Do I have to pay the TV licence fee in Korea: who must register a TV set, the 30-day rule, exemptions and what happens if you do not pay
Numbers checked against the official source on 2026-10-19
Under Korea's Broadcasting Act, anyone who keeps a TV set to receive television broadcasts must register it with KBS and pay the television licence fee, whether or not they watch. The law has no nationality condition. You must apply to register within 30 days of getting the set, a household in a residential home pays for only one set, and a household that used less than 50 kWh of home electricity in a month is exempt for that month. The monthly amount is set by KBS's board and approved by the National Assembly, so it is not printed in the Act or the decree, and this page does not state it.
Law text: Broadcasting Act (방송법) shown on the National Law Information Center as "[시행 2026. 4. 21.] [법률 제21572호, 2026. 4. 21., 일부개정]"; Enforcement Decree "[시행 2026. 10. 16.] [대통령령 제36687호, 2026. 9. 15., 일부개정]". Both are in force today; neither is a future-dated version. Read on 2026-10-19.
Who has to pay
- Article 64 of the Act: a person who keeps a TV set for receiving television broadcasts must, as the decree sets out, register the set with KBS and pay the licence fee. The decree may exempt a set from registration or reduce or waive its fee.
- Article 38 of the decree: the person must apply to register the set within 30 days of the day they got it, to KBS or to a seller or other party KBS has designated.
- Article 42: in a residential-only home, only one set per household is charged. In other cases (such as an office or shop) the fee follows the number of sets. The month you first get a set is not charged. The fee is counted by the month, one month per billing period, and may be billed two months at a time.
- Foreign residents: the law refers to the person who keeps the set and has no nationality condition. The decree exempts from registration sets owned by foreign nationals who are members of foreign agencies or forces stationed in Korea (and their families), and by foreigners (and families) who are exempt from taxes and similar charges under a treaty or law.
The monthly amount
Article 65 of the Act says the amount is decided by KBS's board of directors, passed through the Korea Media and Communications Commission, and fixed by approval of the National Assembly. The Act and decree do not print a number. KBS publishes the current amount itself, so this page does not state one: check your bill or the KBS licence-fee call centre for the current amount.
How it is billed
Article 67 of the Act lets KBS entrust registration and collection to set makers, sellers or others it designates. Since its paragraph 3 was added (the Act marks it as added on 2025-04-22), a party that collects the fee on KBS's behalf does so in combination with its own billing notices (for example the electricity bill), and KBS may agree the details with it. Paragraph 2 of Article 43 of the decree (on the payment notice) now reads as deleted, marked 2026-05-26. The decree requires a payment notice to reach the registered person at least 7 days before the due date, stating the amount, the months covered, the due date, the place of payment and the surcharge for late payment.
Many sources say that from 2023 the fee was billed separately from electricity. The current Act text points the other way, so this page does not state that. Look at your own bill, which shows how the fee is collected.
Exemptions, reductions and cancelling a registration
| Situation | Rule (decree, Articles 39, 41, 44, 45) |
|---|---|
| Several sets in one residential home | Sets beyond the first are exempt from registration |
| Home electricity under 50 kWh in a month | The fee for that month is exempt (not for a holiday home) |
| Livelihood or medical benefit recipients under the Basic Livelihood Security Act, certain national-merit holders, and others | Fee exempt, except for sets placed in space used for business |
| Home where a visually or hearing impaired person registered under the Welfare of Persons with Disabilities Act lives | Fee exempt |
| Area where KBS television cannot be received at all or in part | Fee exempt, unless the problem is man-made, such as a new building |
| Portable set for reception on the move, set in a car, ship or aircraft, black-and-white set, set in a military barracks, prison, school classroom, nursery or senior centre | Exempt from registration |
| Set pledged to and kept by someone else, or seized by a state body | Fee exempt; you must show proof |
| You pay six months or more at once with no arrears | Half of one month's fee is deducted for every six months |
| You sold or transferred the set, or it is broken or lost | Apply to cancel the registration within 2 weeks |
If you have no TV set, the Act's duty to register and pay applies to a person who keeps one, so there is nothing to register. The decree sets out cancelling a registered set (Article 41) and applying for an exemption, which needs proof only for the pledged, seized or business cases (Article 44(2)). A person who receives an exemption starts to benefit from the month the application was filed.
If you do not register or pay
- Unpaid fee: a surcharge of 3% of the unpaid amount (Decree Article 47; the Act allows up to 5%).
- A reminder is issued within 20 days after the due date, with at least 10 days to pay.
- A set that was never registered: KBS may charge a back-payment equal to one year of the fee (Act Article 66(2)).
- If you still do not pay, KBS may collect under the procedure for unpaid national taxes, with approval of the commission (Act Article 66(3)).
This is a summary of the law, not legal advice. Whether your set must be registered, or you qualify for an exemption, is decided by KBS or the collecting party; confirm with them. See also household electricity rates.
Checked 2026-10-19.
Official sources
- National Law Information Center — Broadcasting Act, Article 64 — duty to register a TV set and pay the fee; in force 2026-04-21 (checked 2026-10-19)
- National Law Information Center — Broadcasting Act, Articles 65 to 67 — amount set by the board and National Assembly; surcharge and back-payment; entrusted collection combined with the collector's own billing (checked 2026-10-19)
- National Law Information Center — Broadcasting Act Enforcement Decree, Articles 38, 39, 41, 42 — 30-day registration, registration exemptions, cancellation, how the fee is counted; in force 2026-10-16 (checked 2026-10-19)
- National Law Information Center — Broadcasting Act Enforcement Decree, Articles 43, 44, 45, 47, 48 — payment notice, fee exemptions, six-month reduction, 3% surcharge, collection fee (checked 2026-10-19)
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