Korean Company Documents: 등기, 정관, 대표이사, 주주총회

Core examples: 등기, 정관, 대표이사, 주주총회, 이사회, 법인인감, 자본금, 본점, 지점.

Corporate Korean names legal existence, not just business activity

A Korean company registry or governance document may contain:

법인등기부등본 정관 대표이사 주주총회 이사회 결의 법인인감 자본금 본점 소재지

These words do not describe products or marketing. They define who the company is, where it exists legally, who can represent it, and how decisions are made.

The key principle is:

Company-document Korean is governance language.

It is not enough to know “company.” You must know which corporate organ or legal record is speaking.

등기

등기

means registration.

In corporate contexts:

법인등기 corporate registration

등기부 registry

등기부등본 certified copy/extract of registry

등기사항증명서 certificate of registered matters

Registration language makes a company’s legal facts publicly recordable.

Learner action: when 등기 appears, ask what legal fact is registered: name, office, director, capital, branch, purpose, etc.

정관

정관

means articles of incorporation / corporate charter.

It may define:

• company name,
• purpose/business objects,
• head office,
• share structure,
• organs,
• meetings,
• directors,
• fiscal year,
• public notice method.

Example:

회사의 목적은 다음과 같다. The company’s purposes are as follows.

Learner action: 정관 is internal constitutional text for a company, not ordinary “rules” in the casual sense.

대표이사

대표이사

means representative director.

This role matters because it often indicates who can represent the corporation externally.

Related:

이사 director

사내이사 inside director

사외이사 outside director

감사 auditor/statutory auditor depending context

공동대표 joint representatives

Learner action: representative authority is not the same as informal leadership.

주주총회

주주총회

means shareholders’ meeting.

Related:

정기주주총회 regular annual shareholders’ meeting

임시주주총회 extraordinary shareholders’ meeting

의결권 voting rights

결의 resolution/decision

배당 dividend

A notice may say:

제12기 정기주주총회 소집통지 notice of convocation of the 12th regular shareholders’ meeting.

Learner action: identify meeting type, agenda, voting rights, date, and decision items.

이사회

이사회

means board of directors.

Related:

이사회 결의 board resolution

의장 chair

안건 agenda item

의사록 minutes

Board language tells where decisions are approved internally.

Learner action: distinguish shareholder decision from board decision.

법인인감

법인인감

means corporate registered seal.

Related:

인감증명서 seal certificate

사용인감 seal used in practice, may differ from registered seal

날인 seal/stamp affixing

서명 signature

In Korean corporate paperwork, seals can signal authority, execution, and verification.

Learner action: seal language is document-authentication language.

자본금

자본금

means capital.

Related:

주식 shares/stock

발행주식 issued shares

액면가 face/par value

증자 capital increase

감자 capital reduction

Capital language appears in registry extracts, investment documents, and company profiles.

Learner action: 자본금 is not revenue or profit. It is capital.

본점 and 지점

본점

means head office/main office.

지점

means branch.

Corporate documents often state:

본점 소재지 location of head office

지점 설치 establishment of branch

Do not confuse 본점 with main retail store branding unless context supports that. In legal documents, it is legal head office.

Corporate-document genres

Example bank walkthrough

등기

Registration.

Learner action: public/legal record.

정관

Articles of incorporation.

Learner action: company constitutional document.

대표이사

Representative director.

Learner action: external representation authority.

주주총회

Shareholders’ meeting.

Learner action: ownership-level decision body.

이사회

Board of directors.

Learner action: board decision organ.

법인인감

Corporate registered seal.

Learner action: authentication/authority.

자본금

Capital.

Learner action: corporate finance/legal fact, not sales.

본점

Head office.

Learner action: legal corporate location.

지점

Branch.

Learner action: branch office/location.

Company-document workflow

When reading Korean company documents:

1. Identify document type: registry, articles, minutes, notice, certificate?
2. Identify company legal name.
3. Find legal form and registration information.
4. List corporate organs: shareholders’ meeting, board, directors, auditors.
5. Identify representative authority.
6. Extract head office and branch information.
7. Read capital/share terms separately from revenue/profit.
8. Check seal/signature language.
9. Mark decision items and effective dates.
10. Do not translate titles before identifying the corporate role.

Corporate-document role map

Corporate documents should be parsed by institution and organ.

This helps readers avoid treating governance nouns as ordinary business vocabulary.

Document-type diagnostic

Identify the document type before translating any title.

Authority caution

대표이사, 이사회, 주주총회, and 법인인감 all relate to authority, but not the same kind. One person may manage daily operations, one organ may approve decisions, and one seal may authenticate documents. Do not collapse them into “company boss/company document.”

A strong tool for this article would turn dense corporate documents into role diagrams.

Suggested functions:

1. Document-type classifier.
2. Corporate-role highlighter.
3. Registry field extractor.
4. Governance organ map.
5. Seal/signature warning.
6. Capital/share glossary.
7. Plain-Korean paraphrase field.

Final rule

Korean company documents are about legal structure.

등기 records. 정관 defines. 대표이사 represents. 주주총회 and 이사회 decide. 법인인감 authenticates. 자본금, 본점, and 지점 locate the company in law and governance.

Read the institution before translating the noun.