What changed when KIPO became the Ministry of Intellectual Property (MOIP) on 1 October 2025?

Chanjoong Kim, Partner · Published 3 November 2026

Last verified 9 October 2026

What changed

The enforcement date of every row is 1 October 2025. The date of promulgation is the same day. [1][3][4]

The Government Organization Act in the “Before” column is Act No. 20289, in force from 27 June 2024. [2] The organization decree in the “Before” column is Presidential Decree No. 35117, in force from 31 December 2024. [3] The former Commissioner and the present Minister are both public officials in political service. The deputy head, before and after, is a public official in general service who belongs to the Senior Executive Service. [1][2]

The changes in detail

Government Organization Act: the body moved under the Prime Minister and the wording of its affairs became broader

The basis of MOIP is Art. 28 of the Government Organization Act. Art. 28(1) provides that MOIP is established under the jurisdiction of the Prime Minister to administer “affairs related to intellectual property and the examination and adjudication thereof”. [1] The former Art. 38(4) placed KIPO under the jurisdiction of the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy. The affairs in the former wording were “affairs related to patents, utility models, designs and trademarks”. [2]

The statement of reasons for the amendment provided by the Ministry of Government Legislation describes this amendment as elevating Statistics Korea (통계청) and KIPO to the Ministry of Data and Statistics (국가데이터처) and MOIP, respectively, under the jurisdiction of the Prime Minister. [1]

The Addenda transferred the affairs. Art. 2(1) of the Addenda to the amended Government Organization Act provides that the Minister of Intellectual Property succeeds to the affairs under the jurisdiction of the Commissioner of the Korean Intellectual Property Office. [1] The same table states that the Minister of Intellectual Property also succeeds to the affairs provided in Art. 28(1) among the affairs under the jurisdiction of the Minister of Science and ICT (과학기술정보통신부장관). [1] Public officials who belonged to KIPO (except public officials in political service) are deemed public officials who belong to MOIP (Addenda, Art. 2(2)). [1]

The Minister of Intellectual Property was newly added to Art. 13(1). The Minister of Intellectual Property may attend the State Council and express opinions, if necessary. [1] The Minister may also propose that the Prime Minister submit items for deliberation related to the Minister’s affairs (Art. 13(2)). [2] The former Art. 13(1) did not include the Commissioner of the Korean Intellectual Property Office. [2]

Art. 28 has the same wording in the current Government Organization Act (Act No. 21491), in force from 2 October 2026. [2]

This amendment did not move copyright. In Art. 7 of the Addenda to the amended Government Organization Act, 25 paragraphs contain the word “특허청” (KIPO). None of them amended the Copyright Act (저작권법). [1] As of 9 October 2026 the Ministry of Government Legislation shows the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (문화체육관광부) as the ministry in charge of the Copyright Act. [9]

Patent Act: what changed is the names

The Patent Act was amended by Art. 7(580) of the Addenda to the amended Government Organization Act. The amendment made five changes. [1]

The versions of the Patent Act before and after were compared article by article. The earlier version is the one in force from 22 July 2025 (Act No. 20700), and the later version is the one in force from 1 October 2025 (Act No. 21065). The wording differed in 95 of the 298 articles. When the five words in the table above are aligned and the versions are compared again, no article differs in wording. What was compared is the wording of the articles; the amendment history tags were left out. [5]

So the articles of the Patent Act contain no time limit or requirement that changed through the amendment of 1 October 2025. For example, Art. 42(1) requires a written patent application to be submitted “to the Minister of Intellectual Property” (지식재산처장에게). Before, the words were “to the Commissioner of the Korean Intellectual Property Office” (특허청장에게), and the rest of the wording is the same. [5]

The name of the IPTAB is unchanged. Art. 132-16(1) of the current Patent Act provides that the IPTAB is established under the jurisdiction of the Minister of Intellectual Property. [5] MOIP performs the duties of the International Searching Authority and the International Preliminary Examining Authority under the PCT (Art. 198-2(1)). [5]

The same Addenda also amended the names of the body and of the ordinance in the Utility Model Act (실용신안법) (Art. 7(579)), the Trademark Act (상표법) (paragraph 578), the Design Protection Act (디자인보호법) (paragraph 571) and the Patent Attorney Act (변리사법) (paragraph 575). [1] Art. 2 of the Patent Attorney Act describes the work of a patent attorney as acting as an agent in matters to be submitted “to the Ministry of Intellectual Property or courts”. [5] The Patent Attorney Act changed in one more place besides the names. In Art. 4-3, which provides for partial exemption from the examination, “patent administrative work” (특허행정사무) became “intellectual property administrative work” (지식재산 행정사무). [1][5] In the Design Protection Act, the title of Chapter IX, Section 1 also changed, to “International Applications through the Ministry of Intellectual Property” (지식재산처를 통한 국제출원). [1] This article did not compare the versions of these four Acts before and after, article by article.

