Are electronic signatures legal in South Korea?

The 2020 overhaul

For two decades, Korea's "certified electronic signature" (공인전자서명), issued through government-designated certification authorities, was the signature the law favored. The Digital Signature Act (전자서명법) was wholly amended by Act No. 17354, promulgated on June 9, 2020 and in force from December 10, 2020, which abolished that special status. Certificates issued before the change keep their old effect under the supplementary provisions. The current text is Act No. 18479, in force since October 20, 2022.

What the Act says

• Definition (art. 2(2)). Electronic information attached to or logically combined with an electronic document to confirm the signer's identity and show that they signed it. (Our translation.)
• Legal effect (art. 3(1)). An electronic signature isn't denied effect as a signature, a signature with seal, or a seal solely because it's electronic.
• Agreed methods (art. 3(2)). Where a law or the parties' agreement chooses electronic signing, the electronic signature has the effect of a signature or seal.
• Technology neutrality (art. 6(2)). The State can't restrict people to a particular signing method unless a statute or specified rules require one.

There's no longer a tier that gets a statutory presumption of authenticity. Recognition of e-signature providers is voluntary (art. 8): the Ministry of Science and ICT sets the operating standards (art. 7), and the Korea Internet & Security Agency recognizes providers after an evaluation by designated bodies (arts. 9–10).

The Framework Act on Electronic Documents and Transactions does the same work for documents. An electronic document isn't denied legal effect solely because it's electronic (art. 4(1)), and it counts as a writing unless another law provides otherwise or the nature of the matter rules electronic form out (art. 4-2).

What stays on paper

• Personal guarantees. A guarantee is only effective when the guarantor's intention is expressed in a document bearing their name with a seal or signature, and a guarantee expressed in electronic form has no effect (Civil Code art. 428-2(1)).
• Holographic wills. The testator must handwrite the full text, the date, their address and name, and affix a seal (Civil Code art. 1066).

Other statutes can set their own form rules, which the Framework Act's article 4-2 leaves in place, so check the rule for a regulated document before sending it electronically.

Where SignMaster fits in South Korea

SignMaster provides electronic signatures with an audit trail, the kind article 3 accepts when the parties agree to sign that way. It suits service contracts, quotes, purchase orders, NDAs and supplier agreements, but not personal guarantees. Each completed PDF ends with a certificate of completion recording each signer's email, IP address, consent and timestamps, and a SHA-256 fingerprint of each file shows whether anything was changed.