which saves a step for most Western founders.
Do you need a physical office, or does a virtual address work?
A registered address is legally required, and a virtual office satisfies it in most Seoul districts — but 2026 tax-office audits increasingly demand a lease that can plausibly support real operations. This is where founders most often get flagged after the fact.
Virtual offices remain accepted for service and consulting businesses that don't need a physical storefront. Retail, F&B, and manufacturing entities need a real site regardless.
Don't cut this corner to save money in year one. A National Tax Service audit that finds an address with no plausible business activity behind it can trigger a deregistration review, not just a fine.
Whichever address you use, it has to match exactly across your corporate registration, business registration, and lease — inconsistent formatting between English and Korean addresses is a recurring audit flag.
When can you open a corporate bank account?
Only after both registrations are complete — a bank account cannot open before you hold a business registration certificate, and the representative director must appear in person. Plan three to four additional weeks for this step.
Korean banks require the business registration certificate, articles of incorporation, corporate seal, and identification for the legal representative. Documents from abroad usually need certified Korean translation.
Combined with the two-to-three-week registration process, most foreign founders should budget five to seven weeks from incorporation start to a working corporate account.
| Step | Where | Typical time |
|---|---|---|
| Entity + capital deposit | Overseas remittance to new corporate account | Varies by bank transfer |
| Corporate registration | Local court registry | 1–2 weeks |
| Business registration | National Tax Service | Days, once corporate registration clears |
| Corporate bank account | Commercial bank, in person | 3–4 weeks |
| D-8 visa application | HiKorea / local immigration office | Weeks, run in parallel once entity exists |
When do you actually need Naver Place and a Korean-language site?
As soon as you have a registered address and a phone number that rings, because Naver Place is how Korean customers verify you're real — waiting until the website is "ready" costs you visibility for no reason. Registration unlocks it immediately.
A Naver Place listing gives your Seoul address the same trust function Google Business Profile gives a US business, except Naver — not Google — is where Korean customers actually search first.
A Korean-language site can follow once the entity and Naver Place presence exist. Sequencing it after Naver Place, rather than before, gets you found sooner for less work.
What does the whole sequence cost and take, start to finish?
Budget roughly three to four months and low-to-mid five figures USD in fees, translation, and lease before revenue, on top of the KRW 100 million D-8 capital requirement. Certification-heavy categories like cosmetics or food add months on the KC and MFDS side.
Legal and accounting fees for incorporation typically run a few thousand USD depending on the firm. Add registered-address lease costs, translation and notarization, and the visa application itself.
The founders who move fastest run the D-8 visa application in parallel with business registration rather than waiting for one to fully clear before starting the other.
Start the certification track (KC or MFDS, if your product needs it) the same week you start incorporation. It's the one step with a timeline you don't control, so it should never be the last thing you start.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a Korean co-founder or partner to register a business in Seoul?
No. A foreign national can own 100% of a Korean corporation and serve as its representative director. A local partner can simplify banking and lease negotiations, but it isn't a legal requirement for incorporation or for the D-8 investment visa.
Can I use my home address instead of renting office space?
Only in limited cases. Korean corporate registration requires a Korean business address, and most tax offices won't accept a foreign residential address. A virtual office satisfies the requirement for many service businesses; retail and F&B need a real site.
How long before I can legally invoice a Korean client?
Once your business registration certificate is issued, you can invoice immediately. That typically lands two to three weeks after starting corporate registration, assuming your documents and registered address are in order on the first submission.
Does the D-8 visa let my whole family move to Korea?
Yes. A D-8 visa holder can sponsor a spouse and dependent children under an F-3 dependent visa, which allows them to reside in Korea though not to work independently under that status.
What's the single most common delay for foreign founders?
Address inconsistency. A registered address that's formatted differently across the lease, corporate registration, and business registration triggers manual review at the tax office and can add weeks to an otherwise clean application.
Is Seoul different from other Korean cities for this process?
The legal sequence is national, but Seoul's tax offices see far more foreign-founder applications, which means officers are more familiar with Apostilled documents and English-language incorporation paperwork than in smaller cities.
Getting the sequence right the first time is worth more than saving a week anywhere in it. If you want a market-entry plan that lines up registration, certification, and your Naver presence instead of guessing at the order, get a free audit and we'll map it out.
Last updated: September 2026
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