28-8 · Culture & content businesses

Private Museum and Private Art Gallery Registration Procedure

Private museums and private art galleries established and operated by corporations, organizations or individuals may register with the mayor or provincial governor, or the mayor of a large city with a population of 500,000 or more, under Article 16 of the Museum and Art Gallery Support Act; Incheon is a metropolitan city, so the city's registration department handles it. You apply for registration before opening, and you are notified of the review result within 40 days from the application date. If you are newly securing a site or building, you may first obtain establishment plan approval (Article 18), and development activity permits, road occupancy permits, farmland conversion permits and other matters consulted during approval are deemed granted. Registration is divided into Class 1 and Class 2 according to the scale of materials, curators and facilities, and there is no application fee.

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#Private Museum and Private Art Gallery Registration Procedure#Official check#28-8
🌐 Private Museum and Private Art Gallery Registration Procedure
01

Procedure

Procedure

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    1. Choose Class 1 or Class 2 and the type — A Class 1 specialized museum or art gallery must have at least 100 items, at least 1 curator, an exhibition room of at least 100 square meters or an outdoor exhibition area of at least 2,000 square meters, a storage room, an office or research room, one of a reference room, library or auditorium, and anti-theft facilities and temperature and humidity control equipment. A Class 2 facility such as a reference hall, exhibition hall, memorial hall or local history hall requires at least 60 items, at least 1 curator, an exhibition room of at least 82 square meters, a storage room, one of an office, research room, reference room, library or auditorium, and anti-theft facilities and temperature and humidity control equipment. Installing firefighting facilities is a common requirement for both classes.

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    2. Apply for establishment plan approval (when newly securing a site or building) — Submit the establishment plan approval application to the mayor or provincial governor or the mayor of a large city, attaching a business plan, land and building statements, a location map, an outline design drawing, and a list and description of materials. The processing period is 30 days, and once the approving authority completes consultation with the relevant agencies, development activity permits, permits under Road Act Articles 36 and 61, farmland conversion permits, mountainous district conversion permits and others are deemed granted. After approval, changing the name or class, the location and area, or the location and area of exhibition rooms or storage rooms, or extending the project period by 3 months or more requires change approval (processing period 10 days).

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    3. Prepare curators and collection materials — Curators are divided into Grade 1, Grade 2 and Grade 3 curators and associate curators, and must hold a certificate issued after a qualification review by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Materials are evaluated on their suitability to the field, the appropriateness of their collection, their academic, artistic, educational and historical value, and their rarity. Photos of the materials are attached to the materials list, so organize and photograph the collection in advance.

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    4. Registration application and review — Before opening, submit the museum or art gallery registration application with a facility specification, a materials list, a list of curators, and admission and material usage fees. The registering authority reviews the scale and value of the materials, the curators on staff, and the scale and adequacy of the facilities, notifies the result within 40 days from the application date, and issues a registration certificate upon registration. There is no application fee.

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    5. Change registration and operating obligations after registration — If the name, founder or representative, class, location, facility specification, materials list, list of curators or fees change, apply for change registration within 14 days from the date of change (processing period 5 days, 20 days for a change of name or class). A registered museum or art gallery must open for at least 90 days a year and at least 4 hours a day, and display its registration on signs, documents and its website. When closing, file a closure report with the registration certificate and a disposal plan for the facilities and materials.

02

Filing route

Filing route

Confirm the current filing office, jurisdiction, and online availability on the official website.

Confirm the current filing office, jurisdiction, and online availability on the official website.

Official check
Actual processing agencyCompetent Korean authority or official service
Statutory and policy authorityAgency by case
Online routeOfficial check
03

Deadlines & processing notes

Deadlines & processing notes

Check deadlines and next steps against the notice, filing date, and any request for additional documents.Official check
04

Fees & official charges

Fees & official charges

Administrative service feeQuoted after consultationAll administrative service fees exclude 10% VAT.

Included in the basic fee — Initial document review, required-document guidance, basic form preparation, one filing support and one ordinary supplement.

Conditional success fee — For this service, any conditional success fee may be separately agreed within the lawful service scope and stated in a written engagement agreement. No outcome is guaranteed.

Displayed amounts are starting estimates, not statutory or standard rates. The final fee is confirmed after consultation and document review in the engagement agreement. Government fees and actual expenses may change.

Fees & official charges →
05

Basic documents

Basic documents

Basic documents0 / 8

Failing to apply for change registration within 14 days from the date the registered matters changed is a ground for cancellation of registration, and once registration is cancelled, the same matters cannot be registered again for 2 years from the date of cancellation. If you do not carry out the project within 1 year after establishment plan approval or suspend it for 6 months or more without justifiable reason, you may receive a corrective order, and if you do not comply, the approval may be cancelled.

Scope of services

Scope of services

Hwang Yunsang Administrative Agent Office prepares and translates documents for administrative agencies, submits them on your behalf, and guides you through permit, application, and notification procedures. Services that require the principal’s personal appearance, principal’s application, or electronic signature may be limited in delegation.