🇰🇷 South Korea

A retail bank account (*은행 계좌* — Eunhaeng Gyejwa — Bank Account) is the procedural floor for salary, rent, utilities, and transit top-ups in Korea. With a Residence Card (ARC) and passport, the four-bank quartet — KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, and NH NongHyup — opens a demand-deposit account on-site, usually the same day. Shinhan and Hana also support pre-ARC openings and, at a launch cohort of six banks, mobile-ARC in-app onboarding.

Non-Korean nationals can acquire Korean residential property on the same general terms as Korean citizens. They must file a post-acquisition report with the local 시 (Si — city), 군 (Gun — county), or 구 (Gu — district) head within 60 days. Designated military, cultural, ecological, and wildlife zones require prior permission; recent reforms extend a prior-permission requirement to Seoul-metropolitan-area residential acquisitions with a two-year owner-occupancy commitment. Leases come as *전세* (Jeonse) or *월세* (Wolse); tenant deposit protection requires same-day move-in registration plus fixed-date stamp.

The Alien Registration Card (ARC, *외국인등록증* Oegug-in Deunglok Jeung) is the identity document Korea issues to foreigners staying beyond 90 days. Its embedded Alien Registration Number (*외국인등록번호*, Oegug-in Deunglok Beonho — ARN) is the load-bearing identifier for banking, telecom, National Health Insurance, leases, and re-entry. Apply in person at a Regional Immigration Office within 90 days of entry; late registration carries criminal penalties under Article 95 of the Immigration Act.

South Korea operates a five-track *비자* (visa) ladder for skilled workers, investors, and founders. The tracks are E-7 employer-sponsored skilled work, D-8 corporate investment, F-2 long-term residence, D-10 job-seeker status, and D-8-4 technology-startup founder visas. The Korea Immigration Service administers the system under the Immigration Act, with category-specific eligibility criteria, distinct documentation, and procedural pathways converging on a common post-arrival Alien Registration Card step.

Foreign residents in South Korea have three routes to drive legally. Exchange a current foreign licence for a Korean *운전면허증* (Unjeon Myeon-heo Jeung — driving licence), drive on an International Driving Permit, or sit the full Korean examination. The Korea Road Traffic Authority (KOROAD) issues all three through 26 Driver's License Examination Offices nationwide. Exchange is fastest for Acknowledged-Country holders; the written test applies to non-Acknowledged countries and to U.S. Oregon and Idaho holders.