Invest KOREA

"No, such foreign educational institution cannot operate or conduct the said extension courses or lifelong education.

Subparagraph 1 of Article 2 of the Special Act on Establishment and Management of Foreign Educational Institutions in Free Economic Zones and Jeju Free International City (hereinafter “Foreign Educational Institutions Act”) stipulates that the term “foreign educational foundation” means the State, local government, or a non-profit corporation which establishes and manages a preschool/elementary/secondary/higher education institution. In subparagraph 2 of the same Article of the Act, it is stated that “foreign educational institution” means a foreign educational institution to be established and managed in Free Economic Zones under Article 22 of the Special Act on Designation and Management of Free Economic Zones, and a foreign educational institution to be established and managed in Jeju Special Self-Governing Province under Article 220 of the Special Act on the Establishment of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province and the Development of Free International City. In addition, Article 3 of the Foreign Educational Institutions Act prescribes that “Except as otherwise provided in this Act, foreign educational institutions to be established under this Act shall not be subject to the Early Childhood Education Act, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the Higher Education Act, and the Private School Act.”.

Also, Article 26 of the Higher Education Act states that “Schools may offer extension courses intended for those other than students, as determined by school regulations.”, and Article 29 of the Lifelong Education Act prescribes that “The heads of various levels of schools may conduct directly lifelong education which satisfies needs of students, their parents and community residents by considering the educational conditions of the relevant school, or by entrusting lifelong education to local governments or non-governmental organizations.”

Under Article 4 of the Foreign Educational Institutions Act, only a foreign educational foundation may establish a foreign educational institution, and Article 5 (1) of the same Act and Article 2 (2) of the Enforcement Decree of the Act state that a foreign educational institution equivalent to a school under Article 2 of the Higher Education Act shall meet the standards for establishment, including facilities and equipment, under the Regulations on Establishment and Management of Universities, and obtain an approval from the Minister of Education. Also, pursuant to Article 11 (2) of the Act, any person who graduates from a foreign educational institution corresponding to a university, etc. satisfying the above conditions is deemed to have the same scholastic attainment as a person who graduated from the corresponding school in the Republic of Korea.

Based on the above regulations, it can be said that a foreign educational institution corresponding to a university, etc. has the characteristics of a school that is established and operated by a foreign educational foundation pursuant to the Foreign Educational Institutions Act as an exception to the Higher Education Act or Private School Act, in order to provide education corresponding to higher education as prescribed by the Higher Education Act for foreigners residing in a Free Economic Zone or Jeju Special Self-Governing Province. Therefore, education courses operated by a foreign education institution corresponding to a university, etc. are deemed school education courses exceptionally recognized by the Foreign Educational Institution Act.

In addition, considering that a school is an institution established and operated to provide education for students (refer to Article 9 (1) of the Framework Act on Education), there needs to be a legal basis for a school to provide education to a person who is not a student. For this reason, Article 26 of the Higher Education Act provides the grounds for the schools restricted to the types of schools in Article 2 of the said Act to open extension courses for persons who are not students. In this regard, a foreign educational institution cannot open extension courses as prescribed by Article 26 of the same Act without written regulations and just based on the cause that a foreign educational institution can provide school education corresponding to a university, etc.

In the case of lifelong education, Article 29 of the Lifelong Education Act provides the grounds for the heads of various levels of schools under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and the Higher Education Act to directly conduct lifelong education, in order to utilize the existing manpower and facilities of schools. But because a foreign educational institution corresponding to a university, etc. is an educational institution under the Foreign Educational Institution Act, and thus does not fall under a school under the Higher Education Act, it cannot conduct lifelong education pursuant to Article 29 of the Lifelong Education Act.

Therefore, a foreign educational institution corresponding to a university, etc. under Article 11 (2) of the Foreign Educational Institution Act cannot open extension courses for persons who are not students in accordance with Article 26 of the Higher Education Act or conduct lifelong education as prescribed by Article 29 of the Lifelong Education Act. "

"Yes.

