Applicants who file PCT applications in Korea and choose the Austrian, Japanese or Singapore office for the international search will pay a little less in won from 1 November. On 26 October Korea's Ministry of Intellectual Property (MOIP, formerly KIPO) issued Notice No. 2026-19, partly amending its rules on the amounts and payment of international application fees under the PCT, with effect from 1 November 2026.
The attached statement of reasons says the change follows Rule 16.1(d) of the PCT Regulations and reflects WIPO's exchange-rate adjustment of the international search and handling fees.
The foreign-currency amounts are unchanged; only the won equivalents move:
- search fee with the Austrian Patent Office as ISA: KRW 3,250,000 → KRW 2,989,000 (EUR 1,885);
- search fee with the Japan Patent Office as ISA: KRW 1,356,000 → KRW 1,268,000 (JPY 143,000);
- search fee with the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore as ISA: KRW 2,765,000 → KRW 2,525,000 (SGD 2,350);
- handling fee (payable under Rule 57 with a demand for international preliminary examination filed with MOIP): KRW 377,000 → KRW 349,000 (CHF 200).
Other amounts in the notice are unchanged: the search fee with IP Australia as ISA stays at KRW 2,268,000, the international filing fee at CHF 1,330 (plus CHF 15 per page over 30), and the electronic filing reduction at CHF 300.
Note the transitional rule: for international applications filed before 1 November 2026 but paid on or after that date, the previous amounts still apply to the search fee and other fees, while the handling fee is always charged at the amount in force on the day it is paid.
J&C recommends that applicants filing PCT applications with the Korean receiving Office and choosing the Austrian, Japanese or Singapore office as ISA budget search fees at the new KRW amounts for applications filed on or after 1 November 2026, while applications filed before 1 November but paid later still pay the old amounts. The handling fee follows the amount in force on the payment date, so check it again before paying.
Source: www.moip.go.kr
