Simplification of Korea-China Official Document Authentication Procedures: "Omission of Authentication by Chinese Embassy"

From the 7th of this month, the official document authentication process between Korea and China will be simplified. As a result, there will no longer be a need to go through the consular authentication process at the embassy of the other country for document verification.

According to the Korean Embassy in China on the 6th, with China officially applying the Apostille Convention, which it joined in March this year, from the 7th, the use of documents between Korea and China, both signatory countries, will apply 'Apostille certification' instead of 'consular authentication.'

Chinese Embassy. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

The official name of the Apostille Convention is the "Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents," which was first enacted in 1965 and has been effective in Korea since July 2007. The biggest difference between consular authentication and Apostille certification lies in the verification process of the other country's public documents.

Until now, documents issued in Korea had to undergo consular authentication by the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Overseas Koreans Office) and the Chinese Embassy (Consulate General) in Korea to be used in China. Similarly, documents issued in China had to be authenticated by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Korean Embassy in China before being used in Korea.

However, with China becoming a signatory to the Apostille Convention, from the 7th, documents issued in Korea can be used in China by obtaining only the 'Apostille certification' from the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Overseas Koreans Office) or the Ministry of Justice.

Chinese official documents will also be valid in Korea with only the Apostille certification from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, without consular authentication from the Korean Embassy in China.

The Embassy in China explained, "For our citizens or companies to use Korean official documents (notarized documents) in China for activities such as obtaining residency status, employment, studying abroad, or business overseas expansion, it is generally necessary to prepare Apostille certification in Korea before entering China. However, for official documents that can be electronically issued through our diplomatic missions, Korean Apostille certification is not required."

The Embassy also advised that for documents requiring submission with translations, Apostille certification is needed for both the original document and the notarized translation.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.