Subparagraph 1 of Article 19-2 of the Act stipulates that a foreign-certified tax consultant is a tax specialist in his or her home country of qualification whose qualification as a foreign-certified tax consultant is approved by the Minister of Economy and Finance pursuant to Article 19-3 of the Act. Also, subparagraph 6 of Article 19-2 of the Act defines ‘home country of qualification as a tax specialist’ as a country in which a foreign-certified tax accountant is qualified as a tax specialist and which is a party to the relevant tax treaty, etc. In this regard, it is clear that a person should obtain qualification as a tax specialist in his or her home country of qualification in order to become a tax specialist of the country.

In addition, according to Article 19-3 (1) of the Act, any person qualified as a tax specialist in the home country of qualification and intending to become a foreign-certified tax consultant in Korea shall obtain qualification approval of a foreign-certified tax consultant from the Minister of Economy & Finance. Also, paragraph 2 of the same Act stipulates that a person intending to obtain qualification approval as a foreign-certified tax consultant should submit the following documents to the Minister of Strategy and Finance: 1. A document attesting that he or she has been qualified as a tax specialist in the home country of qualification (subparagraph 1) 2. A document attesting that he or she has at least three years of work experience as a tax specialist in the home country of qualification (subparagraph 2) Furthermore, under Article 19-3 (4) of the same Act and Article 30-3 of the Enforcement Decree of the Act, a tax specialist recognized in his or her home country of qualification means a person entitled to provide services equivalent to those prescribed in Article 2 of the Act pursuant to the statutes and regulations of the home country of qualification and registered as a tax specialist. If so, ‘work experience working as a tax specialist’, which is a qualification approval requirement for a foreign-certified tax consultant, is based on the assumption that the person is qualified as a tax specialist in the home country and is registered pursuant to the country’s statutes and regulations. Therefore, work experience in a related business before acquiring qualification as a tax specialist cannot be considered work experience working as a tax specialist.

Qualification approval of foreign-certified tax consultant and registration of a foreign tax consulting corporation are required for the management and supervision of foreign-certified tax consultants and foreign tax consulting corporations that will operate in Korea following the signing of free trade agreements, etc. that will partially open the certified tax accountant business to counterpart countries. Particularly, qualification approval of foreign-certified tax consultants was introduced to prevent unqualified foreign-certified tax consultants from conducting business in Korea.

※ Source : Ministry of Government Legislation / Translation : KOTRA ※ The Ministry of Government Legislation’s statutory interpretation provides an authoritative opinion on the interpretation of statutes, and does not have the binding force of a final court ruling. Therefore, the competent government authority may not adopt the interpretation in its entirety. If a final court ruling contradicts the Ministry of Government Legislation’s statutory interpretation, the court ruling shall prevail. ※ If there is any inconsistency or ambiguity between the original Korean text and the translated English text, the Korean version shall prevail."

"Yes, the organization can be registered.

