Contents
- Feature by feature
- Documents and timelines
- How we help
- FAQ
Adding a map to your app does not by itself trigger a report. Under Korea's Location Information Act, the report covers location-based service businesses that use personal location data. If your app takes the user's current device location for nearby search, location sharing or route tracking, you usually need to report to the Media and Communications Commission (방송미디어통신위원회). Services that do not use personal location data are excluded.
The filing steps are in our location-based service report guide, and the registration needed when you collect location data and supply it to others is in our comparison of the two regimes.
Feature by feature
Location information means where a moving person or object was at a given time, measured through telecom facilities. It is personal location data if it can be easily combined with other data to locate a specific person.
| App feature | Outcome |
|---|---|
| Store addresses on a map, map view only | Shows fixed places, not the user's position, so a report is unlikely. |
| Nearby search from current location, delivery tracking, friend sharing, attendance check-in | Uses a user's position tied to an account, so it is a reportable location-based service. |
| Vehicle or object tracking with no link to a person | Excluded if no personal location data is involved, but check whether it can be linked first. |
| Location received from an outside provider | Even without measuring location yourself, using personal location data for a service is reportable. |
Small businesses and one-person creative businesses may start without reporting, but to continue past 1 month they must file a simplified report within 1 month of starting. A reportable service also needs terms of use describing the service and user rights, and the user's consent.
Documents and timelines
| Case | Documents | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Standard report | Report form, business plan with company profile and service details, documents on main equipment and its location, proof of location data protection measures | Accepted after review; in practice 2~4 weeks once documents are complete |
| Small business | Proof of small business status and the simplified form (can be entered online) | Within 1 month of starting |
- Find every point where the app or server receives location.
- Check whether it is linked to account data.
- Confirm whether you measure location yourself or receive it from a provider.
- Prepare terms, consent screens and protection measures such as access control, encryption and logs.
- File the report and respond to correction requests.
How we help
YouSun Administrative Agency reviews your features, decides whether a report or a location information business registration applies, prepares the business plan, equipment and protection documents, files the report and handles corrections. Companies without a Korean entity should also read our guide for foreign companies.
FAQ
Q. If I only use a map API, do I need to report?
A. A plain map view is unlikely to need one, but if you take the user's current location for the service, it does. The test is whose location you use, not which API.
Q. What happens if I operate without reporting?
A. Running a reportable service without reporting can lead to criminal penalties, including imprisonment or a fine.
Q. What if I ask for location permission but never use it?
A. Both the permission request and the actual data flow are reviewed. Not asking for permissions you will not use is the cleaner path.
Q. I filed as a small business. What if we grow?
A. Once you no longer qualify, you must file the full report items within 1 month.
Check your app with one feature list
Send us the screens that use location, and YouSun Administrative Agency will confirm whether you must report and what to prepare. Call 02-325-8222, weekdays 09:30~17:30 KST.
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