International Freight Forwarding Business Transfer in Korea — Succession Report Within 30 Days

When a registered international freight forwarding business (국제물류주선업) is transferred, or the operating company merges, the new owner does not register again. It succeeds to the rights and duties of the existing registration and must report the succession to the Mayor or Governor of the relevant metropolitan city or province within 30 days of the succession date. The same applies when an heir continues the business after the owner dies. Succession is a report, not a new registration, but the disqualification grounds for registration also apply to the successor, so they should be checked before signing.

For first-time registration, see our registration guide. This article covers only the transfer of a business that is already registered.

Three ways a business can be succeeded

Under the Framework Act on Logistics Policy, when a registered forwarder transfers its business, dies, or merges, the transferee, the heir, or the surviving or newly formed company succeeds to the rights and duties of the registration. Each case uses a different report form and attachments.

Case	Successor	Form	Main attachments
Business transfer	Transferee	Transfer report	Copy of the transfer agreement; proof of foreign investment if the transferee is a foreign-invested company
Inheritance	Heir	Inheritance report	Proof of relationship to the deceased, proof of death, consent of other heirs of the same rank
Corporate merger	Surviving or new company	Merger report	Copy of the merger agreement; statement of business fixed assets of the merging companies from the last 1 year

If the transferee, the heir, or an officer of the post-merger company is a foreign national, documents from the home country showing no disqualification (apostille or consular confirmation) are also required. Corporate registry records are checked by the authority through shared administrative data.

All rights and duties of the registration pass to the successor. Registration standards such as paid-in capital (asset value for individuals) and guarantee insurance must still be met after succession; falling short can lead to cancellation or suspension. See capital and guarantee insurance requirements.

Deadline, documents and steps

The report is due within 30 days of the date the rights and duties were succeeded, and it may be filed electronically. The processing period printed on the forms is 2 days. The transfer report is signed by both the transferor and the transferee. Because the authority may delegate intake and review of succession reports to a logistics association or similar body, confirm the actual filing desk with the province where the head office is located.

A succession report and a change registration are separate procedures. If, after succession, you change the trade name, representative or officers, or head office location, or if capital decreases, a change registration must be filed within 60 days of the change.

Procedure	Trigger	Deadline
Succession report	Transfer, inheritance, merger	Within 30 days of succession
Change registration	Change of name, officers, head office; capital decrease	Within 60 days of the change
Registration standards report	Every 3 years after registration	Within 60 days of the reporting point

In practice, the following order helps you meet every deadline.

1. Before signing, confirm that the transferee (and, for a company, its representative and officers) is not disqualified.
2. State the succession date clearly in the transfer or merger agreement. The deadline runs from that date.
3. File the report and attachments with the provincial authority within 30 days of succession.
4. If the name, officers or location changed, apply for change registration within 60 days.
5. Note the next registration standards reporting point written on the registration certificate.

Failing to file the succession report, and failing to file a change registration, are each subject to an administrative fine. For how we handle the whole process, see our freight forwarding registration service.

Disqualification rules and grace periods

The disqualification grounds for new registration apply equally to a successor. The main grounds are:

• Persons under adult guardianship or limited guardianship
• Persons sentenced to imprisonment for violating the Framework Act on Logistics Policy, the Trucking Transport Business Act, the Aviation Business Act, the Aviation Safety Act, the Airport Facilities Act or the Marine Transportation Act, until 2 years after the sentence ends or is remitted
• Persons on probation for such violations, or fined for them within the last 2 years
• Persons whose registration was cancelled within the last 2 years
• Companies whose representative, or any other officer, falls under these grounds

If the successor is disqualified, the registration must be cancelled, with two exceptions: a disqualified heir who transfers the business to another person within 3 months of the inheritance, and a company (including a post-merger company) that replaces a disqualified officer within 3 months of the ground arising (for a merger, the merger date). No such grace period exists for an individual transferee who is personally disqualified, so checking before the contract is the safest approach.

YouSun Administrative Agency (Chief Administrative Agent Jung Yu-sun)