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Charities in South Korea

GiveRadar tracks 10,971 NGOs and charities in South Korea, built from Korea's nonprofit registers, including nonprofit corporations permitted by the competent ministry and public-interest corporations. Korea has no single national charity register; registration records that an organization legally exists and is supervised, not that anyone vetted its charitable quality, so these are registered nonprofits rather than vetted charities.

10,971
Registered nonprofits
99.9%
Registration number on file
Education
Largest cause area
1 per 4,711
Residents per organization
Matt Timmermans Reviewed by Matt Timmermans Founder of GiveRadar · Checked August 23, 2026
Where this data comes from  ·  How current it is
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All organizations in South Korea

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The register at a glance

How many NGOs and charities are there in South Korea?

GiveRadar tracks 10,971 NGOs and charities in South Korea, drawn from Korea's nonprofit registers. 10,960 of them (99.9%) carry a registration number, and the average integrity assessment across Korean rows is 53.5 out of 100, the highest of any country page here.

Whole-register totals
10,971 Registered nonprofits
2010s Median decade on the register 10,962 records carry a date, the oldest from 1989
1 per 4,711 Residents per organization Against a population of 51,684,564 (World Bank, 2025)
53.5/100 Average integrity assessment A measure of disclosure, not impact or effectiveness

This data is fuller than most: GiveRadar holds an email for 1,372 Korean organizations (12.5%) and a website for 633 (5.8%), and a founding year for almost all of them. The average integrity assessment of 53.5 out of 100 is higher than most country pages because the registers carry registration, location and founding detail, though still not financial accounts.

By category

What causes do South Korea's NGOs and charities support?

Education is the largest cause category among the Korean NGOs and charities GiveRadar tracks, with 3,675 organizations, followed by community development at 2,031, social services at 1,833, environment at 1,628, arts and culture at 834 and advocacy at 372. These categories are inferred from each organization's recorded purpose.

01 Education 3,661 33% 02 Community Development 2,036 19% 03 Social Services 1,831 17% 04 Environment 1,627 15% 05 Arts & Culture 834 8% 06 Advocacy & Civil Rights 371 3% 07 Science & Technology 266 2% 08 Health 240 2% 09 International 99 1%
Age of the register

How old are South Korea's registered nonprofits?

South Korea's registered nonprofits record a founding year for almost all of the 10,962 organizations that carry one, and the median is 2010, so the register is weighted toward organizations formed in the last two decades rather than long-established institutions.

4,944 2000s
4,445 2010s
1,571 2020s
Median decade
2010s
Earliest on record
1989
Records with a date
10,962 of 10,971

The year shown is the founding or registration year each organization records, not a guarantee that it is still active. A few malformed or very old years are held back from the chart rather than shown as real decades.

Location of nonprofits in South Korea

Where in South Korea are its NGOs and charities based?

South Korea's NGOs and charities are based across every province, and GiveRadar places 10,900 of the 10,971 (99.4%) in one, from the registered address. Seoul holds the most at 2,419, followed by Gyeonggi at 1,815, North Jeolla at 1,013, Incheon at 760, Gwangju at 738 and Busan at 643.

Organization density
Each province shaded by registered nonprofits. Boundaries: Natural Earth.

Nonprofits by province

01 Seoul 2,419 22.2% 02 Gyeonggi 1,815 16.7% 03 North Jeolla 1,013 9.3% 04 Incheon 760 7% 05 Gwangju 738 6.8% 06 Busan 643 5.9% 07 Daejeon 563 5.2% 08 North Gyeongsang 532 4.9% 09 South Jeolla 523 4.8% 10 North Chungcheong 434 4%

South Korea's registered nonprofits cluster in the capital region: Seoul and the surrounding Gyeonggi province together hold nearly two fifths of the set, with the port city of Busan and the other metropolitan cities following. A registered address is where an organization is based, not a map of where its work reaches.

Data sources

Where does GiveRadar's South Korea data come from?

GiveRadar's data for South Korea comes from Korea's nonprofit registers, which are distributed rather than unified: nonprofit corporations obtain legal personality from the competent ministry under the Civil Act, public-interest corporations (gongik beopin) are supervised under their own Act, and nonprofit private organizations register with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. GiveRadar also draws on the National Tax Service's public-interest disclosures. These records hold registration, location and purpose, not audited financial accounts.

MOIS nonprofit-organization register mois.go.kr ↗
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety register of nonprofit private organizations, aggregating central and local registrations
10,971 records 100% coverage
NTS public-interest disclosure (Hometax) hometax.go.kr ↗
Where public-interest corporations (gongik beopin) file annual accounts and disclosures with the National Tax Service
One GiveRadar profile
10,971
Share of profiles carrying each field
Registration ID 100%
Financial return 0%
Expense breakdown 0%
Website 5.4%
Contact email 12.5%
Freshness

How current is GiveRadar's South Korea data?

August 22, 2026 Register last refreshed The most recent full pass over the Korean register data. Any profile with its own newer edit carries that later date instead.
August 23, 2026 This page last reviewed When the figures, wording and sources on this page were last checked against the register.