The Patent Act now in force is Act No. 21134, in force from 11 November 2025. [4] Later amendments are covered in “What changes in the Korean Patent Act on 16 March 2027?“.

Subordinate statutes: the Ordinance of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy became a Prime Ministerial Decree

The Enforcement Rules of the Patent Act and the Fee Regulation are Prime Ministerial Decrees from the versions in force from 1 October 2025. [4] The word by which the Patent Act refers to subordinate statutes also changed, from “Ordinance of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy” to “Prime Ministerial Decree”. [1] Art. 2(3) of the Addenda to the amended Government Organization Act points the same way. An ordinance related to the affairs succeeded to is deemed a Prime Ministerial Decree or an ordinance on the affairs under the jurisdiction of the succeeding body. [1]

Presidential Decree No. 35809 is the Decree on the Organization of the Ministry of Intellectual Property and Institutions under Its Jurisdiction (“Organization Decree”), and Prime Ministerial Decree No. 2054 is the Enforcement Rule of the same decree. The three statutes were amended by Art. 5 (Amendment of Other Statutes) of the Addenda to these two statutes. [3][4]

The versions of the three statutes before and after were also compared article by article. When the names of the body and of the ordinance are aligned, the wording is the same in 27 articles of the Enforcement Decree, 236 articles of the Enforcement Rules and 18 articles of the Fee Regulation. [5] The words that refer to foreign bodies also changed in the same way as in the Patent Act. In Art. 9(1), subparagraph 7 of the Enforcement Decree, “foreign patent office” (외국특허청) became “foreign patent authority” (외국 특허담당 정부기관), and in subparagraph 10 of the same paragraph, “commissioner of a foreign patent office” (외국특허청장) became “head of a foreign patent authority” (외국 특허담당 정부기관의 장). [3][5] The attached Tables of the Fee Regulation are also the same when the names are aligned. [5] The articles and attached Tables of the Fee Regulation contain no official fee amount that changed through the amendment of 1 October 2025. [5]

In the Forms, the name of the body changed. The Addenda to Prime Ministerial Decree No. 2054 also amended the name of the body written in the Forms of the two rules. [4] In the Forms of the Enforcement Rules of the Patent Act, “KIPO reference number” (특허청참조번호) became “MOIP reference number” (지식재산처참조번호). [4] In the Forms of the Fee Regulation, “Commissioner of the Korean Intellectual Property Office” (특허청장) became “Minister of Intellectual Property” (지식재산처장). [4] This article did not separately compare what changed in each Form. [5]

The two rules were amended again after that. As of 9 October 2026 the current version of the Fee Regulation is the version in force from 27 February 2026. The current version of the Enforcement Rules of the Patent Act is the version in force from 14 May 2026. [4]

Organization: the Intellectual Property Dispute Resolution Bureau was created

The organization is set by the Organization Decree (Presidential Decree No. 35809), newly enacted on 1 October 2025. Art. 2 of the Addenda to that decree repealed the Decree on the Organization of the Korean Intellectual Property Office and Institutions under Its Jurisdiction. [3]

Art. 3 of the Organization Decree states the duties of MOIP in two parts. One is “affairs concerning the overall coordination of intellectual property” (지식재산의 총괄에 관한 사무), and the other is affairs concerning the examination of and trials on patents, utility models, designs and trademarks, and concerning patent attorneys. [3] Art. 3 of the former organization decree did not have the words “overall coordination of intellectual property”. [3]

The subordinate organization is in Art. 4(1) of the Organization Decree. [3]

