How does the Patent Prosecution Highway work in Korea?

Sangwook Je, Partner · Published 26 October 2026

Last verified 9 October 2026

The Korean PPH at a glance

As of October 2026.

The PPH is one type of accelerated examination

Korea has no statutory provision only for the PPH, and a PPH request is handled as accelerated examination under Article 61 of the Patent Act (특허법). Article 61, subparagraph 2, of the Patent Act makes eligible for accelerated examination a patent application that is prescribed by Presidential Decree and needs to be processed urgently. [1] Article 9(1), subparagraph 10, of the Enforcement Decree of the Patent Act (특허법 시행령) is one of these. This subparagraph covers a patent application that the Minister of Intellectual Property has agreed with the head of a foreign patent office to subject to accelerated examination. [2]

The detailed requirements are in the Public Notice on Request for Accelerated Examination on Patent or Utility Model (“Public Notice”). Article 4(1), subparagraph 3, and attached Table 2 of the Public Notice set the PPH requirements. [3] Item (a) of that subparagraph is the regular PPH, and item (b) is the PCT-PPH. [3]

Once an application has been filed, any person can request accelerated examination (Public Notice, Art. 3). [3] The request is made with the written request for accelerated examination in Form 22 of the Enforcement Rules of the Patent Act (특허법 시행규칙) (Enforcement Rules of the Patent Act, Art. 39). [10] For the PPH, Form 3 of the Public Notice, “Explanation of Request for Accelerated Examination under the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH)”, is attached (Public Notice, Art. 6(3)). [3]

Utility model applications are not eligible for the PPH. The Patent Examination Guidelines (특허·실용신안 심사기준, “Examination Guidelines”) state that this type applies only to patent applications. [6]

The amended Patent Act (Act No. 21955) was promulgated on 15 September 2026 and enters into force on 16 March 2027. This amendment does not change Article 61. [1]

The requirements are the earliest priority date, patentable claims and claim correspondence

The Korean application and the application at the partner office must have the same earliest priority date. Article 4(1), subparagraph 3 (a), of the Public Notice defines the “earliest priority date” as the filing date or the priority date, whichever is earlier. The same item requires that the earliest priority dates of the two applications be the same. [3]

The application at the partner office therefore does not have to be the priority basis of the Korean application. The Examination Guidelines list four eligible cases. [6]

• The Korean application makes a priority claim under the Treaty based on the corresponding application.
• The Korean application is the basis of a priority claim under the Treaty made in the corresponding application.
• The Korean application and the corresponding application share a priority claim.
• The two applications are national phase entries of the same PCT application that has no priority claim.

The corresponding application must have claims that were determined to be patentable in the most recent office action before the date of the request (Public Notice, attached Table 2). [3] The Examination Guidelines state that, if there is a decision to grant, these are the claims covered by the decision to grant. If there is no decision to grant, they are the claims expressly stated to be patentable in the most recent office action or decision of rejection (decision to reject a patent application). [6]

Some claims were not expressly assessed for patentability, because the partner office raised no ground for rejection against them. The Examination Guidelines state that these claims can also be deemed to have been determined to be patentable. In this case, the requester must submit an explanation of the reason. [6]

In some cases, the corresponding application that has the patentable claims is not the priority application of the Korean application. The relationship between that corresponding application and the priority application must then be explained in the written explanation of the request for accelerated examination. [6]

All claims of the Korean application must be the same as, or narrower than, the patentable claims. Attached Table 2 of the Public Notice requires that each claim be identical to a patentable claim, or be narrowed in scope by limiting or adding to that claim. [3]

The Examination Guidelines assess claim correspondence as follows. [6]

The Korean application does not need to contain all claims that were determined to be patentable in the corresponding application. The PPH request guideline of MOIP gives the example that only 3 of 5 patentable claims can be kept in the Korean application. [8]

Eligibility for accelerated examination is assessed on the claims as amended up to the time of the determination on accelerated examination (Examination Guidelines, Part 7, Chapter 4, 3.1.4). [6] The PPH request guideline of MOIP states that, if the claims do not correspond, they must be amended so that they correspond. [8]

The PCT-PPH requirements have the same structure. The international application must be one for which a partner office carried out the international search or the international preliminary examination. There must be claims for which novelty, inventive step and industrial applicability were all acknowledged in the most recent examination in the international phase (Public Notice, attached Table 2). [3]

Four documents are required, and the claim correspondence table cannot be omitted

Attached Table 1 of the Public Notice sets four supporting documents for the regular PPH. [3]

Documents 1 and 2 can be omitted if the examiner can obtain them through an information and communications network. [6] Form 3 has a box to indicate “Submission omitted (the examiner can obtain it through an information and communications network)”. [3]

Translations are filed in Korean or English. Section 4.12.3 of Part 7, Chapter 4, of the Examination Guidelines requires a translation to be filed together when a supporting document is written in a language other than Korean or English. [6] The PPH request guideline of MOIP also states that a translation is to be filed when the office actions and claims are in a language other than Korean or English. [8] Office actions and claims written in English are not subject to this translation requirement.

