English-Speaking Korean CPA · Korea

Your Korean entity, handled.

Setting up & running your Korean operations — tax, payroll, and HQ reporting — with a CPA who has sat on your side of the table.

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ex-DeloitteBig 4 audit & advisory
MBA, MichiganUniversity of Michigan
20+ yearsStartups to listed companies
EN / KOAll work in English
Sound familiar?

Korea is a great market.
Korean compliance is not straightforward.

"HQ needs the numbers — in our format." Your parent company closes in IFRS or US GAAP. Your Korean books are in Korean GAAP, in Korean. Someone has to translate both the numbers and the logic.
"Our local provider can't talk to us." Filings get done, but nobody explains what was filed, what's at risk, or what's coming — in English, before the deadline.
"Withholding on royalties? Treaty rates? Expat tax?" Cross-border payments and assigned executives create the exact issues a domestic-only bookkeeper has never handled.
Services

Everything your Korean subsidiary needs,
from one accountable advisor.

01

Entity Setup & FDI Compliance

Incorporation, foreign direct investment notification, tax registrations, and the statutory calendar for a new Korean entity.

Entity setup & FDI in detail →
02

Bookkeeping & Tax Filings

Monthly bookkeeping, VAT, corporate income tax, and local taxes — filed on time, explained in English.

03

HQ Reporting (IFRS / US GAAP)

Monthly and quarterly reporting packages in your group's format, ready for consolidation — no re-work at HQ.

HQ reporting & audit thresholds →
04

Cross-Border Withholding

Royalties, service fees, interest, and dividends: treaty-rate analysis, withholding filings, and documentation.

05

Expatriate Payroll & Tax

Payroll for assigned executives, individual income tax, and the Korea-side mechanics of global mobility.

Expat payroll & the flat tax election →
06

Grants & Incentives Advisory

Korean government support programs for foreign-invested and tech companies — advised by a CPA who sits on government screening committees.

Guides

The questions foreign groups ask
before they commit to a structure.

Branch, subsidiary, or representative office?

What Korean law actually lets each form do, how the three are taxed differently, and why a representative office is rarely the answer entrants expect.

Read the guide →

When does a foreign company become taxable in Korea?

Permanent establishment in practice — the six-month construction rule, dependent agents, and the order in which groups usually discover their Korean tax position.

Read the guide →

What has to be filed in Korea, and when?

The full cycle — setup, monthly, quarterly, annual — and the three deadlines entrants most often discover only after they have passed.

Read the guide →

Funding a Korean subsidiary: equity or loan?

Thin capitalisation and the 2:1 borrowing threshold, treaty withholding on interest, and what changes when the lender is the parent company.

Read the guide →

Sole proprietorship or company? Setting up small in Korea

Why “corporate tax starts at 10%, so obviously incorporate” is the wrong first question at small scale — and what health insurance does to the answer.

Read the guide →

Zero-rating VAT on services to overseas clients

When services billed abroad qualify for zero-rating, the reciprocity trap, and the documentation the tax office looks for on audit.

Read the guide →

Each guide is written by a Korean CPA and licensed tax accountant, with the statutory basis cited. Ask about your own situation →

Why KS

A business partner who speaks HQ.

We've been on your side of the table

Before founding this practice, our principal served as an executive at a foreign investment firm — preparing the very HQ reports, budgets, and board materials your Korean entity owes you. We know what headquarters actually needs, because we used to be the ones asking for it.

Big 4 rigor, business partner mindset

Deloitte audit training and 20+ years across startups, PE funds, and listed companies — delivered with one senior point of contact. No junior rotation, no language relay, no "let me check with the partner."

In the middle of Korea's semiconductor corridor

Our office sits in Dongtan Techno Valley (Hwaseong), the heart of Korea's semiconductor and manufacturing belt — 30 minutes from Gangnam by SRT, and next door to the supplier ecosystem many foreign subsidiaries serve.

About

Sujeong Kim, CPA

Sujeong Kim, Korean CPA and Tax Advisor
Sujeong Kim
Founder & Managing CPA · Licensed Tax Accountant (Semusa)

Over 20 years across Big 4 audit, global investment banking, and the finance seat of a foreign-invested company: I started in audit and advisory at Deloitte, worked on M&A and investment advisory for international financial institutions including JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs, held an executive finance role at a foreign-invested company, and earned an MBA at the University of Michigan — working daily with overseas headquarters on reporting, budgeting, and investment decisions.

