Joint Certificate and Financial Certificate Guide

At a Glance

• The Electronic Signature Act was fully revised on June 9, 2020 and took effect on the day 6 months after promulgation; Accredited Certificates valid at that time are covered by a transitional measure applying the previous rules.
• An electronic signature may not be denied the effect of a signature, or of a signature with seal or name seal, solely because it is in electronic form. Except where a law specifies an electronic signature method, the State must not restrict use to one particular electronic signature method.
• YESKEY guidance: the individual Financial Certificate is free and is used for all certification tasks without purpose restriction, while the business version (for finance/public use and for electronic tax use) costs 4,400 KRW per year.
• YESKEY guidance: the individual Joint Certificate for banking/credit card/insurance is free and the individual general-purpose one costs 4,400 KRW; Joint Certificate fees are for one-year units, include VAT, and are charged on issuance and renewal.

Who Needs It

• Individuals who want to use a certificate for financial tasks such as checking bank accounts and transfers, viewing card history, and checking insurance or claiming insurance payouts, and for government civil services (YESKEY guidance on the individual Joint Certificate for banking/credit card/insurance).
• Individuals who want to use it without purpose restriction, including stock trading, fall under the general-purpose Joint Certificate (4,400 KRW). The individual Financial Certificate has no purpose restriction.
• Corporations have separate types. YESKEY lists 4,400 KRW for the corporate banking/credit card/insurance type and 105,600 KRW for the corporate general-purpose type.

Where to Apply

• Financial Certificate: start by choosing Financial Certificate issuance in the bank certificate center. YESKEY advises getting it at a bank you use often.
• Joint Certificate: YESKEY states it can be issued at any bank. As an exception, it can be issued by entering the reference number and authorization code received after identity verification at a bank or the KFTC.
• YESKEY states that if identity was verified in person at an overseas diplomatic mission or similar, a Financial Certificate can be issued at YESKEY.

What to Bring

• A state in which you can use the certificate center of your bank (internet banking or app). Check each bank for the identity verification method it requires.
• When a reference number and authorization code are needed: these are 1-time passwords issued when you apply to use a certificate at the certificate registration authority (the bank) (YESKEY guidance).
• A mobile phone to receive the SMS authentication during Financial Certificate issuance, and a new password to set (YESKEY issuance procedure).
• Supported environment: the Financial Certificate service is provided on browsers such as Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Safari, Firefox and Opera, and on mobile apps for Android 5.0 or later and iOS 9.0 or later (YESKEY).

Costs

• YESKEY states that Joint Certificate fees are for 1-year units, include VAT, and are charged on issuance and renewal.
• These fees follow the official KFTC guidance, not a law. They can change, so check again on the issuance screen.

Procedure

• Step 1: Decide how you will use it. For banking, cards, insurance and government civil services only, choose the individual Joint Certificate for banking/credit card/insurance or the individual Financial Certificate (free); if you also need stock trading, choose the individual general-purpose Joint Certificate (4,400 KRW).
• Step 2 (Financial Certificate): in the bank certificate center, choose Financial Certificate issuance, then identity verification, cloud connection, SMS authentication, password setting, and issuance complete (YESKEY issuance procedure).
• Step 3 (Joint Certificate): issue it in the bank certificate center or, as an exception, enter at YESKEY the reference number and authorization code received from a bank or the KFTC.
• Step 4: For a Financial Certificate, you can manage things yourself at YESKEY, such as changing the password, deleting it, and cleaning up auto-connected devices.

Common Sticking Points

• The individual general-purpose Joint Certificate costs 4,400 KRW, but the individual banking/credit card/insurance one is free. First check whether you need stock trading.
• Transferring or lending a certificate to another person, or receiving one from another person, for the purpose of having it used improperly is prohibited and is punishable by imprisonment of up to 1 year or a fine of up to 10 million KRW.
• Obtaining a certificate in another person's name by false or other improper means is punishable by imprisonment of up to 3 years or a fine of up to 30 million KRW.
• YESKEY posted a notice dated 2026-07-28 warning about phishing emails impersonating the Financial Certificate. Go directly to your bank app or YESKEY instead of using email links.

This guide is general information and does not assess any individual case. Laws and fees can change, so check the original text via the official links and with the competent office.