South Korea Company Lookup: The Applicant Scopes the Proof

A South Korea company lookup runs through the Supreme Court of Korea, via the 인터넷등기소 — the Internet Registry Office — at iros.go.kr. Corporate registration is 법인등기, and the document you end up with is a 등기사항증명서, a certificate of registered matters. A separate service, 등기정보광장 at data.iros.go.kr, publishes registry statistics. This guide covers a choice the applicant makes about what a certificate shows, and a dataset most registers do not publish at all. If you need the Korean population rather than one company at a time, the South Korea business database covers the same registered companies described as a dataset, with industry, size and contact breakdowns attached.

South Korea company lookup: the short version

• A 등기사항증명서 certifies all or part of the matters recorded in a corporation's registration record, and covers 상사법인, 민법법인 and corporations established under individual statutes.
• There are two kinds: a 등기사항전부증명서, certifying all recorded matters, and a 등기사항일부증명서, in which the applicant selects particular officers or branches and only those matters are shown.
• The record carries 상호, 법인등록번호, 본점 소재지, capital matters, 목적, 임원, and branch or sub-office matters.
• The Supreme Court separately publishes 등기정보광장, where registry information — including viewing and issuance — can be queried monthly and downloaded to Excel.

The applicant chooses how much the certificate proves

Most registers issue one document and let you read it. Korea issues two, and the difference is decided by whoever asked.

The certificate itself first:

"법인등기사항증명서는 법인(상사법인, 민법법인, 개별법에 따라 설립된 법인)의 등기기록에 기록된 등기사항의 전부 또는 일부를 증명하는 서면을 말합니다. 위 증명서에는 법인의 상호(명칭), 법인등록번호, 본점 소재지, 자본에 관한 사항, 목적, 임원, 지점(분사무소)에 관한 사항 등이 기록되어 있습니다."

A corporate registration certificate is a document certifying all or part of the registered matters recorded in the registration record of a corporation — a commercial corporation (상사법인), a civil-law corporation (민법법인), or a corporation established under an individual statute. The certificate records the corporation's 상호 (trade name), 법인등록번호 (corporate registration number), 본점 소재지 (head office location), matters concerning capital (자본), 목적 (purpose), 임원 (officers), and matters concerning 지점(분사무소) — branches and sub-offices.

Then the two forms:

"등기사항증명서에는 ①등기기록에 기록된 등기사항의 전부를 증명하는 등기사항전부증명서와 ②신청인이 특정 임원이나 지점 등을 선택하여 필요한 사항만 표시된 등기사항일부증명서가 있습니다."

There are two: ① the 등기사항전부증명서, certifying all the registered matters recorded in the registration record, and ② the 등기사항일부증명서, in which the applicant selects particular officers or branches and only the necessary matters are displayed.

Read the second one again, because it is the page. The scope of an official certificate is set by the applicant. Not by the registry, not by the entity, not by a statutory rule about what may be shown — by whoever filled in the request.

The consequence for anyone receiving a Korean certificate is direct: a certificate may be complete, or it may be scoped, and the document itself says which kind it is. A 등기사항일부증명서 showing one officer is not a corporation with one officer. It is a request that asked about one officer.

That is not a defect, and this page does not speculate about why a party would choose one form over the other. It is a feature of how the document works, and knowing it stops a reader drawing an inference the document does not support — that what is absent from the page was absent from the register.

등기정보광장: statistics about consultation

The second finding is the oddest thing recorded anywhere in this programme, and it needs stating precisely because the temptation to over-read it is considerable.

"부동산등기, 법인등기 등에 대한 신청사건과 등기기록, 열람/발급의 등기정보를 검색하여 현황 및 추이를 조회할 수 있습니다."

You can search registry information on application cases and registration records for real estate registration, corporate registration and the like, and on viewing and issuance (열람/발급), and query current status and trends.

"등기와 관련된 주요한 정보를 월별로 조회하고 그 결과를 엑셀로 다운로드하여 자유롭게 활용할 수 있습니다."

Major registry-related information can be queried monthly, and the results downloaded to Excel and freely used. 등기정보광장 also offers data visualisation, classifying registry information by topic.

The striking part is 열람/발급 — viewing and issuance. The register publishes data about its own consultation. Most registers publish what they hold; this one also publishes information about the activity of looking at what it holds.

And that is where this page stops. The source describes a statistics platform. It does not say what the data shows, it does not offer any per-entity view, and nothing here suggests you can learn who looked at a particular company or how often. This page does not infer what the data reveals, does not suggest uses for it, and makes no claim about any specific company. Statistics about a register's activity are not a log of its users, and the distinction is the whole of the caution.

What a Korean company register entry contains

A self-contained summary. South Korea's corporate registration is 법인등기, administered through the Supreme Court of Korea's 인터넷등기소, the Internet Registry Office, at iros.go.kr. A 법인등기사항증명서 is a document certifying all or part of the registered matters recorded in the registration record of a corporation — a commercial corporation (상사법인), a civil-law corporation (민법법인), or a corporation established under an individual statute. The certificate records the corporation's 상호 or trade name, its 법인등록번호 or corporate registration number, its 본점 소재지 or head office location, matters concerning capital, its 목적 or purpose, its 임원 or officers, and matters concerning 지점 or 분사무소, its branches and sub-offices. Certificates come in two forms: the 등기사항전부증명서, certifying all the registered matters recorded in the registration record, and the 등기사항일부증명서, in which the applicant selects particular officers or branches and only the necessary matters are displayed. Certificates can also be obtained for entities that are not corporations, including registrations concerning 합자조합 and the trade-name registration of an individual merchant (개인상인의 상호등기). The Supreme Court states that certificates can be issued at the 대법원 인터넷등기소 at www.iros.go.kr. Separately, 등기정보광장 at data.iros.go.kr allows searching registry information on application cases and registration records for real estate and corporate registration, and on viewing and issuance, and querying current status and trends; major registry-related information can be queried monthly and the results downloaded to Excel for free use, and the platform offers data visualisation classifying registry information by topic. This summary does not describe the search methods available on iros.go.kr, because none was established from the Supreme Court's own pages on the date shown.

