Secondary GLEIF, ISO 20275 Entity Legal Forms code list, v1.6 · Derived The list names the forms; the kind each is given, the same six words in every country, is our grouping.

What it is known for

Where South Korea is in the world’s top 10 on a measure anyone can check, the best rank first. Only the top is shown; a low rank is never stated.

World’s2nd

World-leading exports Cruise ships, ferries and cargo shipsUS$23.9 bn · 28.9% of world exports of 118 exporters · 2024 CEPII BACI, January 2026 release See the top 10
World’s2nd

Research and technology Research and development spending4.94% of GDP of 78 economies · 2023 World Bank, World Development Indicators See the top 10
World’s2nd

Knowledge-intensive economy Economic Complexity Index1.60 of 142 economies · 2024 Harvard Growth Lab, Atlas of Economic Complexity (CC0) See the top 10
World’s3rd

World-leading exports Electronic integrated circuitsUS$138.2 bn · 15.1% of world exports of 220 exporters · 2024 CEPII BACI, January 2026 release See the top 10
World’s3rd

World-leading exports Flat-panel display modulesUS$17.4 bn · 16.0% of world exports of 149 exporters · 2024 CEPII BACI, January 2026 release See the top 10
World’s4th

Logistics and freight Container port traffic29.8 million TEU of 118 economies · 2021 World Bank, World Development Indicators See the top 10
World’s4th

Research and technology Patent applications by residents195,786 of 121 economies · 2024 World Bank, World Development Indicators See the top 10
World’s6th

Logistics and freight Air freight carried12,294 million tonne-km of 137 economies · 2023 World Bank, World Development Indicators See the top 10
World’s6th

Research and technology High-technology exportsUS$216.2 bn of 123 economies · 2024 World Bank, World Development Indicators See the top 10
World’s8th

Tax-treaty network Income-tax treaties in force97 of 100 treaty networks we hold the tax authority's own list (tax-treaties collection) See the top 10

A rank is among everything the source reports for that year, so it moves when the source adds or drops economies. Exports include goods passing through for re-export. Nothing here is a recommendation.

Doing business here

Business accounts

Providers whose own published list of countries names South Korea. A listing means a company formed here may apply, not that it will be accepted.

Not in our records No provider's country list has been read for South Korea.

EU listings

Two lists a bank checks when it opens an account for a company or its owner.

EU high-risk third countries (AML): Not listed
Official EUR-Lex, CELEX 02016R1675-20260129 read 25 Sep 2026
EU non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes: Not listed
Official EUR-Lex, 52026XG01465, Annex I as of 2026-02-17

Official sites

The authorities’ own sites for South Korea: where to register, file and check.

Blocs and agreements

The trade arrangements South Korea belongs to, as each arrangement’s own texts state them: since when, and what each covers. What a membership means for a business is for you to judge.

Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership: Free trade area · since 1 February 2022
Covers goods, services, investment.
Official rcepsec.org read 27 Oct 2026
Quote
1 January 2022 Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Japan, Lao PDR, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Viet Nam

Regional and customs arrangements only, 36 of them; bilateral trade agreements are not yet in our records.

Tax

Company tax

Tax, and what the company owes the registry each year.

Corporate income tax: 27.5%
Official OECD Corporate Tax Statistics, combined headline rate as of 2026
Distributions: Not in our records
Audit: 외부감사: 직전 사업연도 말 자산총액 500억원 이상, 매출액 500억원 이상, or two of: assets 120억원, liabilities 70억원, sales 100억원, 100 employees
Official The registry or ministry page as of 2026-10-10
Quote
직전 사업연도 말의 자산총액이 500억원 이상인 회사 2. 직전 사업연도의 매출액
Small-company relief: Not in our records
Annual obligations: Not in our records
Annual registry fee: Not in our records

VAT

The tax on what the company sells in South Korea, and when it must register, as the tax authority states it.

