Korean Public Sector Translation

Thoroughly understand public sector materials published at all levels of the Korean government.

I will help you to:

  • Meet regulatory requirements in Korea
  • Communicate with Korean agencies
  • Get legislative and judicial information about Korea
  • Achieve other goals requiring Korean translation support

You can expect from me:

  • Accurate, well-written, and well-formatted translations that are easy to understand
  • On-time delivery every time, sometimes with overnight turnaround
  • Prompt and thorough communication before, during, and after your project
  • Consistently high quality from project to project by leveraging technology and best-practice workflows
  • Transparent pricing structure that may reduce your costs over time
  • Accountability through workflow verifiability, US-based business registration, professional liability insurance, and my “Consistently Good Work” Pledge
  • Confidential handling of and respect for your intellectual property

Premium Korean>English translation: US$0.12–0.19/Korean character
Premium English>Korean translation: US$0.22–0.36/English word
Budget Korean>English translation: US$0.08–0.10/Korean character
Korean>English revision (editing/proofreading): US$0.03–0.07/Korean character
Hourly support services: US$60–130/hour


Visit Rates & Pricing for further details, including discount options.

Public sector documents I translate

  • Laws and regulations
  • Government plans and initiatives, legislative bills, white papers, and press releases
  • Court decisions
  • Correspondence and reports from public agencies

“Steven… The translation looked good, and I’d like to thank you for being able to accommodate the short notice. I look forward to doing business with you again, hopefully sometime soon. With best regards,”

Tero Taipale (Project Manager, Intralink Korea – Seoul, Korea)

While the Korean government publishes some public sector content in English, a lot is only available in Korean. This language barrier can hinder the activities of non-Korean companies and others doing business in Korea.

I translate and revise Korean statutes and regulations, doing so based on careful adherence to the official English Standards for Translation of Laws, published by the Ministry of Government Legislation. I also provide accurate and idiomatic translation of a broad range of other Korean government publications as well, including government plans and initiatives, white papers, press releases, court decisions, and correspondence and reports from public agencies.

Laws and regulations

The Korean legal system is underpinned by the Korean Constitution (헌법, English/Korean). Based on the Constitution, the Korean National Assembly passes hundreds of laws each year, many also accompanied by enforcement decrees (시행령) and enforcement rules (시행규칙). While some laws have been translated to English (free translations of these are available at the website of the Korea Legislation Research Institution), many Korean statutes remain untranslated into English, or have not been updated to reflect recent amendments.

Furthermore, the Korean system of laws also includes many other documents which are seldom, if ever, made available in English by the Korean government, including emergency executive orders (대통령긴급명령), emergency financial and economic executive orders (대통령긴급재정/경제명령), presidential decrees (대통령령), prime ministerial decrees (총리령), ministerial decrees (부령), municipal ordinances (조례), municipal rules (자치법규), standing rules (예규), and various regulations (규정).

I am available to translate these documents into English, or update existing translations to reflect recent amendments.

Government plans and initiatives, legislative bills, white papers, and press releases

Government ministries, public research institutes, and other organs at the central and local government levels publish policy papers, analyses of public-sector issues, and announcements of all types of government activities. The following is a partial list of public sector translations I have provided my clients in recent years:

  • National Assembly Budget Office Issues 2020 NABO Long-Term Fiscal Projection Report (PRESS RELEASE)
  • 2050 Carbon Neutrality Promotion Strategy
  • Decision and Confirmation of the 2021 Budget by a Full session of the National Assembly (PRESS RELEASE)
  • Preliminary Review Report on the 2020 Employment Insurance Fund Operating Plan Amendment Bill (Ministry of Employment and Labor)
  • Report on published articles about the Korean national debt
  • Report on proposal for fiscal rules and reform of the public pension and insurance sector
  • Second Supplemental Revised Budget of 2020 Finalized by the National Assembly (PRESS RELEASE)
  • Deliberation and Passing of Resolution by the State Council on the FY2019 National Account Settlement (PRESS RELEASE)
  • Electric Vehicle Promotion Project (excerpt of larger document)
  • Percentages of General Government Debt (D2) and Public-Sector Debt (D3) to GDP Maintained at Same Level in 2018 as in the Prior Year (PRESS RELEASE)
  • National Tax Administration Operating Plan (National Tax Service)
  • Range of Business Types Eligible for Tax Deductions for Small or Medium Start-Up Enterprises Expanded (Ministry of Economy and Finance)
  • Housing Market Stabilization Plan [PRESS RELEASE] (Related blog post on this website.)
  • Bill on the Supervision of Financial Groups
  • Excepts of the Comprehensive National Pension Operating Plan Based on the 4th National Pension Fiscal Calculations (Ministry of Health and Welfare)

Court decisions

Korean courts often issue judgments on political and economic issues that have an international impact. I have translated decisions by the Korean Constitutional Court regarding property claims related to forced labor and sexual slavery of Korean citizens by the Japanese during World War II, these translations having been requested by an international organization investigating the matter. I have also translated court judgments on disputes related to financial and accounting–as well as liability and labor–matters, often involving foreign companies. These difficult translations require a strong understanding of the Korean legal system, as well knowledge of the related cultural, business, historical, and political considerations.

Correspondence and reports from public agencies

Korean government agencies interacting with firms and individuals doing business in Korea (including foreign firms and individuals) send letters, official decisions, test results, and other business-related information, doing so exclusively in Korean. I am often called on to translate Korean-language business correspondence sent to foreign entities by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Intellectual Property Office, Customs Service, National Tax Service, National Pension, National Health Insurance Service, and others.