A Korean court certificate and a DART filing describe different parts of the company.
Korean court records identify the company and its officers. Ownership and financial evidence may require DART, business-group disclosures or records supplied by the company.
By Matthew Lee
South Korea’s commercial register names officers and capital; it does not list shareholders.
The Supreme Court’s Internet Registry Office (IROS) supplies certificates of registered matters. The Financial Supervisory Service’s DART system publishes corporate disclosures, while the Korea Fair Trade Commission publishes information on designated large business groups. Each source has its own coverage and document dates.
Begin with the court record for the exact legal entity. Then decide which disclosure or company-held document answers the ownership or financial question. A recognisable group name is insufficient to match a particular subsidiary.
Keep the two registration numbers distinct
A Korean corporate registration number (법인등록번호) has 13 digits and identifies the legal entity in the court register. A business registration number (사업자등록번호) has 10 digits and comes from the tax system. They serve different purposes and are not interchangeable search keys.
Ask for the Korean registered name and both numbers where available. Preserve leading zeroes and the original formatted values, then record the normalised search input. Compare the legal name, head office and entity number on the court certificate with the agreement and invoice.
A trading name, English translation or affiliated group name can lead to a different company. Resolve the Korean name and legal form before ordering. If the business registration relates to a particular establishment, confirm its relationship with the corporation you are onboarding.
Request the right IROS certificate
IROS offers certificates of registered matters and selected sections. Specify whether you need current matters or entries including cancelled matters. A record with history is useful when an officer, address or capital change matters to an earlier transaction.
The certificate records matters such as the trade name, head office, purpose, capital, authorised and issued shares, directors, representative director, auditors and branches. Read the fields actually supplied for the entity and retain the relevant appointment and change dates.
| Review question | Evidence | Qualification |
|---|---|---|
| Which corporation is contracting? | IROS certificate | Match the corporate registration number |
| Who is the registered representative? | Relevant certificate section | Check the appointment date and transaction authority |
| Is the tax registration active? | National Tax Service status result | It does not identify beneficial owners |
| Who are major shareholders? | Relevant DART disclosure | Coverage and holdings depend on the filing |
| How does a large group fit together? | KFTC business-group disclosure | Only designated groups are covered |
Viewing a registry entry and obtaining an issued certificate are different services. If a recipient needs an official certificate, confirm its accepted format and any verification procedure. Do not substitute a screen capture for an issued document without checking the requirement.
Read appointment history against the transaction
The representative director is important for contracting, but a listed name alone cannot settle every authority question. Compare appointment and cessation entries with the date the agreement was signed. Request a board resolution or delegation if the proposed signer relies on separate authority.
The corporate seal certificate is a company-controlled document, rather than a general public company-search record. If the recipient requires it, identify that requirement early and request cooperation from the company. Do not promise that an ordinary IROS public search will deliver it.
Registered business purposes are also different from regulatory permissions. Incorporation does not establish that a company may take deposits, provide investment services or carry on another licensed activity. Check the relevant permission for the actual service and entity.
Use DART with a filing date
DART can supply annual reports, audit reports and other disclosures for companies within its reporting coverage. A listed company’s annual report can contain major shareholders, officers, affiliates and financial statements. An audit report answers financial questions, but may not contain the same ownership detail as an annual report.
Search the exact Korean entity and cross-check identifiers and address before selecting a filing. Record the reporting period, filing date, any amendment and the date to which a shareholder table relates. Retrieve a corrected filing when it supersedes the version you first found.
A shareholder table is a dated disclosure. It may identify major holdings without showing every shareholder or every indirect controller. Subsequent transfers, voting arrangements and corporate ownership chains can require additional evidence.
An absence of DART results does not establish that the company is unregistered. It can reflect the entity’s reporting obligations, search input or document availability. Return to the court identity match and record the disclosure gap separately.
Large business groups require a second match
The Korea Fair Trade Commission Business Group Portal publishes affiliates and ownership information for designated large groups. Confirm that the subsidiary appears in the relevant group and that its name corresponds to the court-registered entity you are checking.
Group membership does not make every affiliate liable for another company’s obligations. Read the contracting entity, ownership links and any guarantees separately. Retain the disclosure period, because a group structure can change after the published dataset.
For other private companies, request a current shareholder register and ownership chart from the company where access is lawful. Cross-check corporate shareholders and investigate control rights. A missing public ownership page is an access limitation, rather than a finding that the company has no owners.
Keep originals and evidence limitations
IROS records are in Korean. Retain the original certificate with any translation and distinguish an analyst’s summary from a formal translation. Preserve verification details supplied with the issued certificate, and follow the issuing service’s verification process within its available window.
Keep tax status, registry status, ownership and financial analysis in separate findings. An active tax registration does not establish solvency or transaction legitimacy. A clean officer history does not establish beneficial ownership.
Order the questions you need answered
Send the Korean legal name, corporate registration number, business registration number if known and required document set to agent@fill-easy.com. State whether you need current or historical registered matters, a particular DART reporting period, KFTC group information or translation.
We return available CorpVerify records by email or API with source, retrieval time and request ID. Price and expected turnaround are confirmed when the order is accepted. Company-controlled documents and missing ownership evidence may need a separate request.
Which court record and dated disclosure would let your team distinguish the Korean company’s identity, signatory and owners?