Q1006. How to translate Korean personal and corporate documents for legal use in Thailand?

Answered by the NYC Visa & Translation certified translation team

Korean personal documents (family relation certificate, resident registration, marriage relation certificate) and corporate documents (business registration, corporate registry extracts) are issued by Korean district offices or the Supreme Court registry, and Thai offices typically require issuance within 3 months. The translation chain mirrors other third languages: Korean→English translation, MFA certification of the English version (200/quoted on request per stamp), then Korean Embassy legalisation in Bangkok where the end authority requires it. For corporate use (e.g., a Korean parent company registering a Thai subsidiary with the DBD), the corporate registry extract must show the current representative director, and the translation must render the company name consistently with any prior filings — the DBD cross-checks against earlier registrations. Practical notes: Korean documents use both Hangul and Hanja (Chinese characters) for names, and the romanised passport spelling is the controlling version for Thai filings; discrepancies between the document's romanisation and the passport are the most common rejection cause. Fees are itemised separately: translation, MFA stamps, embassy legalisation, and courier. Confirm the exact document list with the receiving Thai authority first.