• The policy bureaus are the Intellectual Property Policy Bureau, the Intellectual Property Protection & International Cooperation Bureau, the Intellectual Property Dispute Resolution Bureau and the Intellectual Property Information Bureau. Before, there were three: the Intellectual Property Policy Bureau (산업재산정책국), the Intellectual Property Protection & International Cooperation Bureau (산업재산보호협력국) and the Industrial Property Information Bureau (산업재산정보국). [3]
• “Matters concerning the amendment and operation of the Framework Act on Intellectual Property (지식재산 기본법)” were added to the matters assigned to the Intellectual Property Policy Bureau (Organization Decree, Art. 11(3), subparagraph 3). The Intellectual Property Policy Bureau (산업재산정책국) under the former organization decree (former Art. 11) did not have this item. [3]
• The Intellectual Property Dispute Resolution Bureau is a newly created bureau. It is assigned policies for, and support of, the prevention of and response to intellectual property disputes in Korea and abroad (Organization Decree, Art. 13(3)). [3] Under the former organization decree, the matters assigned to the Intellectual Property Protection & International Cooperation Bureau (산업재산보호협력국) included support for the prevention of and response to disputes over industrial property rights and trade secrets, and the mediation of disputes over industrial property rights (former Art. 12(3), subparagraphs 6 and 8). [3]
• The names of the examination bureaus are the same before and after. They are the Trademark & Design Examination Bureau (상표디자인심사국), the Patent Examination Policy Bureau (특허심사기획국), the Digital Convergence Examination Bureau (디지털융합심사국), the Electricity & Communications Examination Bureau (전기통신심사국), the Chemistry & Biotechnology Examination Bureau (화학생명심사국), the Machinery & Metals Examination Bureau (기계금속심사국) and the Semiconductor Examination Bureau (반도체심사추진단). [3]
• Affairs concerning international applications are among the matters assigned to the Intellectual Property Information Bureau. International applications under the PCT, the Madrid Protocol and the Hague Agreement are stated there (Organization Decree, Art. 14(3), subparagraph 23). [3]

The institutions under the jurisdiction of MOIP are the IPTAB, the International Intellectual Property Training Institute and the Seoul Branch Office (지식재산처서울사무소) (Organization Decree, Art. 2). [3] The names of the first two are unchanged, and only the name of the 특허청서울사무소 changed. [3] The IPTAB has charge of trials on patents, utility models, designs and trademarks (Organization Decree, Art. 24). [3]

The Organization Decree has been amended several times since it was enacted. The current version is Presidential Decree No. 36514, in force from 21 July 2026. Arts. 2 to 4, Art. 11(3), subparagraph 3, Art. 13, Art. 14(3), subparagraph 23 and Art. 24 stated above have the same wording in the current version. [3]

The bodies that handle intellectual property as a whole are covered in “Which Korean bodies handle IP: MOIP, IPTAB and the courts?“.

English name: Ministry of Intellectual Property, MOIP

The English name is written in the Forms of the statutes. The Addenda to Prime Ministerial Decree No. 2054 amended the English in Form 26, Form 28 and other Forms of the Enforcement Rules of the Patent Act. “the Korean Intellectual Property Office” became “the Ministry of Intellectual Property”. “COMMISSIONER” became “MINISTER”. [4]

The English Government Organization Act of the Ministry of Government Legislation uses the same name. The English text of Art. 28 renders 지식재산처 as Ministry of Intellectual Property, its head (처장) as Minister and its deputy head (차장) as Vice Minister. [9]

The abbreviation is MOIP. The menus of the MOIP English website are “About MOIP” and “MOIP History”. The organizational chart starts with the Minister and the Vice Minister, and gives 지식재산분쟁대응국 as Intellectual Property Dispute Resolution Bureau. [7]

The English organizational chart of KIPO before the reorganization (last updated 19 June 2025) gave the three policy bureaus as Intellectual Property Policy Bureau, Intellectual Property Protection & International Cooperation Bureau and Industrial Property Information Bureau, and the Seoul office as Seoul Branch Office. [10] The first two bureau names and Seoul Branch Office appear in the same letters in the present English organizational chart. [7]

WIPO also uses the new name. The Korea chapter of the PCT Applicant’s Guide valid as from 1 August 2026 names the body “Ministry of Intellectual Property of the Republic of Korea (MOIP)”. The two-letter code is KR, and the website is https://www.moip.go.kr . [8] The same document writes the International Searching Authority and the International Preliminary Examining Authority as ISA/KR and IPEA/KR. [8] It writes 특허심판원 as “Intellectual Property Trial and Appeal Board (IPTAB)”. [8]

Both website addresses opened. When http://www.moip.go.kr and http://www.kipo.go.kr were opened on 9 October 2026, both addresses showed the same first screen of MOIP. [7] No document stating until when the old address will open was read.