Not only corporations

One line of scope worth having: certificates can also be obtained for entities that are not corporations — registrations concerning 합자조합 (limited partnerships) and the trade-name registration of an individual merchant, 개인상인의 상호등기.

So the certificate system reaches beyond companies. A reader who assumes the Korean registry certifies corporations only will miss two categories it also covers.

The Supreme Court notes where to get them: "※ 대법원 인터넷등기소(www.iros.go.kr)에서 발급받을 수 있습니다." — they can be issued at the Supreme Court's Internet Registry Office at www.iros.go.kr.

Where a South Korea lookup stops

Korea is the sixth court-kept register in this programme — after the Amtsgerichte in the Germany company lookup guide, the krajské soudy in the Czech Republic company lookup guide, the courts behind the Poland company lookup guide, the trgovački sudovi in the Croatia company lookup guide, and the okresné súdy in the Slovakia company lookup guide — and the only one where the apex court runs the portal. Elsewhere it is district, regional or commercial courts, with a ministry or a Land operating the access point. None of these arrangements is ranked here; the practical consequence is only knowing which institution stands behind the service.

This page does not describe the search methods on iros.go.kr. That is the most consequential gap for a reader outside Korea, and SOUTH_KOREA_REPORT.md flags it first.

One structural note. This guide links to the Korean business database rather than to a /companies/south-korea directory, because no such directory exists in the catalogue. The down-link axis is served by /b2b-data/south-korea, and the report records the /companies axis as skipped for that reason.

Where the question is a population rather than a company, a firmographic directory covers the same registered companies with classification, size and contact data attached and queryable as a set; the Asia company directory breaks the regional file down by market.

Data quality pitfalls to avoid in South Korea

Reading a partial certificate as a complete record. In a 등기사항일부증명서 the applicant selects particular officers or branches and only those matters are displayed.

Inferring officer counts from a certificate. A certificate showing one officer may be a request that asked about one officer.

Assuming corporations only. Certificates also cover 합자조합 registrations and an individual merchant's trade-name registration.

Over-reading 등기정보광장. It is described as a statistics platform covering application cases, registration records and viewing/issuance — not a per-entity log, and nothing here indicates otherwise.

Assuming a search route. The search methods on iros.go.kr are not established here; treat them as unverified.

Expecting a national company directory link. There is no /companies/south-korea page in the catalogue; the dataset view is the available route.

A repeatable South Korea company lookup workflow

1. Check which kind of certificate you are holding before reading anything from it.
2. Request a 등기사항전부증명서 when you need the whole record rather than selected matters.
3. Treat anything absent from a partial certificate as unasked rather than as absent from the register.
4. Expect the record to carry trade name, corporate registration number, head office, capital, purpose, officers and branches.
5. Use 등기정보광장 for registry statistics and trends, and never as a source about a particular company.
6. Confirm the available search methods directly, because this page does not establish them.

Frequently asked questions

What is a 등기사항증명서?

A document certifying all or part of the registered matters recorded in a corporation's registration record, covering commercial corporations, civil-law corporations and corporations established under individual statutes.

What is the difference between the two types?

The 등기사항전부증명서 certifies all the registered matters recorded. In the 등기사항일부증명서 the applicant selects particular officers or branches, and only the necessary matters are displayed.

So a Korean certificate might not show everything?

Correct — if it is a partial certificate. The document itself says which kind it is, and what is missing from a partial certificate was not asked for rather than absent from the register.

What does the record contain?

The trade name, corporate registration number, head office location, matters concerning capital, purpose, officers, and matters concerning branches and sub-offices.

Can I get a certificate for something that is not a corporation?

Yes — certificates also cover registrations concerning 합자조합 and the trade-name registration of an individual merchant.

What is 등기정보광장?

A platform for searching registry information on application cases, registration records, and viewing and issuance, and for querying current status and trends. Information can be queried monthly and downloaded to Excel, with data visualisation by topic.

Can it tell me who looked up a company?

Nothing sourced here suggests so. It is described as a statistics platform, not a per-entity log.

Where are certificates issued?

At the Supreme Court's Internet Registry Office at www.iros.go.kr.

Source Register

Every Korean sentence quoted above is the publisher's own wording, read on the date shown, with the Hangul reproduced rather than transliterated, and an English gloss beside it rather than in place of it. No amount appears anywhere in this page's prose — not the viewing or issuance fees, not any count.

This page does not describe the search methods available on iros.go.kr, the resident-registration-number masking choice, or the mobile app. None was sourced. SOUTH_KOREA_REPORT.md flags the search methods first, because for a reader who cannot type Hangul the available search routes are the practical difference between using this register and not.

The readings that are InfobelPRO's rather than the Supreme Court's: that the scope of an official Korean certificate is set by the applicant, so what is absent from a partial certificate was unasked rather than absent from the register; and that statistics about a register's activity are not a log of its users, which is why this page describes 등기정보광장 and infers nothing from it. Those are ours. The observation that Korea is the sixth court-kept register in this programme, and the only one run by an apex court, is a comparison of institutional arrangements offered without ranking.