Tourist Accommodation Business Plan Approval and Registration — Room Counts and Road Standards for Family Hotels, Hostels and Small Hotels

Procedure

1. 1. Match the hotel type with its registration standards

   A family hotel needs at least 30 guest rooms with a bathroom or shower, at least 19㎡ per room, and cooking facilities in each room or a shared kitchen on each floor. A small hotel needs at least 20 but fewer than 30 such rooms and at least two types of ancillary facilities, whose combined area may not exceed 50% of the total floor area. A hostel needs convenience facilities such as toilets, showers and a kitchen (which may be shared) and cultural and information exchange facilities for Korean and foreign tourists.

2. 2. Check the site and the business plan approval standards

   A business plan is approved only if it complies with the relevant laws and there is the ability and a plan to raise the necessary funds. In a general residential area, the lot of a family hotel must adjoin a road at least 12 m wide, and that of a hostel or small hotel a road at least 8 m wide, for at least 4 m in each case, and landscaping must cover at least 15% of the lot area (except hostels). In a semi-residential area, the standard requiring noise-generating facilities to be placed underground or otherwise kept from harming the residential environment applies.

3. 3. Apply for business plan approval

   Submit the business plan approval application to the city, county or district office with a construction plan (location, total site area and land use plan, construction schedule, construction funds and financing method, area and facilities by facility and floor, and a bird's-eye view) and documents proving ownership or the right to use the real estate. If you want permits such as farmland conversion, mountain land conversion or development activity permits to be deemed granted, submit the documents required by those laws as well; matters the city, county or district has consulted on with the competent agencies are deemed permitted upon approval.

4. 4. Obtain change approval if the plan changes

   You need approval of a change to the business plan if you change the site or lot area or the total floor area by 10% or more of the originally planned area, or change the type of hotel business within the registration standards. If the change includes a change of building use, submit architectural design documents showing the floor plans before and after the change and the fire resistance, fire protection and evacuation matters; once approved, the change of use permit or report under the Building Act is deemed granted.

5. 5. Tourism business registration and registration review

   Once the facilities are complete, submit the tourism business registration application with the business plan, facility floor plans and layout, the facility list for tourist accommodation businesses, and documents proving permits for ancillary businesses. When registration is made after review by the registration review committee, the reviewed items such as the lodging business report, restaurant business permit or report, and liquor sales license or report are deemed granted. Family hotels and small hotels must apply for hotel grade determination within 60 days of registration.

Required documents

• Business plan approval application
• Construction plan (location, total site area and land use plan, construction schedule, construction funds and financing method, area by facility and floor, bird's-eye view)
• Document stating the applicant's name and resident registration number (for a corporation, the representative and officers; foreign applicants submit home-country documents proving no grounds for disqualification)
• Documents proving ownership of or the right to use the land and building
• Statutory documents for permits to be deemed granted (farmland conversion, mountain land conversion, development activity permit, etc.)
• Tourism business registration application and business plan
• Architectural design documents such as facility floor plans and layout, and the facility list for tourist accommodation businesses
• Report or permit documents, or proof thereof, for ancillary businesses (restaurants, liquor sales, etc.)
• Letter of authorization (when submitted by an agent)

Fees

Generally in the range of several hundred thousand won to several million won across the industry · depending on the hotel type and number of rooms, the scope of deemed permits, and whether a business plan change approval is included, we give a quote after consultation. Government fees are separate.

See fees and official charges for this service →

Legal basis and review date

• Tourism Promotion Act, Article 4
• Tourism Promotion Act, Article 15
• Tourism Promotion Act, Article 16
• Tourism Promotion Act, Article 17
• Tourism Promotion Act, Article 18
• Tourism Promotion Act, Article 19
• Enforcement Decree of the Tourism Promotion Act, Article 2
• Enforcement Decree of the Tourism Promotion Act, Article 3
• Enforcement Decree of the Tourism Promotion Act, Article 5 and Annex 1
• Enforcement Decree of the Tourism Promotion Act, Article 9
• Enforcement Decree of the Tourism Promotion Act, Article 10
• Enforcement Decree of the Tourism Promotion Act, Article 13
• Enforcement Decree of the Tourism Promotion Act, Article 22
• Enforcement Rule of the Tourism Promotion Act, Article 2
• Enforcement Rule of the Tourism Promotion Act, Article 23
• Enforcement Rule of the Tourism Promotion Act, Article 24
• Enforcement Rule of the Tourism Promotion Act, Article 25

Checked against the statutes on 2026-10-06

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

• Road frontage standards in general residential areas can be tightened by city, county or district ordinance, so check the local ordinance before signing land or building contracts.
• To change the site or lot area or total floor area of an approved business plan by 10% or more, obtain change approval before construction.

Frequently asked questions