A later amendment that followed: the Presidential Council on Intellectual Property

The Framework Act on Intellectual Property did not change on 1 October 2025. It was amended by Act No. 21954, which was promulgated on 15 September 2026 and entered into force on the same day. [6]

• The Presidential Council on Intellectual Property (국가지식재산위원회) moved from the jurisdiction of the President to the jurisdiction of the Prime Minister (Art. 6(1)). [6]
• The person who appoints the private-sector members changed from the President to the Prime Minister (Art. 7(3), subparagraph 2). [6]
• The Council has one executive secretary, and the Minister of Intellectual Property serves as the executive secretary (Art. 7(4), newly inserted). The former Art. 7(4) to (7) moved to paragraphs (5) to (8). [6]
• The former Council under the jurisdiction of the President is deemed the Council established under the jurisdiction of the Prime Minister (Addenda, Art. 2(1)). [6]
• A member appointed by the President is deemed a member appointed by the Prime Minister, and the term of office is the remaining period of the former term (Addenda, Art. 2(2)). [6]

Art. 6(1) and Art. 7 above are all that the amendment text amended. [6]

The Council is a body that deliberates on and coordinates the main policies and plans of the Government on intellectual property (Art. 6(1)). [6] These are not provisions that deal with the procedures for applications and examination.

Cases that straddle the enforcement date

What the Addenda provide

For a disposition made or a request filed before 1 October 2025, the Addenda carry it over to the new body. The Addenda to the amended Government Organization Act provide three things. [1]

“Another statute” in Art. 8 of the Addenda includes a statute that was promulgated before the enforcement date but whose own enforcement date has not yet arrived. [1]

Art. 3 of the Addenda does not name the body. It says “the administrative agency that succeeds to the relevant affairs under the Acts amended by Art. 7 of the Addenda”. The Patent Act is an Act amended by Art. 7(580) of the Addenda, and that paragraph changed “Commissioner of the Korean Intellectual Property Office” to “Minister of Intellectual Property”. The table in Art. 2(1) of the Addenda also states that the Minister of Intellectual Property succeeds to the affairs under the jurisdiction of the Commissioner of the Korean Intellectual Property Office. [1] So, for a disposition made by the Commissioner of the Korean Intellectual Property Office under the Patent Act and a request filed with that Commissioner, the succeeding administrative agency is the Minister of Intellectual Property.

Example

This is an assumed case. A written patent application was filed with the Commissioner of the Korean Intellectual Property Office on 19 September 2025, and a notice of grounds for rejection was received on 15 October 2025.

• The application of 19 September is a request filed with the Commissioner of the Korean Intellectual Property Office under Art. 42(1) of the former Patent Act. Under Art. 3 of the Addenda it is deemed an act toward the Minister of Intellectual Property. [1][5]
• The notice of 15 October was given under the Patent Act in force from 1 October 2025. Art. 63, which provides for the notice of grounds for rejection, was not amended on 1 October 2025. [1][5]
• An invalidation of the procedure (Art. 16(1)) or a registration of the grant of a patent (registration of establishment of a patent right) (Art. 87(2)) made by the Commissioner of the Korean Intellectual Property Office before 1 October 2025 is deemed an act of the Minister of Intellectual Property (Addenda, Art. 3). [1][5]

What the Addenda do not provide

The Addenda that were read contain no provision setting a procedure that the applicant must take separately. The Addenda to the amended Government Organization Act run from Art. 1 to Art. 8, and none of them requires a report or a re-filing for a pending application. [1]

The Addenda also do not say how a document bearing the former name is handled. This is the case where a document made out to the “Commissioner of the Korean Intellectual Property Office” before 1 October 2025, such as a power of attorney, is submitted after that date. The Addenda to Prime Ministerial Decree No. 2054 run from Art. 1 to Art. 5, and none of them provides for the use of the former Forms. [4]

Art. 3 of the Addenda deals with acts done before the enforcement date, and Art. 8 of the Addenda deals with the case where another statute cites the former body. [1] Neither provision has wording that deals with the old name written in a document submitted after the enforcement date. No MOIP guidance on this case was found either. This article does not state a conclusion.

The parts that amended an Act which had been promulgated but was not yet in force on 1 October 2025 enter into force on the enforcement date of that Act (Addenda, Art. 1, proviso). [1] One example is the part that amended Art. 89(3) of the Design Protection Act (Act No. 20962), which entered into force on 28 November 2025. [1][4]

Where the old name still remains

The English translations of the Ministry of Government Legislation lag behind the Korean text. As of 9 October 2026 the English Patent Act is the version in force from 21 August 2024. This version names the body “Korean Intellectual Property Office” and its head “Commissioner”. [9] No article containing “Ministry of Intellectual Property” was found in this version. [9]

How to read the English Patent Act is covered in “Where can I read the Korean Patent Act in English, and which articles matter most?“.

