Business Registration After Being Selected for "Startup for Everyone" — 4 Steps to Finish Before Getting 2 Million Won

When you pass Stage 1 of Startup for Everyone, all 5,000 recipients receive a 2,000,000 won startup activity allowance, and from Stage 2 onward, valid documentation such as tax invoices is required, so business registration becomes effectively mandatory. To finish all four steps — business address, industry code, taxation type decision, and application — within 2–3 business days of the announcement, your registration prep must already be complete the moment you pass Stage 1 (sources: Bizinfo integrated recruitment notice, Korea.kr Policy Briefing).

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By When Do I Need to Finish Business Registration?

It's safest to finish business registration within 2–3 business days right after the Stage 1 pass is announced. The 2,000,000 won startup activity allowance paid to the 5,000 Stage 1 passers is generally deposited into a business account, and the Stage 2 commercialization funding (up to 20,000,000 won) requires tax-invoice processing, so business registration becomes effectively mandatory.

Business Registration Timeline

• D+0: Stage 1 pass announced
• D+1–D+3: Finalize business address + apply for business registration
• D+3–D+5: Registration certificate issued (Hometax averages 2–3 business days)
• After D+5: Receive 2,000,000 won allowance + prepare for Stage 2

If you only start looking into a business address after the announcement, it can add 3–7 business days, delaying receipt of your allowance. If your business address is already finalized at the moment you pass Stage 1, you can apply for registration immediately on D+1.

Step 1 — Where Should I Set My Business Address?

The business address is the first input field of business registration, and there are three options. Each differs in cost, risk, and speed of execution.

Address Type	Monthly Cost	Key Risk	Speed
Home address	0 won	Personal info disclosure / higher health insurance	Instant
Real address lease	300,000–2,000,000 won	Deposit / contract-term burden	1–4 weeks
Virtual office	From 20,000 won/month	Need to choose a suitable branch	24 hours

A home address costs 0 won, but upon business registration the address is disclosed as public information, and your regional health insurance premium may rise based on business income. For solo founders and online sellers, the risk of exposing your home is the biggest burden.

A real-address lease is unrealistic in the early business stage. A 10-million-won deposit + 500,000–1,500,000 won monthly rent + a 1–2-year contract term is typical — far beyond what the 2,000,000 won Startup for Everyone allowance can cover.

A virtual office is designed as a dedicated business-registration address, letting you avoid both risks above. CoworkCity operates business-registration addresses from 20,000 won/month (sole proprietor, annual billing) across more than 250 branches nationwide, with 24-hour 3-minute electronic contracts and a 100% refund guarantee if business registration is rejected.

Step 2 — How Do I Decide on an Industry Code?

The industry code is determined by the National Tax Service Standard Industrial Classification, and once decided, changing it requires additional procedures. If the business definition you wrote in your Startup for Everyone application doesn't match the industry code you enter for business registration, you may lose points for consistency issues in the Stage 2 evaluation.

The order for deciding an industry code is as follows.

1. Check the business definition in your application — extract the core activity in one word
2. Search the NTS Standard Industrial Classification — Hometax → Classification Code → Industry Code search
3. Decide your primary + secondary industry — make the activity with the largest revenue share your primary industry
4. Check whether it's a licensed industry — food, medical, transportation, finance, etc. require separate licensing

On CoworkCity's database of 22 industry categories / 1,000+ registered industries, you can check suitable branches by industry in advance. Mail-order, software development, management consulting, advertising agency, and the like can be registered at nearly all branches, while licensed industries are supported at more than 50 branches.

Step 3 — Which Is Better, General or Simplified Taxpayer Status?

Taxation type must be decided when applying for business registration, choosing between general taxpayer and simplified taxpayer. From the standpoint of executing Startup for Everyone commercialization funds, the pros and cons of the two types are clear-cut.

Item	Simplified Taxpayer	General Taxpayer
Annual revenue threshold	Under 104 million won	104 million won or more
Tax invoice issuance	Partially possible	Possible
VAT rate	1.5–4%	10%
Input tax deduction	Limited	100%

(Basis: Enforcement Decree of the VAT Act (Korea Law Information Center))

If you'll receive Stage 2 or higher commercialization funds, general taxpayer status is advantageous. That's because you can claim back the VAT on equipment and services purchased while executing the funds. Even if your revenue is small, starting as a general taxpayer is reasonable if government-subsidy execution is planned.

Step 4 — Where Do I Apply for Business Registration?

There are two routes for applying for business registration: online application via NTS Hometax and in-person application at a tax office. Given the Startup for Everyone timeline, online application via Hometax is the fastest.

