Selling tobacco or e-cigarette products?

On April 24, 2026, an amendment to Korea's Tobacco Business Act took effect, formally classifying synthetic nicotine as tobacco. Businesses that previously sold synthetic-nicotine e-cigarette products outside the tobacco licensing framework now need to register — operating unregistered risks up to 6 months' imprisonment or a fine of up to KRW 5 million — and the distance-restriction grace period for retail designation has already ended, meaning registration should not be delayed while the business keeps operating.

Three separate registrations, not one

A common misconception: an import registration does not cover wholesale. Each tier is filed separately, with its own governing authority:

• 담배(전자담배) 수입판매업 (import/sale) — filed with the provincial governor (시·도지사) where the business is headquartered; requires a supply contract with the overseas manufacturer.
• 담배 도매업 (wholesale) — filed separately with the local mayor/county head/district office (시장·군수·구청장), even for businesses that already hold an import registration. Requires its own warehouse facility and proof of supply contracts with retailers.
• 담배소매인 지정 (retail designation) — also filed with the local 시장·군수·구청장; subject to a distance restriction between retail points (typically 50m or more) and site-suitability review.

A separate, much larger tier: tobacco manufacturing

담배제조업 (tobacco manufacturing — distinct from import, wholesale, and retail) requires minimum paid-in capital of KRW 30 billion and annual production capacity of at least 5 billion cigarettes — an ultra-capital-intensive category most businesses never encounter. When a manufacturing license changes hands, a status-succession filing under 담배사업법 제11조의3 is required; missing it risks the license itself being revoked, given the scale of capital involved.

What this covers

• Import (수입판매업), wholesale (도매업), and retail designation (소매인 지정) registration — confirming which of the three applies and filing each correctly
• Tobacco manufacturing (담배제조업) status-succession filings under 담배사업법 제11조의3
• Business transfer/succession filings when an existing tobacco wholesale, retail, or manufacturing registration changes ownership
• Ongoing compliance, including the biannual fire-prevention performance certificate (반기별 화재방지성능인증서) that import/sale registrants must submit
• Compliance review for businesses that sold synthetic-nicotine products before the classification change and now need to register under the current framework

What we handle

• Confirming which registration category applies — import, wholesale, retail, or manufacturing — and preparing each application separately where more than one is needed
• Wholesale filings, including warehouse facility and supply-contract documentation
• Retail designation filings, including distance-restriction site review
• Transfer/succession filings, including 담배사업법 제11조의3 status-succession filings for manufacturing changes of ownership
• Tracking the biannual fire-prevention certificate filing so a lapse doesn't become grounds for registration cancellation
• Compliance guidance for businesses operating without registration since the law changed, to bring them into legal status before an inspection

How the process works

1. We confirm which registration category (or categories) your business needs and review site/warehouse/distance requirements where relevant.
2. We prepare and file the registration or transfer application for each category separately.
3. We follow the filing through to completion and advise on ongoing compliance filings like the fire-prevention certificate.

Who typically needs this

Businesses importing, wholesaling, or manufacturing tobacco or synthetic-nicotine e-cigarette products, retailers seeking designation, and buyers or sellers in a tobacco business transfer.

Common mistakes

• Assuming an import registration also covers wholesale — it doesn't; wholesale requires its own separate registration with its own local authority
• Continuing to sell synthetic-nicotine products without registration after the classification change, risking up to 6 months' imprisonment or a KRW 5 million fine
• Assuming the distance-restriction grace period is still open — it applied only to businesses operating since before December 23, 2025, and the application window has closed
• Missing the biannual fire-prevention certificate filing, which can become grounds for a registration cancellation action
• Not filing a transfer/succession registration when a tobacco business changes ownership, which can void the registration's legal standing

When a cancellation can be challenged

Registration cancellation for a missing fire-prevention certificate requires that both an import and a sale actually occurred without the certificate on file — in one administrative appeal, a cancellation was overturned because only a sale (not a corresponding import) took place during the gap, and the statute's cancellation ground didn't technically apply. If a cancellation notice cites a filing lapse, it's worth reviewing whether the underlying facts actually meet the statutory ground before accepting it — see our administrative appeal service.

Timeline

Timelines depend on the registration category and site review where applicable; given the classification change already in effect, registration should not be delayed.

Need the underlying business entity registered too? See our factory registration service.