Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Rae]

I have a question regarding personal seals used in Korea for official documents (bank, etc). I remember reading a thread months ago about a guy that was forced to have one made before getting a bank account. Even back then, it seemed to be an exception since most banks didn't require it from foreigners.

The thing is, I have a name seal but it's Japanese made (with the dimensions and material acceptable for registration in Japan). It's also in Kanji and only of my given name. My question is in 2 parts:

Would a name seal that's in Simplified Chinese be accepted for registration in Korea? I know certain Asian countries only allow Traditional Chinese characters to be registered. If I'm not mistaken, Hanja uses traditional characters. Also would it be an issue if only my given name is used?

Also, I'm not Korean and I don't speak lick of Korean. Would it be easier for me to not bother trying to register any seals and claim 100% westernization? Though I am Asian, so I don't know if it would be expected for me to have a Chinese name.

[aphase]

A name stamp does not have to be registered to use it in a bank book. You can just stamp the bank book with the stamp and it will be your signature for bank related documents from that point on. I'm not sure whether one written in Kanji would be acceptable, especially if you are of western origin and the Kanji name is just some name you made. It would probably be better if the stamp was written in Hangeul, as it would be clearer that the stamp indeed belongs to you. Stamps written in Hangeul are acceptable for legal documents, I know this because I've seen my mother's set of stamps from when she used to be a korean citizen. She had both types, one written in Hanja, and one written in Hangeul. If your name is really long, I think you can just use your first name, and if your first name is longer than 3 syllables, then i don't know. I also heard that if you have a bank book stamped with your name stamp, that it could possibly be used for other non-banking documents as well, since you need your ID card to be able to open a bank account, and that stamp being in your bank book would tie that stamp to you. You need to confirm that though.

Also, if your not Korean I don't think you really need a name stamp. I been here for 3 years and my signature has always been enough. I find it to be a bit more secure myself, because those stamps don't look too difficult to forge.

[Rae]

[OiGirl]

I was not allowed to register a Hanja stamp. The Gu office forced me to get one in English for registration. I have never been required to have one at the bank.

[Rae]