Company structures, registration, and the practical KRW 100 million threshold
South Korea's two main company structures are the Chusik Hoesa (Stock Company), a separate legal
entity permitting 100% foreign ownership with a minimum of one shareholder and one director, and the
Yuhan Hoesa (Limited Liability Company), also open to 100% foreign ownership with generally less
disclosure -- alongside branch-office and liaison-office options for a foreign parent that does not want a
separate Korean legal entity. Neither Chusik Hoesa nor Yuhan Hoesa carries a statutory minimum capital
requirement, though KRW 100 million (roughly USD 75,000) is commonly used in practice to demonstrate
financial credibility, and is also the exact threshold tied to the D-8-1 investor visa described below.
Registration is filed with the local district court's company registry and the tax office, with
foreign-invested companies also registering with KOTRA (Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency) or a
delegated bank under the Foreign Investment Promotion Act.
The D-8 investor visa -- two distinct tracks
The D-8-1 corporate investor track requires a minimum of KRW 100 million (roughly USD 75,000) per
individual investor -- this cannot be pooled among co-investors -- held as at least 10% of voting shares,
with funds transferred from a personal (not corporate or third-party) overseas account, plus demonstrable
genuine business operations with a physical office. A separate D-8-4 “OASIS” startup track
carries no minimum-capital requirement, but instead requires an 80-plus-point score on a qualifications
matrix, at least one qualifying credential such as a registered patent or OASIS training completion via the
Global Startup Immigration Center, a relevant degree, and a newly incorporated (not acquired) company.
Deepening India-South Korea bilateral ties
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung visited India for a summit with Prime Minister Modi on 20 April
2026, announcing roughly 25 outcomes, agreeing to fast-track a “CEPA 2.0” upgrade to the
existing trade agreement, and setting a target to roughly double bilateral trade to somewhere in the USD
50-54 billion range by 2030 (sources gave slightly different figures within that range). The summit also
announced a Korean Industrial Township in India for Korean SME market entry, an India-Korea Financial
Forum, an India-Korea Digital Bridge pairing Indian AI talent with Korean semiconductor expertise, and a
shipbuilding framework under which HD Korea Shipbuilding is to develop a greenfield shipyard in southern
India. As of a late-May-2026 report, the CEPA upgrade talks were still in their 12th negotiating round and
not yet concluded. Samsung, LG, and Hyundai all maintain long-standing, large-scale manufacturing
operations in India, and multiple 2025-dated sources describe Korean conglomerates stepping up India
investment, though this platform could not independently confirm specific dollar-figure investment
commitments for 2024-2026 and does not state any.
Common mistakes NRIs and Indian businesses make when entering South Korea:
- Assuming a statutory minimum capital requirement exists for a Chusik Hoesa or Yuhan Hoesa, when
the KRW 100 million figure is a practical/visa-linked norm rather than a legal minimum.
- Confusing the D-8-1 (capital-based) and D-8-4 (points-based OASIS) investor-visa tracks, which
have very different requirements.
- Assuming the India-Korea CEPA upgrade is already concluded, when as of the most recent report
reviewed it remained under negotiation.