Route	Time Required	Cost	Recommended For
Hometax online	24-hour application + 2–3 business days to issue	Free	Standard industries, solo founders
In-person at tax office	1 day on average + 2–3 business days	Free	Licensed industries, complex cases
Delegating to a tax agent	1–3 days	50,000–200,000 won	When extremely short on time

The documents needed for a Hometax application are as follows.

• Lease agreement (an electronic contract can substitute for a virtual office)
• Business address information
• Industry code
• Taxation type selection
• Joint certificate (digital certificate)

CoworkCity completes a lease within 24 hours through its 24-hour 3-minute electronic contract system, and the issued electronic contract can be attached to Hometax immediately. Since contracts can be signed at night and on weekends, you can save time right after the Startup for Everyone announcement.

What Are the Advantages of Registering with a Virtual Office?

Registering your business with a virtual office offers structural benefits such as avoiding home-address disclosure, avoiding a health-insurance premium increase, tax-office inspection support, and free relocation if a branch closes.

• Avoiding home-address disclosure — only the office address appears on the registration certificate, website, tax invoices, etc.
• Avoiding a health-insurance premium increase — separates the issue of your regional-subscriber grade rising based on your home address when business income arises
• Tax-office inspection support — CoworkCity provides inspection support as standard at all branches (the response method varies by branch)
• Free relocation if a branch closes — even if a branch closes, you can re-contract at another branch for the remaining term

Registering your business in a non-metropolitan region also unlocks additional tax benefits such as a 100% youth startup tax reduction (full 5-year exemption) and no registration license tax surcharge (saving roughly 800,000 won) (basis: Article 6 of the Restriction of Special Taxation Act (Korea Law Information Center)). Combined with Startup for Everyone's 70% selection quota for non-metropolitan applicants, the very design of your residence and business-site location determines your cost efficiency after passing.

What Can I Spend the 2,000,000 Won On?

The specific spending categories for the 2,000,000 won startup activity allowance are finalized and announced on the official Startup for Everyone platform. According to general government startup-allowance guidelines, the following categories are recognized.

Eligible Item	Recognized Scope
Business-registration costs	Virtual office annual payment, official seal, business-registration delegation fee
Business-plan refinement costs	Market research, data purchase, document printing
MVP development costs	Domain, server hosting, design outsourcing, development tools
Marketing validation costs	Ad testing, pre-application form creation, landing pages
Mentoring/education costs	Consulting, bootcamps, relevant certification study

Note The 2,000,000 won must be strictly for business-related spending and requires valid documentation such as receipts and tax invoices. Be sure to check the announcement on the official Startup for Everyone platform for the exact eligible items and documentation standards.

CoworkCity's virtual office annual payment (sole proprietor, 240,000 won/year) qualifies as a direct business-registration cost and is a standard recognized item under government startup activity allowances.

Closing — 3 Things to Finish Before the Announcement

To finish business registration within 2–3 business days right after the Startup for Everyone Stage 1 announcement, three things must be done before the announcement.

1. Decide your business address — choose among home, real address, or virtual office
2. Confirm your industry code — a Standard Industrial Classification code that matches your application's business definition
3. Prepare your digital certificate — the electronic-signature means for the Hometax online application

With these three ready, you can apply for business registration on D+1 right after the announcement, have your registration certificate issued on D+3–D+5, and receive the 2,000,000 won allowance after D+5.

CoworkCity operates business-registration addresses from 20,000 won/month across more than 250 branches nationwide, and with 24-hour 3-minute electronic contracts you can complete a lease immediately right after the announcement. With a 100% refund guarantee if business registration is rejected, you can recover your costs even if you make a mistake in choosing your track, industry, or region. To spend the time right after the announcement most valuably, securing your address before applying is the fastest path.

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Official Resources

• Official government announcement: Korea.kr Policy Briefing · Ministry of SMEs and Startups press release
• Recruitment notice: Bizinfo integrated recruitment notice
• Application platform: modoo.or.kr
• Business registration: NTS Hometax
• Tax-benefit basis: Article 6 of the Restriction of Special Taxation Act (Korea Law Information Center) · Enforcement Decree of the VAT Act

Browse CoworkCity virtual offices

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• Startup for Everyone 2026 Complete Guide — 5,000 Selectees and Up to 1 Billion Won in Funding
• Startup for Everyone Application Deadline D-14 — 7 Things to Check Before 4 PM on May 15
• 2026 Busan Virtual Office Recommendations — 100% Youth Startup Tax Reduction and an Area-by-Area Selection Guide
• 2026 Daegu Virtual Office Recommendations — 100% Youth Startup Tax Reduction and Characteristics by Area