Trademark Registration in Korea: Requirements, Fees, and Timing
Pine IP Firm
July 27, 2026
Korea uses a registration-based, first-to-file trademark system. A foreign registration or earlier use abroad does not by itself establish priority over an earlier Korean application. Filing should therefore be considered before a Korean product launch, distributor appointment, crowdfunding campaign, or trade exhibition.
The applicant must use or intend to use the mark in Korea. Evidence of use is not ordinarily required at filing, but a registration becomes vulnerable to cancellation after three consecutive years of non-use in Korea.
Korean law recognizes words, logos, combined marks, three-dimensional marks, colors, sounds, smells, and other source identifiers that satisfy the statutory requirements. A foreign brand portfolio commonly includes:
The mark must distinguish the applicant's goods or services and must not fall within an absolute or relative refusal ground. Common objections concern descriptiveness, lack of distinctiveness, misleading content, or similarity to an earlier application or registration.
A word-mark registration generally protects the wording without limiting the right to one graphic presentation. A separate logo filing may be appropriate when the design itself has independent commercial value. The original-alphabet mark and a Hangul transliteration may also require separate applications because their legal scope is not necessarily identical.
A standard Korean trademark application identifies:
The application and specification of goods or services must be filed in Korean. An applicant without a domicile or business address in Korea must act through an agent with a Korean domicile or business address. A Paris Convention priority application must be filed in Korea within six months of the priority application. The supporting priority document must generally be submitted within three months after the Korean filing, and that document deadline is not extendable.
The goods and services specification determines the scope examined and registered. MOIP charges an excess-item fee when a class contains more than ten designated goods or services. Non-standard wording may require amendment, while an unnecessarily broad specification increases cost and may create non-use exposure after registration.
The MOIP fee schedule reviewed on July 16, 2026 states the following principal government fees for a standard electronic application:
On these assumptions, the filing and registration fees total KRW 253,000 for one class with no more than ten designated items, and KRW 506,000 for two such classes. These amounts exclude the priority-claim fee, preferential-examination fee, late charges, translations, professional fees, and costs arising from an objection, opposition, or appeal.
A cost estimate should identify the number of marks, classes, and designated items and should separate official fees from professional and third-party charges.
MOIP's current English application guide states that substantive examination generally begins and is completed on a schedule of approximately five months from filing, although actual timing depends on the examination queue, specification wording, the mark, and any Office Action.
For applications published on or after July 22, 2025, an opposition must be filed within 30 days after publication. The amendment reduced the former two-month period, and the 30-day period is not extendable. The grounds and evidence may be supplemented during the period allowed under Article 61, subject to the current extension rules.
A straightforward application may reach registration within several months. An Office Action, opposition, or appeal extends the schedule. Preferential examination is available only when the application satisfies the applicable requirements and the prescribed request and fee are submitted.
Common grounds for refusal include:
A pre-filing search can identify material risks but cannot guarantee registration. The search should address Hangul spellings, phonetic equivalents, spacing variations, relevant figurative elements, and related goods or services.
The Korean application should ordinarily be filed in the name of the entity intended to own the global brand rights. Distributor, employee, and vendor agreements should prohibit unauthorized applications for the mark, Korean transliterations, domain names, and social-media identifiers.
The goods and services should reflect reasonably anticipated Korean use. Coverage for the commercial plan over the next three to five years can be included without adopting a long, unrelated list that adds official fees and later non-use risk.
A specimen of use is not ordinarily required to obtain registration, but the applicant must have a bona fide intention to use the mark. Three consecutive years of non-use may support a cancellation action. A registration remains in force for ten years from registration and may be renewed for successive ten-year periods.
This article provides general information, not legal advice. Requirements, fees, and timelines should be confirmed for the specific application.
Legal and editorial review: July 16, 2026. Korea's current IP authority is the Ministry of Intellectual Property (MOIP), formerly KIPO.
