Investment Advisory and Discretionary Investment Business Registration — Equity Capital of 100,000,000 to 1,500,000,000 won, Professional Staff, 2-Month FSC Review

Procedure

1. 1. Confirm the registration unit and minimum equity capital

   Registration is applied for by registration unit, which combines the business type (investment advisory or discretionary investment), the range of financial investment products and the type of investor. Under Annex 3 of the Enforcement Decree, equity capital of at least 250,000,000 won is required for investment advisory covering all securities and derivatives, 100,000,000 won for investment advisory limited to collective investment securities, derivatives-linked securities, repurchase agreements and similar, 1,500,000,000 won for discretionary investment serving both general and professional investors, and 500,000,000 won for discretionary investment serving professional investors only. Equity capital is calculated including changes in capital between the end of the most recent fiscal year and the application date.

2. 2. Check the stock company form and trade name

   The applicant must be a stock company under the Commercial Act or a financial institution listed in Article 21(1) of the Enforcement Decree, such as the Korea Development Bank or the Industrial Bank of Korea, so a sole proprietor cannot register. The articles of incorporation must include investment advisory business or discretionary investment business as a business purpose. Under Article 38 of the Act, the words investment advisory or discretionary investment cannot be used in a trade name before registration, so the trade name must be chosen accordingly when the company is incorporated.

3. 3. Check the professional staff, executive and major shareholder registration requirements

   An investment advisory business must have at least 1 full-time officer or employee who is an investment solicitation and advisory professional, and a discretionary investment business must have at least 2 full-time officers or employees who are investment management professionals. Executives must meet the qualifications of Article 5 of the Act on Corporate Governance of Financial Companies, and major shareholders must meet the social credit standards of Article 21(5) of the Enforcement Decree. A person whose investment advisory or discretionary investment registration was cancelled ex officio within the last 5 years, and that person's executives and major shareholders, cannot be a major shareholder.

4. 4. Prepare the conflict-of-interest prevention system and attachments

   The company must have internal control standards to identify, assess and manage possible conflicts of interest and a system to block information exchange, and submit documents showing them. The registration application states the trade name, head office location, executives, registration unit, equity capital, professional staff, major shareholders and the conflict-of-interest prevention system, with the attachments listed in Article 22(2) of the Enforcement Decree. Figures and dates in executives' resumes and career certificates, financial statements and major shareholders' shareholdings should be consistent with each other.

5. 5. Submission to the Financial Services Commission and maintaining registration

   After receiving the application, the Financial Services Commission decides on registration within 2 months, notifies the result and reasons in writing, and may request supplementation if there are defects. Supplementation periods, periods for obtaining materials from other agencies, and periods during which criminal proceedings, investigations or inspections against the applicant or major shareholder are pending are not counted in the review period. Once registered, the registration is entered in the register and announced in the Official Gazette and on the website, and business must start within 6 months of the registration date.

Required documents

• Financial investment business registration application (Article 22 of the Enforcement Decree of the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act, form set by Financial Services Commission notice)
• Articles of incorporation (or equivalent)
• Document stating the location and name of the head office
• Resumes and career certificates of executives
• Document stating the type of registration unit and business methods
• Financial statements and supporting schedules for the most recent 3 fiscal years (from the date of incorporation if fewer than 3 fiscal years have passed; not required for a company being incorporated)
• Documents confirming the investment solicitation and advisory professionals or investment management professionals
• Document stating the names of major shareholders and number of shares held, and documents confirming major shareholder requirements
• Documents confirming the conflict-of-interest prevention system (internal control standards and information barriers)
• Letter of authorization (when submitted by an agent)

Fees

Generally in the range of several hundred thousand to several million won in the industry · We will advise after consultation, depending on whether it is investment advisory or discretionary investment business, the number of registration units, the major shareholder structure and volume of attachments, and the scope of responses to supplementation requests. Government fees are separate.

See fees and official charges for this service →

Legal basis and review date

• Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act, Article 6
• Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act, Article 17
• Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act, Article 18
• Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act, Article 19
• Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act, Article 20
• Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act, Article 20-2
• Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act, Article 21
• Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act, Article 38
• Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act, Article 445
• Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act, Article 446
• Enforcement Decree of the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act, Article 21
• Enforcement Decree of the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act, Article 22
• Enforcement Decree of the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act, Article 23
• Enforcement Decree of the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act, Annex 3
• Enforcement Rule of the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act, Article 4

Checked against the statutes on 2026-10-09

Statutes and public notices change, so each case needs to be checked individually. Statute titles are given in English for reference. The Korean statutes are the authoritative text.

Check these first

• Operating an investment advisory or discretionary investment business without registration, or registering by false or fraudulent means, is punishable by imprisonment of up to 3 years or a fine of up to 100,000,000 won (Article 445 of the Act). Do not sign paid advisory or discretionary contracts before the registration decision.
• A person who is not an investment advisory or discretionary investment business operator and uses the words investment advisory or discretionary investment in a trade name is punishable by imprisonment of up to 1 year or a fine of up to 30,000,000 won, so take care when choosing the trade name at the incorporation stage.

Frequently asked questions