The tax: VAT (value added tax)
Official nts.go.kr read 22 Oct 2026
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일반과세자의 부가가치세 세율 일반과세자의 부가가치세 세율 : 업종, 세율 포함 업종 세율 모든 업종 10%
Standard rate: 10%
Official nts.go.kr read 22 Oct 2026
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일반과세자의 부가가치세 세율 일반과세자의 부가가치세 세율 : 업종, 세율 포함 업종 세율 모든 업종 10%
Other rates: Not stated
Registration threshold: No threshold: from the first taxable supply
no turnover threshold: registration is due before business starts or within 20 days of starting, for every business place
Official nts.go.kr read 22 Oct 2026
Quote
사업개시 전 또는 사업을 시작한 날로부터 20일 이내에 구비서류를 갖추어 관할세무서 또는 가까운 세무서 민원봉사실에 신청하여야 함
Voluntary registration: No
Registration has no turnover threshold, so there is no below-threshold voluntary registration; an application may be filed before the business starts.
Official nts.go.kr read 22 Oct 2026
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사업개시 전 또는 사업을 시작한 날로부터 20일 이내에 구비서류를 갖추어 관할세무서 또는 가까운 세무서 민원봉사실에 신청하여야 함
A foreign company: Registers from its first taxable supply
The 20-day registration rule carries no turnover condition, so a business with no establishment registers from its first taxable supply. The NTS page for foreign suppliers of electronic services is drawn by script on Hometax and could not be read, so a representative requirement is unrecorded.
Official nts.go.kr read 22 Oct 2026
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사업개시 전 또는 사업을 시작한 날로부터 20일 이내에 구비서류를 갖추어 관할세무서 또는 가까운 세무서 민원봉사실에 신청하여야 함
Returns filed: Quarterly
Official nts.go.kr read 22 Oct 2026
Quote
일반적인 경우 법인사업자는 1년에 4회, 개인사업자는 2회 신고하며 과세기간 중에 월별 조기환급 신고를 한 경우에는 해당기간의 실적은 제외하고 신고하여야 합니다.
Tax authority: National Tax Service (NTS), 국세청
Registration page read 2026-10-22

Tax calendar

When the main returns and payments fall due in South Korea, tax year 2025, as the tax authority states it.

20 days

No deadlineOneTwo or moreToday, by your clock For a company whose financial year is the calendar year, as each rule states the day, before any move for a weekend or holiday. A rule set by decree or by an assessment notice is not plotted.

Corporate tax return: 3 months after the end of the accounting period · each year
the tax base and tax payable for a business year are reported no later than three months from the last day of the month in which the business year ends (31 March for a December year end). Where the deadline is a public holiday, Saturday or Labour Day it moves to the next day.
Official nts.go.kr read 15 Oct 2026
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No later than 3 months from the last day of the month in which the business year ends
Corporate tax, final payment: 3 months after the end of the accounting period · each year
the corporate tax is paid with the return, no later than three months from the last day of the month in which the business year ends; payment by instalments may be elected. Where the deadline is a public holiday, Saturday or Labour Day it moves to the next day.
Official nts.go.kr read 15 Oct 2026
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No later than 3 months from the last day of the month in which the business year ends
Corporate tax, instalments: 31 August · twice a year
KO: 12월 결산법인은 상반기(1.1.~6.30.)를 중간예납 대상기간으로 하여 8월 31일까지 법인세 중간예납세액을 신고·납부한다. EN: a company with a December year end reports and pays the interim prepayment by 31 August for the first six months (1 January to 30 June); the rule records the single annual instalment. Where the deadline is a public holiday, Saturday or Labour Day it moves to the next day.
Official t.nts.go.kr read 15 Oct 2026
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12월 결산법인은 8월 31일까지 중간예납세액을 신고·납부하여야 합니다.
Personal income-tax return: 31 May · each year
a resident with aggregate income files the global income tax return between 1 May and 31 May of the year following the tax year; the rule records the final day. Where the deadline is a public holiday, Saturday or Labour Day it moves to the next day.
Official nts.go.kr read 15 Oct 2026
Quote
1/1~12/31 5/1~5/31 following year
Personal income tax, final payment: 31 May · each year
the income tax is paid with the return, on or before 31 May of the year following the tax year. Where the deadline is a public holiday, Saturday or Labour Day it moves to the next day.
Official nts.go.kr read 15 Oct 2026
Quote
1/1~12/31 5/1~5/31 following year
Personal income tax, instalments: 30 November · each year
KO: 중간예납세액의 납부기한은 11월 30일이다. EN: an individual with aggregate income pays the interim prepayment (half the previous year's income tax) by 30 November; the rule records that single annual instalment. Where the deadline is a public holiday, Saturday or Labour Day it moves to the next day.
Official nts.go.kr read 15 Oct 2026
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중간예납세액의 납부기한 : 2026.11.30.(월)
VAT return: Day 25 of the following month · each quarter
KO: 일반적인 경우 법인사업자는 1년에 4회 신고한다. EN: a corporation files the VAT return four times a year — preliminary returns for 1 January–31 March by 25 April and for 1 July–30 September by 25 October, and final returns for the half-years by 25 July and 25 January; the rule records the 25th of the month after the period. Individual general operators file semi-annually (25 July and 25 January). Where the deadline is a public holiday, Saturday or Labour Day it moves to the next day.
Official nts.go.kr read 15 Oct 2026
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일반적인 경우 법인사업자는 1년에 4회, 개인사업자는 2회 신고
Payroll withholding: Day 10 of the following month · each month
KO: 소득 지급일이 속하는 달의 다음 달 10일까지 신고·납부한다. EN: the withheld income tax is reported and paid by the 10th day of the month following the month in which the income is paid; the rule records the monthly general case (some withholding agents may pay half-yearly). Where the deadline is a public holiday, Saturday or Labour Day it moves to the next day.
Official nts.go.kr read 15 Oct 2026
Quote
소득 지급일이 속하는 달의 다음 달 10일까지