The translation can also be omitted in one case. This is when the examiner can check a Korean or English translation through an information and communications network. [6] A translation of the prior art documents does not need to be filed. [8]

If a prior art document is a patent document, its submission can be omitted. The requester is obliged to submit non-patent documents, and if they are not submitted the examiner can issue a supplementation order. [6]

The claim correspondence table cannot be omitted in any case. [6] The table states, for each claim, the basis for correspondence. If a claim was copied as it is, the table states that the claim is identical. [6]

The PCT-PPH has one more document. This applies when an observation is entered in Box VIII of the written opinion of the International Searching Authority or a similar document. In this case, the requester submits an explanation that none of the claims of the Korean application is affected by that observation (Public Notice, attached Table 1). [3]

The official fee is KRW 200,000, and the request can be filed after examination has started

The fee for request for accelerated examination for a patent application is KRW 200,000 per application (Regulation on the Collection of Patent Fees, etc. (특허료 등의 징수규칙, “Fee Regulation”), Art. 2(1), subparagraph 8). [4] There is no separate amount for the PPH. The amount is the same as for other accelerated examination. [8]

If the application is determined not to be eligible for accelerated examination, or if the request is abandoned or withdrawn before the determination, the request fee is KRW 40,000 (proviso to the same subparagraph). [4] These amounts have been the same from the version in force from 4 February 2023 to the current version in force from 27 February 2026. [4]

The request requires a request for examination. Article 4(1) of the Public Notice limits accelerated examination to “applications for which examination has been requested”. [3] The PPH request guideline of MOIP states that the request for examination can be filed together with the request for accelerated examination. [8]

In Korea, a PPH request can be filed even when examination has already started. Section 3.3.3.3 of Part 7, Chapter 4, of the Examination Guidelines deals separately with a request for accelerated examination filed after the start of examination. If the application is eligible for accelerated examination, the examiner accepts the request as a proper request and proceeds with accelerated examination. [6] The PPH request guideline of MOIP also states that a PPH request can be filed when examination has already started. [8]

The determination is made within 7 days, and examination starts on a three-month basis

The person in charge of determination of accelerated examination determines whether to conduct accelerated examination within 7 days from the day the written request for accelerated examination is transferred to that person. The basis is Article 59(1) of the Regulations for the Handling of Patent and Utility Model Examination Affairs (“Handling Regulations”). [5] The 7 days are not counted from the date of the request. They are counted from the day the documents, after formality examination, are transferred to the person in charge (Handling Regulations, Arts. 57(1) and 59(1)). [5] If a written amendment or a supplement is filed, the 7 days are counted again (Handling Regulations, Art. 59(2)). [5]

When a determination to conduct accelerated examination is made under the PPH, the requester does not receive a notification of the determination. Article 65 of the Handling Regulations excludes patent applications agreed with a foreign office from notification. [5] The Examination Guidelines also state that a PPH determination is not notified and a decision to dismiss the request is notified. [6]

In some cases, the application is considered not to be eligible, or eligibility is unclear from the documents filed. The person in charge then issues a supplementation order and sets a period of up to one month (Handling Regulations, Art. 60(1)). [5] If the problem is not resolved when the supplementation period ends, the request for accelerated examination is dismissed (Handling Regulations, Art. 62, subparagraph 3). [5] The Examination Guidelines state that a written request for accelerated examination can be filed again after a decision to dismiss the request. [6]

The time limit for starting examination of a PPH application is set by Article 66(1), subparagraph 2, of the Handling Regulations. It is the last day of the month that contains the day three months after the determination or the redetermination, whichever is later. [5] This time limit is a processing time limit that an MOIP directive sets for the examiner. If examination cannot start within the time limit, for example because of a sharp increase in requests for accelerated examination, the examiner reports to the head of the examination division (Art. 66(3)). [5]

The time limit becomes later in two cases. The first is when a written amendment under the main clause of Article 47(1) of the Patent Act is filed before examination starts. The time limit is then the last day of the month that contains the later of two dates: the original time limit, and the day one month after the written amendment is transferred to the examiner (Art. 66(2)). [5] The second is when the search result of an authorized prior art search institution has been transferred. The examiner can then start examination by the last day of the month that contains the day one month after the transfer (proviso to Art. 66(1)). [5]