Article 2 of the Assistance for Non-Profit, Non-Governmental Organizations Act defines non-profit, non-governmental organizations, and states the requirements as follows: 1. Direct beneficiaries of its business shall be many and unspecified persons 2. No profit shall be distributed among its members 3. It has not been actually established or operated primarily to back, support or oppose any special political party or candidate in election or to spread a creed of any specific religion 4. The number of its regular members shall be at least 100 5. It has actual results from public interest activities for the preceding one year or more 6. Where it is not a juristic person but an organization, it shall have a representative or manager In addition, Article 4 (1) of the Act stipulates that any non-profit, non-governmental organization that intends to receive support determined by the Act shall apply for its registration with the head of a central administrative agency, or the Special Metropolitan City Mayor, a Metropolitan City Mayor, a Special Self-Governing City Mayor, a Do Governor, or a Special Self-Governing Province Governor who supervises its main public interest activities, and the head of a central administrative agency or the Mayor/Do Governor upon receipt of such application for registration shall accept such registration. Unless special rules such as reciprocity apply in regard to the registration of non-profit, non-governmental organizations, the Act applies to the entire territory of the Republic of Korea and all domestic persons, domestic companies, foreigners and foreign companies therein. In addition, the Act only states that a non-profit, non-governmental organization should have a representative or manager if it is not a juristic person but an organization (Article 2 Subparagraph 6), and does not restrict the registration of a non-governmental organization that is represented by a foreigner. In this regard, it can be said that a non-governmental organization represented by a foreigner who resides in Korea can be registered pursuant to Article 4 of the Act, provided that the requirements in Article 2 are met. If a non-governmental organization represented by a foreigner residing in Korea which meets the requirements in Article 2 of the Act cannot be registered pursuant to Article 4 of the Act, various assistances prescribed by the Act cannot be provided. If so, non-profit, non-governmental organizations’ right to be registered and receive assistances shall be restricted without any legal ground, which is unfair. In this regard, it can be said that a non-governmental organization represented by a foreigner residing in Korea which meets the requirements in Article 2 of the Act can be registered pursuant to Article 4 of the Act. "

"Yes, the data subjects of personal information include foreigners, where personal information is used for a purpose other than the intended one or provided to a third party, according to Article 18 (2) 3 of the Act.

Article 18 (1) of the Act stipulates that a personal information controller shall not use personal information beyond the scope provided for in Article 15 (1), or provide it to any third party beyond the scope provided for in Article 17 (1) and (3). However, Article 18 (2) 3 of the Act states that a personal information controller may use personal information for other purpose than the intended one or provide it to a third party where it is deemed necessary explicitly for protecting, from impending danger, life, body or economic profits of the data subject or third party where the data subject or his/her legal representative is not in a position to express his/her intention, or prior consent cannot be obtained owing to unknown addresses of the data subjects. The terminology used in an Act should be interpreted and applied in a consistent manner unless there is a special reason not to, such as the presence of a clause stating otherwise. And considering that Article 2 Subparagraph 1 of the Act defines "personal information" as information relating to a living individual that makes it possible to identify the individual by his/her full name, resident registration number, image, etc. and Article 2 Subparagraph 3 of the Act defines "data subject" as an individual who is identifiable by the information processed hereby to become the subject of that information, it can be said that information on foreigners are also information relating to a living individual and the foreigner who is a subject of that information is a data subject as prescribed in the above Subparagraph 3. Also, Article 19 Subparagraph 4 of the Act includes alien registration numbers as prescribed by Article 31 (4) of the Immigration Act in the scope of personally identifiable information. Therefore, “data subject” in the parts excluding the items under Article 18 (2) of the Act and “data subject” in item 3 of the same Article include foreigners. In addition, Article 18 (1) of the Act protects the right of the data subject by restricting that a personal information controller shall not use personal information beyond the scope provided for in Article 15 (1), or provide it to any third party beyond the scope provided for in Article 17 (1) and (3). However, at the same time, Article 18 (2) of the same Act recognizes exceptions to restrictions on the out-of-purpose use and provision of personal information in inevitable cases where it is needed to achieve public good and administrative purposes. In the Article, one of the exceptions is where it is deemed necessary explicitly for protecting, from impending danger, life, body or economic profits of the data subject or third party where the data subject or his/her legal representative is not in a position to express his/her intention, or prior consent cannot be obtained owing to unknown addresses. If so, where the provision of personal information is required for protecting, from impending danger, life, body or economic profits of the data subject or third party, recognizing exceptions to restrictions on the out-of-purpose use and provision of personal information where the data subject is a foreigner protects the right of foreigners and also serves public good by protecting the life, body or economic profits of the third party. In this regard, irrespective of the need to strictly interpret the regulations to prevent a personal information controller’s subjective judgement on whether an exception should be recognized for protecting the data subject or third party’s life, body or economic profits, there is no reason to exclude foreigners from “data subject” in the parts excluding the items under Article 18 (2) of the Personal Information Protection Act and “data subject” in item 3 of the same Article. "

"In this case, the institute must recruit a foreign instructor with a university degree or higher.

