Corporate R&D Center Registration in Korea — Required Documents and What Each One Proves

Since 1 February 2026, the documents for recognising a corporate R&D center (기업부설연구소) in Korea are set by Article 3 of the Enforcement Rules of the Act on R&D Support for Corporate Research Institutes, etc. (기업부설연구소등의 연구개발 지원에 관한 법률). A corporate R&D center files an application with up to 10 applicable attachments with the Korea Industrial Technology Association (한국산업기술진흥협회, KOITA); a dedicated R&D department (연구개발전담부서) files up to 6 under Article 4. With the applicant's consent, KOITA checks business registration and SME status itself through shared administrative data.

A corporate R&D center is a research unit a company runs for R&D and that is recognised under Article 7 of the Act; a dedicated R&D department is a department devoted to R&D with the same recognition (Article 2). The documents are how the reviewer sees the two core criteria, people and space. This article covers the paperwork, not the criteria themselves.

The Governing Law

Older guides cite Article 14-2 of the Basic Research Promotion and Technology Development Support Act and Article 16-2 of its Decree; both are now marked "deleted". A separate statute, Act No. 20727, was promulgated on 31 January 2025 and took effect 1 year later, on 1 February 2026.

Receiving applications, recognition and certificates are delegated to KOITA (Decree Article 16(1)), so the form is addressed to it. Centers recognised under the old law are deemed recognised under the new Act (Addenda Article 4) and need not refile.

What Goes Into the Application Form

A center uses Form 1 and a department Form 6. The Decree requires the company name, representative, location, research field, main research content, R&D personnel, research facilities and other necessary matters (Decree Article 7(1)). Both forms state a processing time of 10 days and a fee of "none". Points that often go wrong:

• Industry — the main industry as a KSIC code.
• Sales and employees — sales from the latest closed accounts; current regular employees, excluding day labourers.
• Date of establishment — when the research unit was set up, not the company's opening date.
• Field — science and technology or services; service companies pick a field tied to their main industry.
• Research space — "whole building", "independent space" or "separated area", owned or leased, with the area.
• R&D investment — the plan for 1 year from the year of application.

If one company applies for 2 or more centers, their research fields or addresses must differ (Decree Article 6(3)).

The Attachments and What Each Proves

Under Rules Articles 3(1) and 4(1), the attachments are as follows. "Conditional" means only companies meeting the condition submit it.

A department's file is lighter: the 3 common forms plus a company chart, plans and photos, and service-field evidence. Under Article 36(1) of the Electronic Government Act, KOITA itself checks the business registration certificate and, for small or medium enterprises, proof of that status; only an applicant who refuses consent submits them (Rules Articles 3(2) and 4(2)).

The R&D Personnel Statement

Form 4 is the centre of the review. It counts dedicated researchers, assistants and administrators by degree and lists, per person, position, name, resident or alien registration number, department, school and major, degree and degree number, military service, date of assignment and whether they work on site. Assistants and administrators are not mandatory.

Three entries are often wrong. Without a degree number, as for high school graduates or foreign degrees, enter the graduation year; technical qualification holders enter the qualification and its number. The date of assignment is the posting to the unit, not the hiring date. Anyone working off site, for example from home, is marked "no".

Rules Article 2(8) excludes as dedicated researchers:

1. anyone whose employment cannot be proven by health insurance, pension or payroll withholding records;
2. employees in full-time daytime graduate programmes, with exceptions;
3. anyone unable to do R&D at the unit continuously for 6 months or more;
4. representatives, auditors or non-standing directors, except the representative of a small enterprise within 3 years of founding who does R&D; and
5. industrial trainees.

KOITA may request enrolment data from the National Health Insurance Service, the National Pension Service and the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service (Act Article 23(1), Decree Article 17), so a personnel list that does not match social insurance records will show.

Degree certificates are not on the attachment list, but in follow-up management KOITA may check copies of degree, graduation or qualification certificates, personnel orders, lab notebooks and reports (Guidelines Article 5(2)). Keep the originals from the start.

Floor Plans, Photos and the Equipment List

The plans cover the whole floor and the interior, with the entrance sign and interior photos (Rules Articles 3(1)5 and 4(1)2). They prove the space is separated by fixed walls and its own door (Rules Article 2(2)1). Where an SME, a research-founded SME or venture company, or an information service or software company's department cannot secure more than 50 square metres, a partitioned area is accepted; where walls cannot reach the ceiling for ventilation or fire safety, fixed walls of at least 2 metres with a door may qualify. The plan and the photos must match.

A center may not be in detached or multi-unit housing, an unpermitted building or a temporary structure (Act Article 9(2)). On Form 3, office equipment, servers, hubs and general-purpose software do not count; dedicated development tools may.

After Filing and Common Mistakes

The steps are receipt, review (with on-site checks if needed), approval, recognition and the certificate. Guidelines Article 3 sets processing within 10 days of receipt as the rule but excludes on-site inspection time, so actual time depends on the authority and the documents. An inspection is normally notified in writing 7 days ahead (Act Article 21). Incomplete files get a supplementation deadline and may be returned if it passes (Guidelines Article 4). Recognition brings a certificate on Form 5 or Form 7.

Supplementation requests usually come from inconsistencies:

• a dedicated researcher who also handles sales or production;
• the hiring date entered as the assignment date;
• plans showing an independent space while photos show only partitions or no sign;
• an equipment list of copiers, office PCs and general software; and
• a service-field application without the SME review sheet or VAT return.

Falsification is different from error. Recognition obtained by false means must be revoked, with no reapplication for 1 year (Act Article 8), and both the company and anyone who helped face a fine of up to KRW 5 million (Act Articles 10 and 27(1)). Later changes to name, location, field or personnel must be reported within 30 days (Decree Article 7(2)). Costs vary case by case and are explained precisely during the free consultation. Texts: the Act and its Enforcement Rules.

Yuseon Administrative Scrivener Office (Chief Scrivener Jeong Yuseon) · Based on the Act on R&D Support for Corporate Research Institutes, etc. (Act No. 21309, in force 1 February 2026), its Enforcement Decree (Presidential Decree No. 36055), Enforcement Rules (Ordinance No. 163) and the Reporting Guidelines (Notice No. 2026-6) · Last reviewed 3 October