Corporate Seal Certificate in South Korea: An Essential Guide

In Korea, the establishment of a company necessitates the registration of a Corporate Seal (법인인감, 법인도장) at the court. This seal, once registered, facilitates the issuance of a Corporate Seal Certificate at a registry office (등기소) for a nominal fee of 1,000 won. The certificate, when affixed to legal documents, is deemed the equivalent of the representative director's signature.

The Corporate Seal Certificate plays a crucial role in the validation of legal documents. When stamped on such documents, it is considered the equivalent of the signature of the representative director. This is similar to how a corporate seal is used for the authentication of corporate documents and activities as per general corporate affairs authorized by the Articles of Incorporation.

In terms of its physical form, the Corporate Seal is often kept as a card, also known as a Blue card or 법인인감카드. Contracts in South Korea are mainly executed through the affixing of a corporate seal, which carries the same weight as the signature of the representative. It is registered in the court registry, and a certificate of corporate seal is also issued. Hence, significant contracts are executed with both a corporate seal and a certificate.

In summary, a Corporate Seal Certificate (법인 인감증명서) in South Korea is an essential document that serves to authenticate legal documents and corporate activities, akin to the representative director's signature.

These certificates typically have a validity period of three months from the date of issuance. It's crucial to keep track of these dates to ensure the certificate is valid when used on legal documents.

The Corporate Seal can be issued at the court by using the blue card (법인인감카드) and a password. It's common practice to submit the certificate and company registrar (법인등기부등본) simultaneously with the stamped documents.

To prevent misuse, it's recommended to record the names of suppliers and clients on documents where the seal is used.

For commercial operations, individual departments within a company may use their own engraved stamps (도장). Symbols like *, O, A, or digits can be used to differentiate these departmental stamps. The Corporate Seal should be securely stored and only used for legal documents and significant contracts.

Typically, the full company name is engraved on the outer circle of the seal in either Korean or English. The inner circle usually features the term 대표이사 (Representative Director) in Korean or Chinese characters(代表理事).

If you would like to schedule a call with Jz, please Schedule a Google Meet Here

---

**FAQs**

Q1: What is a Corp. Seal Certificate in South Korea?

It's a Signature Certificate of the company representative in Korea

Q2: How do you register and use a Corp. Seal in South Korea?

You can register it when you set-up your entity at the court

Q3: What precautions should be taken to avoid misuse of the Corp. Seal Certificate?

You can store separately with the Corp. stamp and Corp. seal card

---

Keywords: Corporate Seal Certificate, 법인 인감증명서, 법인인감, 법인도장, Registry Office, 등기소, 법인인감카드, 법인등기부등본, 대표이사.

Hashtags: #CorporateSealCertificate #법인인감증명서 #법인인감 #법인도장 #RegistryOffice #등기소 #법인인감카드 #법인등기부등본 #대표이사 #SouthKoreaBusinessPractices