No. 2 of the qualification standards for instructors of private teaching institutes for lifelong education or vocational training in attached Table 3 of the Enforcement Decree of the Private Teaching Institute Act states that an instructor should be “a person who satisfies at least one among no. 3 to 5 and no. 7 to 9 of the qualification standards for instructors of private teaching institutes for school curriculum”. Among such standards, no. 9 states that “a foreigner with a university degree or higher who obtained a status of stay prescribed by Article 10 of the Immigration Act and Article 12 of the Enforcement Decree of the Act or a permission to engage in teaching activities permitted under an additional status of stay as prescribed by Article 20 of the same Act and Article 25 of the Enforcement Decree of the Act” is qualified as foreign instructors. Considering that foreigners need to have a status of stay prescribed by the Immigration Act and its Enforcement Decree or obtain permission to engage in extra activities permitted beyond the original status of stay to stay in Korea and pursue activities, only standard no. 9 can be applied to foreign instructors among the qualification standards for instructors of private teaching institutes for school curriculum. Therefore, the qualification standard that can be applied to foreign instructors in private teaching institutes for lifelong education or vocational training is also limited to no. 9 of the qualification standards for instructors of private teaching institutes for school curriculum, which is applied as prescribed by no. 2 of the qualification standards for private teaching institutes for lifelong education or vocational training. If it is presumed that a foreigner can qualify as an instructor of a private teaching institute for lifelong education or vocational training by meeting one of the qualification standards for teaching at such institute as prescribed by attached Table no. 3 of the Enforcement Decree of the Private Teaching Institute Act, the foreign instructor only needs to satisfy “high school graduate or equivalent academic background” in regard to his/her academic qualification as prescribed by no. 1 of the qualification standards for private teaching institutes for lifelong education or vocational training. If this is the case, there would be no need to prescribe that no. 9 of the qualification standards for instructors of private teaching institutes for school curriculum should be applied to foreigners in no. 2 of the qualification standards for private teaching institutes for lifelong education or vocational training, because no. 9 is a higher standard stipulating an academic background of university degree or higher. "

[Eligibility as a repatriating enterprise] In the case that company A merged with company B, which had been selected as a repatriating enterprise eligible for assistance under Article 7 of the Act on Assistance to Korean Off-shore Enterprises in Repatriation (hereafter ‘the Act’), and company A became the surviving entity, can company A succeed company B’s status as a repatriating enterprise eligible for assistance and receive assistances under Articles 11-14 of the same Act such as tax reduction and exemption?"If company A merged with company B and company A became the surviving entity, company A can succeed company B’s status as a repatriating enterprise eligible for assistance and receive assistances prescribed by Articles 11-14 of the Act such as tax reduction and exemption.

In a business combination, two or more companies merge to form one new company under a contract (i.e., consolidation), or one company takes over another company and becomes the surviving entity (i.e., merger). As a result of the combination, the companies other than the newly established company or surviving company cease to exist, and the extinguished companies’ assets as well as its employees or shareholders are transferred to or taken over by the newly established or surviving company. Where businesses are merged or consolidated, all of the rights and responsibilities of the merged or consolidated companies under both public law and private law are succeeded by the newly established or surviving company, with the exception of the rights and responsibilities that are not permitted to be transferred due to their nature.

According to the Act, a company that intends to be selected as a repatriating enterprise eligible for assistance should prepare a repatriation plan in regard to the liquidation, downsizing of the overseas place of business and the establishment or expansion of the domestic place of business, etc. and file an application for selection with the Minister of Trade, Industry & Energy (refer to Article 7 (2) of the Act). Upon receipt of an application, the minister can determine if the company is qualified by taking into consideration whether the company downsized its overseas place of business in accordance with the criteria prescribed by Ordinance of the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy, etc. and verifying if the company received assistance in accordance with other laws, and decide whether to select the company as a repatriating enterprise eligible for assistance (refer to Article 7 (1) of the Act and Article 6 of the Enforcement Decree of the Act). If a company falls under certain cases such as failing to submit the repatriation plan, the Minister of Trade, Industry & Energy may revoke the company’s eligibility for assistance (refer to Article 8 of the Act).