The three-month basis applies to requests for accelerated examination filed on or after 1 January 2025 (Addenda to Directive No. 1191, proviso to Art. 2). [5] In the preceding version (Directive No. 1166, in force from 17 May 2024), the same subparagraph set four months. [5]

MOIP has operated PPH eXtra since 1 August 2023. The target average period from the determination on PPH accelerated examination to the first office action is within three months. [7] The target average period from the end of the period for responding to the first office action to the second office action is also within three months. [7]

An amendment made after the determination on accelerated examination and before examination starts can cause a problem. This is the case when the claims are amended into claims that are not substantially the same as the patentable claims. The examiner can then issue a supplementation order and follow the procedure for a redetermination on accelerated examination. [6] If a new claim correspondence table is filed together with the amendment, accelerated examination proceeds without the redetermination procedure. [6]

There are 40 partner offices

The MOIP website lists 40 countries and patent organizations that operate the PPH. The regular PPH covers 38 and the PCT-PPH covers 37 (revised 31 July 2026). [7] The Examination Guidelines state that the partner countries can change at any time and should be checked on the MOIP website. [6]

The IP5 PPH and the Global PPH differ only in the participating offices. The request procedure is the same. [7] Brazil appears on the MOIP website both in the list of Global PPH offices and under the Korea-Brazil PPH. [7]

The 29 offices of the Global PPH are as follows: Korea, Japan, the United States, Canada, Finland, Russia, the United Kingdom, Norway, Spain, the Nordic Patent Institute (NPI), Denmark, Sweden, Portugal, Iceland, Israel, Australia, Hungary, Singapore, Austria, Germany, Estonia, Poland, Colombia, New Zealand, the Visegrad Patent Institute (VPI), Peru, Chile, Brazil and the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO). [7]

The PPH with the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) started as a pilot on 6 January 2026. [7]

Example: a request filed in October 2026

Assume a Korean application that claims priority from a US application, and a decision to grant in the United States. The dates are assumptions made to show the calculation.

31 January 2027 is a Sunday. The Examination Guidelines give the last day as the time limit even when that day is a public holiday. [6]

If a supplementation order is issued before the determination, the determination is delayed, and the time limit is counted from the date of that determination. [5] If a supplementation order is issued after the determination and a redetermination is made, the time limit is counted from the later of the determination date and the redetermination date. [5] If a written amendment is filed after the determination and before examination starts, the time limit can become later under Article 66(2) of the Handling Regulations. [5]

How Korea differs

Compared with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), three points are different.

The USPTO states that there is no fee under the PPH program (revised 18 August 2026). [9] The PPH FAQ of the USPTO gives as a requirement that examination of the US application has not begun. [9] The same FAQ answers that this examination means substantive examination. An application that has received only a restriction requirement can be eligible if the examiner has not started the first action on the merits. [9] The date in the file name of this FAQ is 3 May 2023, and the PPH page of the USPTO links to this file as the FAQ as of 9 October 2026. [9]

The USPTO states that it changed the PPH eXtra target for the first office action from three months to six months from 1 January 2026. [9]

An applicant who has missed the time for a PPH request in the United States can still file the request in Korea after examination has started. On the other hand, the request fee must be included in the budget for Korea. Europe, Japan and China are not compared in this article.

What applicants should do

In general, we suggest proceeding as follows.

• When a notice of patentability is received from the partner office, start with the correspondence table against the Korean claims. The claim correspondence table is a document that cannot be omitted.
• Check the category of the Korean claims. If only method claims were allowed in the corresponding application, product claims in Korea do not correspond.
• If examination has not yet been requested, consider filing the request for examination and the request for accelerated examination together.
• If the cited documents include non-patent documents, obtain copies first.
• Because no notification of the determination is sent, check directly after the request whether a supplementation order has been issued.
• Consider separately whether claims removed because of the correspondence requirement should be kept in a divisional application.

Please confirm with your Korean agent whether the requirements are met in an individual case.

FAQ

Is there an official fee for a PPH request in Korea?

Yes. The fee for request for accelerated examination for a patent application, KRW 200,000, is paid. The fee is KRW 40,000 if the application is determined not to be eligible, or if the request is withdrawn or abandoned before the determination.

Can a PPH request be filed if Korean examination has already started?

Yes. The Examination Guidelines state that a request for accelerated examination filed after the start of examination is also accepted as a proper request if the application is eligible.

Do the office actions and claims of the partner office have to be translated into Korean?