That career taught me the one thing most local accountants never see: what your numbers look like to headquarters. KS Tax & Accounting exists to give foreign-invested companies in Korea a single advisor who handles Korean compliance flawlessly and communicates like a colleague, not a vendor.

Korean Certified Public Accountant (KICPA) & Licensed Tax Accountant
MBA, University of Michigan
20+ years — ex-Deloitte (audit & advisory) · M&A and investment advisory for international financial institutions including JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs
Former executive finance role at a foreign-invested company
Screening committee member, Korean government SME support programs
Advisory experience across startups, PE funds, and listed companies
FAQ

Common questions from
foreign-invested companies.

Yes. All client correspondence, reports, and meetings can be conducted fully in English. Our principal holds an MBA from the University of Michigan and spent years working daily with overseas headquarters — English is not an add-on here, it is the standard.
Korea has two separate professional licenses: the Certified Public Accountant (KICPA) — which qualifies for audit and financial certification — and the Licensed Tax Accountant (semusa) — which qualifies to represent clients before tax authorities and file tax returns. Our principal holds both. For foreign-invested companies, this matters: it means one advisor handles your statutory audit support, tax filings, and tax authority correspondence without routing anything to a third party.
The sequence for a new Korean subsidiary is: (1) entity incorporation with the court registry, (2) foreign direct investment (FDI) notification — filed through KOTRA (Invest Korea) or a foreign exchange bank, before the investment is made, (3) tax registrations with the NTS (corporate tax, VAT, withholding), and (4) payroll registration. We can manage the full setup or step in at any stage. An initial call is usually enough to map out your specific sequence.
Yes. We prepare monthly and quarterly reporting packages in your group's format — balance sheet, P&L, and supporting schedules — ready for consolidation at HQ. We align on the chart of accounts at the outset so there are no surprises at year-end.
Korea imposes withholding tax on royalties, service fees, interest, and dividends paid to non-residents — but tax treaty rates typically reduce this significantly (e.g., the Korea–US treaty caps royalty withholding at 10–15% depending on type; service fees may qualify for exemption under certain treaties). The key steps are: confirming treaty eligibility, filing the reduced-rate application, and maintaining the documentation the NTS expects on audit. We handle all three.
Yes. We run Korean payroll for assigned executives, file their year-end individual income tax returns, and handle the Korea-side mechanics of split payroll arrangements where applicable. If the assignee has treaty residency questions, we flag those early.
Switching providers in Korea is administratively straightforward — it is a matter of notifying the NTS of a new representative and obtaining your books and prior filings from the outgoing firm. We manage the transition and make sure there are no gaps in your compliance calendar. In an initial consultation we will tell you honestly whether a switch makes sense for your situation.
Yes. Our principal serves as a screening committee member for Korean government SME support programs, which means we evaluate applications the way the approvers do. We advise on program eligibility, prepare the financial documentation reviewers focus on, and help maintain the financial ratios that affect approval odds — before you apply, not after.
Our office is in Dongtan Techno Valley (Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do) — 30 minutes from Gangnam Station by SRT. We also meet clients in Seoul and conduct video meetings for overseas HQ teams. For new clients, the first consultation can be done remotely, at your convenience.
Yes. We are registered with the Korean Institute of Certified Public Accountants as an audit practice and can perform statutory and voluntary audits for Korean subsidiaries of foreign parents, with deliverables aligned to your group's reporting calendar. One point worth raising early: Korean independence rules prevent us from auditing a company whose books we prepare, so we would discuss at the outset which role fits your situation — bookkeeping and reporting, or audit.
Use the contact form below or reach out directly. We reply within one business day in English. An initial conversation carries no commitment. We will review your current setup, flag any immediate risks, and give you a clear picture of what ongoing support would look like.
Contact

Tell us about your Korean entity.

Whether you're entering Korea or switching providers, start with a conversation. We reply within one business day — in English.

Phone+82-31-8043-5177
Office204, Dongtan IT Valley II, 706 Dongtan-daero,
Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea (18469)
Korean sitewww.ks-tax.co.kr

We reply within one business day. Your information is never shared.