The Republic of Korea offers many opportunities for aspiring entrepreneurs. Therefore, foreign investors want to start a business in Korea. You can open the following most popular types of companies in this jurisdiction:
- Limited Liability Company (LLC);
- Representative Office (RO); and
- Branch.
After you have decided on the legal form of your company and registered a company, you need to open a corporate account with a South Korean bank.
Account opening nuances
It is worth noting, that each bank may have its own requirements for the package of documents needed to open an account in South Korea.
After the procedure, the account holder must arrange a transfer of 50,000 KRW (about 40,900 USD) from the foreign account to the account, opened in the bank in Korea.
List of the most reliable South Korean banks
When opening an account for a company in South Korea, take a closer look at the list of existing banks and their services. The following are the top five banks in Korea where you can open an account for your business:
- Hana Financial Group: provides a full range of services and products to customers from South Korea;
- Shinhan Financial Group (SFG): provides a complete package of banking services for individuals and SME. Is one of the world's most sustainable corporations (4th place);
- NongHyup: has 1200 branches and provides corporate finance, bank cards, personal banking services, etc.;
- KB Financial Group: you can open an account in KB Kookmin Bank and enjoy a wide range of financial services and products. It is one of Korea’s leading financial services providers which has offices in European, Asian and Oceanian countries;
- Woori Financial Group: one of South Korea's leading commercial banks that offers a wide range of financial services. In 2018, it became one of the outstanding banks in customer protection.
Among the international banks existing in South Korea, you can also open an account with Standard Chartered or open a corporate account with CitiBank. These financial institutions offer online banking in English and are in demand by foreign investors.
The process of opening a South Korean bank account will take about 2 weeks.
How to open an account in South Korea
Important note: Korea is known for its liberal exchange control policy. Transfers over $10,000 must be documented.
YB Case consultants can provide you with professional aid in opening a corporate account in Korea. In order to receive personal advice on the selection of South Korean bank, please refer to our experts using the contacts listed on the site.
