Foreign nationals moving from another country to South Korea can get a tax exemption for some household items that they have used for at least three months prior.
Different standards are applied to persons moving to Korea (defined as those seeking to reside in South Korea for at least a year, or at least six months with family) and short-term residents (those staying here for between three months and under a year, or between three months and under six months with family).
But some items are subject to mandatory taxation.
They are motor vehicles (excluding vehicles exported from Korea), jewelry, pearls, tortoiseshell, corals, pumpkins, ivory goods with a taxable price of at least 5 million won ($3,450), goods used for less than three months before entry, and excess items beyond the legally allowed tax exemption while moving.
For more information and required documents regarding customs clearance for those moving to Korea, visit the homepage of the Korea Customs Service and the "Moving to Korea (English)" page, or the Korean version of the page for more detailed information.
Keep in mind that some information on the English versions of government pages may not be up to date. For example, the number of household goods that could be subject to tax exemption used to be two items for a four-person household, but regulations were revised in 2022 to allow up to six items for the same-sized household.
The households with 1-2 people can have up to five items exempted from tax, households with 3-4 people can have six items be exempted, 5-8 person households can have seven items exempted, and households of nine people or above can have eight items exempted.
The latest regulations on household items being moved can be found here (Korean).
