The principal office (registered office) address is a core element of a company’s legal identity in Korea. It determines the competent commercial registry, court jurisdiction and where key corporate books must be kept. When a company relocates its head office, Korean law requires that the change be registered within a short statutory period.

Legal basis under the Korean Commercial Act and related law

  • The Articles of Incorporation must state the location of the principal office.

    Commercial Act, provisions on Articles of Incorporation (e.g. Article 289 for limited companies and the corresponding stock company provisions) require that the Articles of Incorporation state the location of the company’s principal office, and, where applicable, the location of its branch offices.

  • Changes to matters registered at the commercial registry, including the principal office address, must be registered within a statutory period.

    The Korean Commercial Act and the Commercial Registration Act provide that when a registered matter such as the principal office changes, an application for registration of the change must be filed within a certain period (generally two weeks) from the date of the change at the competent commercial registry.

  • Relocation of the principal office must be registered within two weeks, and the competent registry changes when the office moves to a different district.

    According to Article 182 and Article 183 of the Commercial Registration Act and related guidance, a company must apply for registration of change of its head office within two weeks from the date of relocation. Where the relocation is to a different registry district, transfer of the company’s registry and additional procedures (such as creditor protection in certain cases) may apply.

  • Failure to register changes or to make required public notices can result in administrative fines.

    Article 635 (Acts Subject to Administrative Fines) (1) 1. and 2. provide that neglecting to make a registration prescribed in the Commercial Act, or neglecting to give any public notice or notification prescribed in the Act or making a wrongful public notice, may be sanctioned with an administrative fine of up to five million won for responsible officers.

Is updating the principal office address mandatory?

Yes. A company that relocates its principal office is required to update its Articles of Incorporation (where necessary) and to register the new address at the competent commercial registry within the statutory deadline, generally within two weeks from relocation. Failure to register may expose responsible directors or officers to administrative fines and can create practical risks, such as service of court documents at the old address or questions about the validity of documents that still reflect the previous head office.

Timing and steps in practice

In practice, a typical sequence for altering the principal office address is:

  • Board of directors’ resolution (or shareholders’ resolution, depending on the Articles of Incorporation) approving relocation of the head office and any related changes to the Articles, if the address is specified there.
  • Execution of new office lease or title documents, and preparation of supporting evidence (e.g. lease agreement, building register extract).
  • Preparation of notarised and apostilled documents for foreign parent companies, if required, and coordination with a Korean judicial scrivener (법무사) to draft and file the change of registration.
  • Filing of change of principal office address with the commercial registry within two weeks from the relocation date, and subsequent updates with the tax office, banks, licensing authorities and business partners.

Common issues for foreign-owned companies

  • Relocating the actual office and updating tax and practical records, but overlooking the need to register the new principal office at the commercial registry.
  • Unclear documentation about the effective date of relocation, complicating the calculation of the statutory two-week deadline.
  • Delays in obtaining parent company resolutions or notarised documents, causing the registration deadline to be missed.
  • Inconsistent addresses across commercial registry, tax registration, licences, and commercial contracts, leading to confusion in audits or regulatory checks.

How KOISRA UP can help

KOISRA UP helps clients plan and implement principal office relocations in Korea, including board or shareholder resolutions, bilingual documentation and coordination with judicial scriveners for timely registry filings. We also assist with aligning the registered office address across tax registrations, licences, bank records and key contracts, working closely with Korean lawyers and scriveners to reduce compliance risks and avoid fines for late or incomplete registrations.

This article is part of KOISRA UP’s Corporate Secretarial & Governance Services series. To learn more about our support for principal office address changes and commercial registry filings in Korea, please visit our Corporate Secretarial & Governance Services in Korea page.