IMPORTANT UPDATE: The Philippine Embassy in Seoul does not authenticate apostilled documents anymore. This took effect when the Philippines became a party to the Apostille Convention last May 14, 2019.
Please refer to this blog post for update: Where and How to Apostille Documents Issued in Korea
Early this year, I got the chance to process how to authenticate documents issued in Korea. It was specifically for a school application in the Philippines for a friend. Her children attended an international school here in Seoul and are currently going to a school in the Philippines. Under the Philippine Department of Education, these school records should be authenticated by the Philippine Embassy based in Seoul. Note that this requirement does not apply to international schools in the Philippines as they are not under the jurisdiction of the Department of Education.
The Philippine embassy will only authenticate these documents if these are apostilled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Korea (MOFA).
Apostille of Documents
- Secure the school records. Note that these school records should have an official seal of the school stamped in the documents.
The first time I went to the Apostille Office of the Ministry of Justice, the school documents only had a signature and a school stamp. This was not accepted. The school should stamp its school seal to make the document official.
- Bring the official document to the Apostille Office of the Ministry of Justice. This office is under the Passport Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Passport Division of MOFA transferred to its new location in Seocho-gu last December 15, 2018.
Address is now at: 6th Floor, Waegyu Center, Seocho-gu
How to go there? Get out of Exit 12 of Yangjae Station. Go straight until you reach the Waegyu Center Building.
- IMPORTANT! The guards at the Apostille Office asked me to have the documents notarized. They think all documents should be notarized. I said no, just let me go to the corresponding counter because the lady there didn’t require that from me.
The lady at Counter 1 accepted all the documents and asked me to return at 11:35 with my payment. I paid at the cashier the following:
1,000 – apostille stamp for every document
500 – consular legalization stamp for every document
My time stamp showed I arrived at 11:15.
No fuss! Pretty efficient.
Any experience with a Korean government agency you want to share?
Authentication of Documents
- Bring the apostilled documents to the Consular Division of the Philippine Embassy (or any embassy or organization that will authenticate your document). In my friend’s case, she is currently living in the Philippines, thus she needed to deal with the Philippine Embassy even though she has American citizenship.
- Pay the corresponding amount.
- Claim it on the scheduled day.
Note that the Philippine Embassy accepts documents ONLY in the mornings.
Releasing of documents is ONLY from 1pm-3pm.
Thank you so much for the very detailed info. Your friend is so very lucky to have you to this for her :-)). I’m sure she appreciated it very much!!
You’re welcome, Veronica:-)
Thanks for sharing these information. Having a fully authenticated document is now a thing.
Hi, wendy. I recently read a post from Ms. Ella Karina Mitra
I quote : Just as Philippine documents for use in Apostille countries will no longer need to pass through another authentication by the foreign embassies in Manila after they have been authenticated (Apostillized) by the DFA-OCA, foreign documents from Apostille countries will only need Apostillization by the host government for them to be validly used in the Philippines or in another Apostille country. (Note: DFA-OCA will not authenticate / Apostillize all types of foreign documents.) In other words, Korean documents for use in the PH need to be apostilled by Korean MOFA. PH docs for use in Korea need to be apostilled by DFA in Manila. No need for documents to pass through the PH Embassy for authentication ..
But in your case you still have gone to the Ph. Embassy in seoul to have your appostilled documents authenticated there which contradicts to Ms Mitra statement.
Hi Frank,
Thank you very much for the comment. You are right, Vice Consul Mitra just confirmed this streamlined process. The new policy took effect last May so my experience last March no longer holds. I will try to update this post soonest. In the meantime, here’s the FAQ’s provided by DFA for more clarity:
https://dfa.gov.ph/dfa-news/dfa-releasesupdate/22280-question-and-answer-and-infographics-on-authentication-through-apostille?fbclid=IwAR0J7ALK8E3nL8wf6Geh_dWjI5DqO_RZoH5Eqb0ygtE9wvfV3RdqxCvcop0
[…] blogged about how to authenticate documents issued in Korea last March 2019 in this blog post: Authentication of Documents Issued in Korea based on my experience last January 2019. However, the Department of Foreign Affairs issued a new […]
Hello, Ms. Wendy! Maraming salamat sa information mo dito, mabilis ko napa-authenticate and aking scholastic records at mabilis ko napuntahan ang building. Just for update, under renovation and building nila pero may nalagay namang malaking tarpaulin sa harap ng building kasi yung landmark na nasa picture mo sa itaas ay naiba. Ngapala, may form pala na kelangan sagutan, medyo nahirapan lang ako nang kaunti kahit na may tularan naman kasi in Korean ang sulat. Isa pa pala, kung may itatanong ka lang sa window, pagpasok mo may machine kung saan ka kukuha ng numero, ang gamitin mong machine yung nasa kaliwa kung magtatanong ka tapos sasabihin nila kung saan window ka dapat pupunta tapos kukuha ka ng numero ulet dun naman sa right side na machine. Friday ng hapon ako nagpunta mga bandang 2:30 pm, medyo marami yung documents ko kaya pinabalik ako nang Monday 9:30 am. Maraming salamat ulet.
this is a very helpful update, Ms. Kathyleen. Thank you very much.
Dear Ms. Wendy
May idea po kayo how to apostille a Certificate of Business Registration? I’m working at a university and I want to register myself as an OFW here. POLO-OWWA office asked me to get my school’s business registration apostilled by MOFA but I tried online and I can’t seem to get through.
I also want to apostille my degree certificate, my transcript of records and diploma. Do you know po kung pwede po sila lahat online application?
I tried calling their Consular Call center (+82-2-3210-0404) but they don’t have option for an English customer service agent. My Korean is bad 🙁
I hope you can help me po.
Thank you!
Is it also for marriage certificates? My parents were married there in south korea but unfortunately they only have a copy of it as The original was lost.
[…] blogged about how to authenticate documents issued in Korea last March 2019 in this blog post: Authentication of Documents Issued in Korea based on my experience last January 2019. However, the Department of Foreign Affairs issued a new […]
How do you request an apostille for a Korean issued marriage certificate by mail? I’m currently in the US and need an apostille for a certified Korean marriage certificate. Traveling to Korea to do it in person like you did is not practical for me. Thank you for your interesting post.