Register a corporate R&D institute online; report changes within 30 days

This guide is for foreign founders and managers of companies in Korea that plan to register a corporate research institute (기업부설연구소) or a dedicated R&D department (연구개발전담부서). The rule: file online only, through the Korea Industrial Technology Association (한국산업기술진흥협회, KOITA), and report any change within 30 days of the day it occurs.

The legal basis changed on February 1, 2026

From February 1, 2026, corporate research institutes and R&D departments are governed by the Act on Research and Development Support for Corporate Research Institutes, Etc. (기업부설연구소등의 연구개발 지원에 관한 법률). The recognition rules used to sit in the Basic Research Promotion and Technology Development Support Act (기초연구진흥 및 기술개발지원에 관한 법률) and have now moved into this separate Act.

The provisions moved, so update citations in internal rules and applications:

Check the route and the cost first:

• Filings have been accepted online only since January 3, 2011, through rnd.or.kr. There is no walk-in or postal route.
• Recognition is free. KOITA guides you from the first consultation through the documents to recognition.
• KOITA membership makes no difference.
• With a change report, an on-site check can come without notice.

How many dedicated researchers you need

The first criterion is the number of dedicated researchers (연구전담요원) you employ on a regular basis. Article 6(1), item 1 of the Enforcement Decree sets it by company type.

A small company that becomes medium-sized needs only 3 or more for 1 year from that day. A department needs 1 person at any company size, so a company short of staff for an institute can file a department first.

You also need separate full-time staff for production, sales or business work, so that researchers can focus on research. A company of one CEO plus researchers fails here.

Who does not count as a dedicated researcher

• Anyone not shown as your employee in the health insurance subscriber list, national pension workplace subscriber list or earned income withholding ledger.
• Full-time daytime graduate students, except R&D-related doctoral students and master's students on national R&D projects.
• Anyone who cannot do R&D continuously for 6 months or more.
• The CEO, auditors and non-standing directors, except the CEO of a small company under 3 years old who does research.
• Industrial trainees (산업연수생) and industrial technical personnel (산업기능요원).
• Advisers who do not come in regularly, and short-term workers on contracts of 6 months or less.
• Anyone clearly doing non-research work at the same time.

For every company size, the basic qualification is a bachelor's degree or higher in natural sciences (natural science, engineering or medicine), or engineer (기사) grade or higher in a technical or skill field under the National Technical Qualifications Act (국가기술자격법). SMEs can also count an associate degree plus 2 years' experience (1 year for a 3-year program), industrial engineer (산업기사) plus 2 years, a Meister or specialized high school diploma plus 4 years, or craftsman (기능사) plus 4 years. If the main business is industrial design or services, a bachelor's degree in any field qualifies.

Research space: fixed walls and a separate door

Space is where most rejections happen. The rule is an independent space enclosed on all sides by fixed walls, with its own door. There is no minimum area, only a space big enough for the equipment and the research.

Partitions can replace walls only when the space is 50 m² or less, and only for certain companies:

In that case, the name plaque (현판) goes on the partition. If floor-to-ceiling walls are impossible because of ventilation, heating and cooling or fire safety, there is one more exception, and all three conditions apply: fixed walls (including separable or movable ones) at least 2 m high from the floor plus a separate door; a space clearly identifiable as used only for R&D; and compliance with the Building Act (건축법) and other building laws.

Some locations are ruled out or limited:

• No institute in an unlicensed building, a temporary building or a residential building, including apartments.
• No institute on the upper level of a single registered floor converted into two levels.
• An exclusive right to use space at a research institute or university counts as having research facilities.
• You can file a main and a secondary location. Staff are added together, but each location needs its own facilities and independent space.
• One company can file two or more units only if their research fields (middle category of the Korean Standard Industrial Classification) or locations differ.
• Two or more companies cannot jointly set up and file one institute.

Documents: 4 designated forms and 5 common attachments

You fill in the designated forms online and upload only the attachments. Institutes and departments use the same set.

Two points trip people up. The SME criteria review sheet is Form No. 51 of the Enforcement Rule of the Corporate Tax Act (법인세법 시행규칙), and it needs confirmation by a CPA or tax accountant, even if it is a copy of the one filed with your tax return. A sole proprietor submits the general taxpayer VAT return instead. On the SME certificate itself, see the validity period of the SME confirmation certificate.

With 10 or more research staff, two documents are added: a statement of safety and maintenance costs under Article 14(1) of the Act on the Establishment of Safe Laboratory Environment (연구실 안전환경 조성에 관한 법률), and a report of insurance that names research workers as the insured and the beneficiaries.

Change reports within 30 days

The work continues after recognition. Article 7(2) of the Enforcement Decree requires a change report within 30 days from the day the reason for the change occurs, not from the day you file.

One researcher leaving is a staff change. If you rename the company, rename the institute too, put a plaque with the new name on the door, and upload a photo. Because 30-day events are frequent, keep resignations, moves and capital increases on the same calendar as your payroll and corporate registration staff. If you also claim R&D tax credits, see the R&D tax credit pre-review.

Checklist

• Update citations to the new Act, Decree and Rule.
• Count only qualified, non-excluded dedicated researchers.
• Keep separate full-time non-research staff.
• Check walls and door, or the partition and 2 m wall exceptions.
• Prepare the 4 forms, 5 common attachments and company-type documents.
• Get the SME criteria review sheet confirmed by a CPA or tax accountant.
• File change reports within 30 days.