If so, it can be said that the matters regarding the selection of a repatriating enterprise eligible for assistance are transferable as they are determined based on objective facts such as whether assistance is provided by other laws and an overseas place of business’s repatriation to Korea. Therefore, company B (the extinguished entity)’s status as a repatriating company eligible for assistance is succeeded by company A (the surviving entity).

Also, as recognizing the succession of the status as a repatriating enterprise eligible for assistance encourages A’s succession of B’s plan for repatriating the overseas place of business after the merger, such interpretation shall be in line with the purpose of legislation of the Act, which is the facilitation of repatriation of Korean offshore enterprises. "

"Yes, the foreigner can become the representative of his/her building in the relevant multi-family housing complex under Article 50 (3) of the Enforcement Decree of the Housing Act.

Article 6 (2) of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea states that “The status of aliens shall be guaranteed as prescribed by international laws and treaties.”, and many laws treat foreigners as equal to Korean nationals based on the tenet of the Constitution. In this regard, it can be interpreted that basic rights recognized only for Korean nationals such as voting rights or political rights including the right to hold public office are not recognized for foreigners even if there are no written regulations stating as such. However, in the case of laws concerning other rights, it shall be interpreted that there are no restrictions on foreigners if there are no written regulations explicitly restricting the rights of foreigners.

According to Article 50 (3) of the Enforcement Decree of the Housing Act which prescribes the qualifications of a representative of each building in a multi-family housing complex, a tenant who resided in a building for six months or longer after filing resident registration can be a representative of the building. The reason for this is to appoint a person who lived in a multi-family housing complex long enough to understand the conditions of the complex as the representative of a building because a residents’ representative council mediates the frequent conflicts of interest related to the management of a multi-family housing complex. Therefore, in respect to ‘resident’, there is no reason to discriminate foreigners from Korean nationals, and furthermore, the definition of tenant under Article 2 Subparagraph 12 of the Housing Act does not treat foreigners and Korean nationals differently or explicitly exclude foreigners. In this sense, it cannot be regarded that Article 50 (3) of the Enforcement Decree of the Housing Act prevents foreigners from becoming a representative of a building.

Also, the reason why qualification as a representative of a building is restricted to persons who filed resident registration at the relevant multi-family housing complex is because a resident registration can be an objective means to prove that a person has resided at a place for six months or longer. But because Article 88-2 (2) of the Immigration Control Act states that any alien registration and report on change of place of stay shall substitute for any resident registration and moving-in report, respectively, if a foreigner who basically cannot file resident registration filed alien registration and report on change of place of stay pursuant to Article 6 of the Resident Registration Act, it shall be considered that there is objective proof of residence, just like when resident registration was filed. "

"Yes, a local government can provide cash grants for foreign direct investment based on Article 14-2 (1) of FIPA.

Article 14-2 (1) of FIPA regulates that cash grants can be provided to foreign direct investment by central and local governments in certain cases. More specifically, the Article states that when foreign direct investment is made to newly install or expand factory facilities, etc. to operate a business prescribed by Article 121-2 (1) 1 of the Restriction of Special Taxation Act, central and local governments can provide the funds needed for the purpose prescribed by Presidential Decree such as establishment of a factory facility to the relevant foreigner. As such, it is made clear that a local government is eligible to provide cash grants for foreign investment.