A translation is filed when they are written in a language other than Korean or English. The translation is filed in Korean or English. Office actions and claims written in English are not subject to the translation requirement.

Is the applicant notified when a determination to conduct accelerated examination is made?

No. A determination to conduct accelerated examination under the PPH is not notified. Only a decision to dismiss the request is notified.

If a patent was granted at the partner office, will a patent be granted in Korea?

Not necessarily. MOIP states that it refers to the examination results of the partner office but carries out its examination independently. [7]

How DEFINE IP Law Firm handles this

DEFINE IP Law Firm checks the PPH requirements for the Korean application at the point when a notice of patentability is issued in a corresponding foreign application. We compare the Korean claims with the patentable claims claim by claim. Subject matter of claims that are removed is recorded separately as a candidate for a divisional application.

For questions about PPH requests in Korea, please write to contact@defineip.kr.

Sources

1. Ministry of Intellectual Property (지식재산처), Patent Act (특허법), Act No. 21134, Article 61, in force from 11 November 2025. Compared with Article 61 of the version scheduled to enter into force (Act No. 21955, in force from 16 March 2027). https://www.law.go.kr/법령/특허법 (verified 9 October 2026)
2. Ministry of Intellectual Property (지식재산처), Enforcement Decree of the Patent Act (특허법 시행령), Presidential Decree No. 35809, Articles 9 and 10, in force from 1 October 2025. https://www.law.go.kr/법령/특허법시행령 (verified 9 October 2026)
3. Ministry of Intellectual Property (지식재산처), Public Notice on Request for Accelerated Examination on Patent or Utility Model (특허·실용신안 우선심사의 신청에 관한 고시), MOIP Notification (지식재산처고시) No. 2026-3, Articles 3, 4, 5 and 6, attached Table 1, attached Table 2 and Form 3, in force from 23 February 2026. https://www.law.go.kr/행정규칙/특허·실용신안우선심사의신청에관한고시 (verified 9 October 2026)
4. Ministry of Intellectual Property (지식재산처), Regulation on the Collection of Patent Fees, etc. (특허료 등의 징수규칙), Prime Ministerial Decree No. 2098, Article 2(1), subparagraph 8, in force from 27 February 2026. https://www.law.go.kr/법령/특허료등의징수규칙 (verified 9 October 2026)
5. Ministry of Intellectual Property (지식재산처), Regulations for the Handling of Patent and Utility Model Examination Affairs (특허·실용신안 심사사무취급규정), MOIP Directive (지식재산처훈령) No. 41, Articles 57, 58, 59, 60, 62, 65 and 66, Addenda to Directive No. 1191, in force from 1 July 2026. Compared with Article 66 of Directive No. 1166 (in force from 17 May 2024). https://www.law.go.kr/행정규칙/특허·실용신안심사사무취급규정 (verified 9 October 2026)
6. Ministry of Intellectual Property (지식재산처), Patent Examination Guidelines (특허·실용신안 심사기준), MOIP Established Rule (지식재산처예규) No. 7, Part 7, Chapter 4, 3.1.2, 3.1.4, 3.3.3.2, 3.3.3.3 and 4.12, in force from 13 March 2026. https://www.law.go.kr/행정규칙/특허·실용신안심사기준 (verified 9 October 2026)
7. Ministry of Intellectual Property (지식재산처), website page “Patent Prosecution Highway” (특허심사하이웨이), revised 31 July 2026. https://www.kipo.go.kr/ko/kpoContentView.do?menuCd=SCD0200227 (verified 9 October 2026)
8. Ministry of Intellectual Property (지식재산처), “Procedures to File a Request to the Korean Intellectual Property Office for IP5 Patent Prosecution Highway and Global Patent Prosecution Highway Pilot Program” (IP5 PPH 및 글로벌 PPH에 의하여 특허청에 우선심사를 신청하는 절차), 6 January 2014. https://www.moip.go.kr/upload/en/download/ip5_highway_kor.pdf (verified 9 October 2026)
9. USPTO, “Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) – Fast Track Examination of Applications”, revised 18 August 2026, and the PPH FAQ linked from the same page (date in the file name: 3 May 2023), Questions 3 and 30. https://www.uspto.gov/patents/basics/international-protection/patent-prosecution-highway-pph-fast-track (verified 9 October 2026)
10. Ministry of Intellectual Property (지식재산처), Enforcement Rules of the Patent Act (특허법 시행규칙), Prime Ministerial Decree No. 2115, Article 39, in force from 14 May 2026. https://www.law.go.kr/법령/특허법시행규칙 (verified 9 October 2026)