Running the company

Running a company here

Not in our records The authorities’ pages on running a company have not been read for South Korea yet.

Economy and trade

What it exports

Goods South Korea exported, by product, as a share of its goods exports each year. Exports include goods passing through for re-export. A share describes South Korea’s own trade; it does not compare places.

Product (HS heading)	2022	2023	2024	Value, 2024
Electronic integrated circuits HS 8542	17.4%	15.4%	19.2%	US$138.2 bn
Motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of persons (other than those of heading 8702), including station wagons and racing cars HS 8703	7.4%	10.4%	9.8%	US$70.7 bn
Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, other than crude; preparations not elsewhere specified or included, containing by weight 70 % or more of petroleum oils or of oils obtained from bituminous minerals, these oils being the basic constituents of the preparations; waste oils HS 2710	8.5%	8.0%	7.1%	US$51.5 bn
Cruise ships, excursion boats, ferry-boats, cargo ships, barges and similar vessels for the transport of persons or goods HS 8901	2.2%	2.3%	3.3%	US$23.9 bn
Parts and accessories of the motor vehicles of headings 8701 to 8705 HS 8708	2.8%	3.1%	2.7%	US$19.2 bn
Flat panel display modules, whether or not incorporating touch-sensitive screens HS 8524	2.7%	2.6%	2.4%	US$17.4 bn
Parts and accessories (other than covers, carrying cases and the like) suitable for use solely or principally with machines of headings 8470 to 8472 HS 8473	2.0%	1.5%	2.4%	US$17.3 bn
Discs, tapes, solid-state non-volatile storage devices, smart cards and other media for the recording of sound or of other phenomena, whether or not recorded, including matrices and masters for the production of discs, but excluding products of Chapter 37 HS 8523	2.0%	0.94%	1.6%	US$11.3 bn
Parts suitable for use solely or principally with the apparatus of headings 8524 to 8528 HS 8529	1.1%	1.3%	1.4%	US$10.4 bn
Human blood; animal blood prepared for therapeutic, prophylactic or diagnostic uses; antisera, other blood fractions and immunological products, whether or not modified or obtained by means of biotechnological processes; vaccines, toxins, cultures of micro-organisms (excluding yeasts) and similar products; cell cultures, whether or not modified HS 3002	1.1%	1.3%	1.4%	US$9.7 bn

Total goods exports, 2024: US$720.8 bn. The ten largest headings are shown.

Secondary CEPII BACI, January 2026 release, built from UN Comtrade customs returns · Derived shares calculated by us · product names from the EU Combined Nomenclature 2025 (© European Union), whose headings are HS 2022's