GiveRadar refreshes its South Korea data in periodic bulk passes rather than a continuous feed. Because registration is spread across ministries and the tax authority, a very recent registration, a change of status or a dissolution may not be reflected here yet.

Learn more with our country guide

Giving in South Korea

How the charity sector is regulated, what kinds of nonprofits operate, and how to evaluate them before you give.

How many NGOs and charities are there in South Korea, and who registers them?

GiveRadar tracks 10,971 NGOs and charities in South Korea. They come from Korea's nonprofit registers, which are distributed rather than unified. A nonprofit corporation (bieongni beopin) obtains legal personality with permission from the competent ministry under the Civil Act, so there is no single national charity register.

Alongside them sit public-interest corporations (gongik beopin), supervised under their own Act, and nonprofit private organizations (bieongni mingan danche) registered with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. Registration records that an organization legally exists and is supervised, not that anyone vetted its charitable quality.

What is a gongik beopin, and how is it different?

A gongik beopin is a public-interest corporation pursuing scholarship, research, science or charitable purposes, incorporated and supervised under the Public Interest Corporations Act. It faces closer oversight than an ordinary nonprofit corporation, including annual accounts filed with the tax authorities.

These disclosures are published through the National Tax Service's Hometax portal, where a public-interest corporation's balance sheet and income statement can be inspected. The status is about supervision and reporting, not an independent rating of how well an organization spends its money.

What does Korean nonprofit registration prove, and what does it not?

Registration proves that an organization has legal personality and a supervising authority, not that it is an effective or trustworthy charity. Incorporation under the Civil Act and entry in a ministry's register establish a legal person under supervision.

It is not an evaluation of governance, financial health or results. Korea's registers are also spread across ministries, local governments and the tax authority, so a single unified quality mark does not exist. Treat these as registered nonprofits, and check each one before giving.

Are donations to South Korean NGOs tax-deductible?

Only to organizations designated by the tax authorities, not to every registered nonprofit. An individual donor receives a tax credit of 15% on donations up to 10 million won and 30% on the amount above that, within a cap set as a share of income.

Companies deduct qualifying donations up to a limit of their income, with a carryforward for the excess. The recipient must hold the designation administered by the National Tax Service; registration alone does not make a gift deductible.

How do you check a South Korean NGO before you donate?

Search the organization in the Ministry of the Interior and Safety register before giving, and open its accounts if it is a tax-designated public-interest corporation. A recognisable name or a website is not a substitute for confirming its registration.

  • Look the organization up in the MOIS nonprofit register to confirm it exists and is supervised.
  • For a public-interest corporation, read its annual accounts in the National Tax Service Hometax disclosure.
  • Confirm its donation-tax designation before assuming a gift is deductible.
  • See GiveRadar's integrity score methodology for what each data point proves.

How can you donate to charities and NGOs in South Korea?

Korea's registered nonprofits work across education, community development, social services and the environment, most of them based in and around Seoul. Choose a cause deliberately, verify the recipient and use only payment details the organization itself publishes.

  • Explore Korean organizations by province, from Seoul and Gyeonggi to Busan, and compare those serving the outcome you value.
  • Confirm the recipient's registration, and for a tax credit its donation-tax designation.
  • Give through the organization's own confirmed bank details or a secure, published payment channel.
  • Keep the receipt. See GiveRadar's guidance for donors for more checks.
FAQ

Common questions

How do NGOs register in South Korea?

Korea has no single charity register. A nonprofit corporation obtains legal personality with permission from the competent ministry under the Civil Act, a public-interest corporation is supervised under its own Act, and a nonprofit private organization registers with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety for support-programme access.

What is a gongik beopin (public-interest corporation)?

A gongik beopin is a Civil Act foundation or association pursuing scholarship, research, science or charitable purposes, incorporated and supervised under the Public Interest Corporations Act. In tax law, public-interest corporations file disclosures and can be designated so that donations to them qualify for tax relief.

Are the organizations on GiveRadar's South Korea page vetted charities?

No, they are registered nonprofits, not vetted charities. Korean registration and incorporation establish a legal person under supervision; NTS tax designation concerns donation-tax and reporting requirements. Neither is an independent certification that an organization is effective or a good charity.

Are donations to South Korean NGOs tax-deductible?

Only to organizations designated by the tax authorities. Individuals receive a tax credit of 15% up to 10 million won and 30% on the excess, within an income-based cap; companies deduct qualifying donations up to a limit of their income. Registration alone does not make a gift deductible.

How do I check a South Korean NGO before donating?

Search the Ministry of the Interior and Safety register of nonprofit organizations, and for a tax-designated public-interest corporation, open its annual accounts in the National Tax Service's Hometax disclosure. Registration confirms the organization exists, not that a gift is well spent.

What does GiveRadar hold for Korean nonprofits, and what is missing?

GiveRadar holds a name, registration number, province, founding year and often a phone number for Korean nonprofits, with a registration number on 99.9% and a founding year on almost all. It holds a website for only 5.8% and no financial accounts, which the registers do not centralise.

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