In addition, Article 14-2 (4) of FIPA states that a local government may prescribe matters concerning the determination on the provision of cash grants, the method for calculating limits on cash grants, procedures for negotiating the investment support with foreigners and other necessary matters by ordinance, except otherwise expressly prescribed in Paragraph (3) of the same Article. In this regard, the matters to be prescribed by local government ordinances are not whether cash grant will be provided or not, but the method and procedure for provision of cash grant as prescribed by Article 14-2 (3), the method and procedure required for payment of cash grant, etc. depending on regional circumstances, etc. Also, because Article 14-2 (1) states a legal ground for providing cash grants for foreign investment, it cannot be said that cash grants can be provided only when it is stipulated again by ordinances."

"In this case, the alien can create, manage and operate a private qualification.

The Constitution of the Republic of Korea states that “the status of aliens shall be guaranteed as prescribed by international laws and treaties” (Article 6 (2)), and in accordance with this principle, many laws treat aliens as equally as Korean nationals. As a rule, in laws other than those related to basic rights recognized only to Korean nationals such as voting rights and political rights including the right to hold public office, it is interpreted that there are no restrictions on aliens unless there are explicit regulations imposing restrictions on them. Also, Article 17 (1) of the Framework Act on Qualifications states that “any” corporation, organization or individual other than the State may create, manage and operate a private qualification in a sector other than those prescribed by its subparagraphs, and Article 23 (4) of the Enforcement Decree of the same Act stipulates that the minister of the competent ministry shall issue a registration certificate if the requested private qualification does not fall under the banned categories. In addition, Article 18 of the Act does not include aliens in persons disqualified as a private qualification manager, which means that aliens are not disqualified to become private qualification managers who can create, manage and operate private qualifications. Moreover, by allowing everyone to create, manage and operate private qualifications and receive government accreditation on the qualifications, the purpose of the Framework Act on Qualifications is to ensure that private qualifications are invigorated and their credibility are enhanced, thereby improving the socio-economic status of people through promoting lifelong vocational competency (Article 1). In addition, the legislative objective of the Act is opening the qualification system to individuals so that persons with skills and talent in a particular field can be given an opportunity to succeed by practicing expertise in the field and ultimately contribute to the diversification of society and creation of an open system. Considering this, there is no reason to restrict an alien from creating a private qualification in accordance with the Framework Act on Qualifications. Furthermore, the fact that the competent minister may manage and supervise the management and operation of private qualifications by private qualification managers regardless of whether they are domestic persons or aliens should be taken into account as well. For example, where a person who registers, manages and operates private qualifications in accordance with the Framework Act on Qualifications violates the Act, the competent minister may issue an order requiring the relevant private qualification manager to correct the relevant offense (Article 18-2), and may suspend the relevant qualification if the manager fails to comply with the corrective order (Article 18-3 (1) 3). And if necessary, the competent minister may provide instructions necessary for the guidance and supervision of registered qualification-related affairs under his/her jurisdiction, by requiring the registered qualification managers to report on their business or submit data, etc. (Article 18-5). "

Foreigners who cannot speak Korean can call 112 or 119 or use the bbb free interpretation service around the clock. – When a foreigner calls the 112 emergency number, a three-way call is set up with the caller, 112 personnel and interpreter. – In the case of fire or an emergency medical situation, you can call the Safety Report Center at 119. You can report the emergency through the same interpretation services that are provided at 112. – To use bbb Korea's service, call their representative number at 1588-5644 and select the extension number of the language that you speak, and you will be connected to the volunteer interpreter‘s cell phone (services in 20 languages). ※How to use the bbb mobile application – Connect to the smartp application of bbb, and select the extension number of the language that needs interpretation. Without going through the automatic response system, you are immediately and conveniently connected to the mobile phone of the volunteer that provides interpretation for that language. ※ Emergency Ready application: Disaster and emergency alert for foreigners – The Emergency Ready application was developed by the Ministry of Interior and Safety. it can be used to make a 119 report or receive various push notification services in English and Chinese, including information on locations of emergency medical facilities, police stations, fire stations, embassies, and emergency situations regarding COVID-19.