North Korea: company evidence and limits of registry access

Search and document delivery at a glance

Search online: Not specified
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Digital documents: Not specified
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Paper and collection: Not specified
International delivery: Not specified

Fees at a glance: Request the fee from the responsible registry.
Access: Identify and contact the document issuer

Choose the right register

The Korean 2011 version of the Contractual Joint Venture Law published in WIPO Lex distinguishes formation approval, registration and a business licence. These documents serve different purposes. [1]

The 2011 Korean legislation concerns contractual joint ventures. For records about a particular company, establish the currently responsible authority and your entitlement to obtain information separately. [1]

WIPO publishes a separate law for wholly foreign-owned enterprises, amended in 2011. It describes a separate application to the State Investment Control Center. Do not therefore treat that company form as a contractual joint venture without checking the relevant procedure. [2]

Names and abbreviations explained

합작기업Contractual joint venture: The company type covered by the legislative version used here. [1]
등록Registration: A separate step from formation approval and the business licence. [1]
영업허가증Business licence: Permission issued by the investment administration authority under Article 8 of the 2011 text. [1]

Search step by step

Examine a supplied company identity

Obtain the original name and documents
Obtain the full Korean name, location, company type and available registration, formation-approval and business-licence documents. Record numbers, issuer, date and stamps separately. [1]
Check jurisdiction against the document
For contractual joint ventures, Article 7 of the published text identifies the provincial or directly administered city people’s committee, or a special economic zone administration, as the registration body. Check whether the particular issuer matches the location and company type. [1]
Establish confirmation and currency
Ask the document holder for current confirmation from the issuer and subsequent amendments. Obtain translations together with the Korean original. If independent confirmation from the issuer is unavailable, the identity remains document-based and unverified. [1]

Documents and fees

Document / information	Contents and purpose	Fee	How to get it
Formation approval and registration evidence [1]	For a contractual joint venture, distinct approval and registration documents under Articles 6 and 7 of the published text.	Request the fee from the responsible registry.	First obtain them from the document holder and identify the named issuer.
Business licence [1]	Permission to commence operations under Article 8; the authorised business activities require separate attention.	Request the fee from the responsible registry.	Obtain the existing original from the company; confirm authenticity and currency with the issuer where possible.

Documents distinguished by the legislation

Article 6 covers the formation application and approval. Article 7 addresses enterprise, tax and customs registration. Article 8 concerns the business licence. Article 18 requires accounts to be filed with the competent financial authority. Ask that authority about the conditions for obtaining these records. [1]

Check the date of an English translation

WIPO labels the English text as an earlier 1999 version. The authorities described here follow the Korean 2011 text. Ask about the issue language before requesting individual company records. [1]

Avoid common mistakes

A private business report or company list is not an official registry extract. The WIPO entry linked here is a legislative source, not a company search. [1]
Registration requirements and access rights are separate matters. Direct a document request to the issuer named on the document. [1]

Frequently asked questions

Are contractual joint ventures subject to registration?

Yes. The published legislation provides a registration procedure for contractual joint ventures. [1]

Original sources

Sources reviewed: 16 September 2026. The guidance is based on the linked information published by registers and public authorities.

Contractual Joint Venture Law, Korean text amended in 2011 DPRK legislation reproduced by WIPO Lex
Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprises Law, version 2011 DPRK legislation reproduced by WIPO Lex

North Korea