What applicants should do

• In general, we suggest using the new name in documents prepared on or after 1 October 2025. In Korean the names are 지식재산처 and 지식재산처장, and in English they are Ministry of Intellectual Property (MOIP) and Minister.
• Time limit tables and official fee tables do not need to be recalculated because of the name. The amendment of 1 October 2025 changed only the names in the articles of the Patent Act and its subordinate statutes. However, we suggest checking later amendments separately.
• When citing a statute, we suggest stating the type that matches the version. The Enforcement Rules of the Patent Act and the Fee Regulation are Prime Ministerial Decrees from the versions in force from 1 October 2025, and the versions before that are Ordinances of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
• If the old name remains in in-house forms and power of attorney forms, we suggest correcting it the next time they are used. The Addenda that were read contain no provision on the handling of a document bearing the former name.
• For contact details for PCT documents, we suggest checking the Korea chapter of the WIPO PCT Applicant’s Guide. The version read for this article is the one valid as from 1 August 2026.

Please confirm the documents and time limits of an individual case with your agent.

FAQ

Do I have to re-file a pending application with MOIP or report it?

The Addenda contain no provision setting such a procedure. A request filed with the Commissioner of the Korean Intellectual Property Office under the Patent Act before 1 October 2025 is deemed an act toward the Minister of Intellectual Property (Government Organization Act, Addenda, Art. 2(1) and Art. 3). [1]

Did time limits or official fees change when the body changed?

They did not change through the amendment of 1 October 2025. When the words that refer to the body and the name of the ordinance are aligned and the versions are compared, the articles of the Patent Act, its Enforcement Decree and its Enforcement Rules, and the articles and attached Tables of the Fee Regulation, are the same before and after that day. [5]

What are the English name and the abbreviation?

The name is Ministry of Intellectual Property and the abbreviation is MOIP. [4][7] The head of the body is the Minister. [4][9] The WIPO PCT Applicant’s Guide writes “Ministry of Intellectual Property of the Republic of Korea (MOIP)”. [8]

Did the name of the IPTAB also change?

It did not change. The IPTAB is under the jurisdiction of the Minister of Intellectual Property (Patent Act, Art. 132-16(1); Organization Decree, Art. 2(1)). [3][5]

Does MOIP also handle copyright?

The amendment of 1 October 2025 did not amend the Copyright Act. [1] As of 9 October 2026 the Ministry of Government Legislation shows the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as the ministry in charge of the Copyright Act. [9]

How DEFINE IP Law Firm handles this

DEFINE IP Law Firm uses 지식재산처 and Ministry of Intellectual Property (MOIP) in documents and notices prepared on or after 1 October 2025. When we cite a statute, we check the type and the promulgation number of that version in its heading. When the name of a body or a statute changes, we read the transitional measures in the Addenda and identify what affects pending cases. For questions about documents and procedures filed with MOIP, please write to contact@defineip.kr.

Sources

1. Government Organization Act (정부조직법) (Act No. 21065), promulgated and in force 2025-10-01. Statement of reasons for the amendment (provided by the Ministry of Government Legislation), Art. 13(1), Art. 28, Addenda, Arts. 1, 2, 3, 7 (paragraphs 571, 575, 578, 579 and 580) and 8. Version history at https://www.law.go.kr/법령/정부조직법 (checked 2026-10-09)
2. Government Organization Act (정부조직법) (Act No. 20289), in force 2024-06-27, Arts. 13 and 38. Government Organization Act (Act No. 21491), in force 2026-10-02, Arts. 13 and 28. https://www.law.go.kr/법령/정부조직법 (checked 2026-10-09)
3. Decree on the Organization of the Ministry of Intellectual Property and Institutions under Its Jurisdiction (지식재산처와 그 소속기관 직제) (Presidential Decree No. 35809), promulgated and in force 2025-10-01, Arts. 2, 3, 4, 11, 13, 14 and 24, Addenda, Arts. 2 and 5. The same decree (Presidential Decree No. 36514), in force 2026-07-21. Decree on the Organization of the Korean Intellectual Property Office and Institutions under Its Jurisdiction (특허청과 그 소속기관 직제) (Presidential Decree No. 35117), in force 2024-12-31, Arts. 2, 3, 4, 11 and 12. https://www.law.go.kr/법령/지식재산처와그소속기관직제 (checked 2026-10-09)
4. Ministry of Intellectual Property (지식재산처), Enforcement Rule of the Decree on the Organization of the Ministry of Intellectual Property and Institutions under Its Jurisdiction (지식재산처와 그 소속기관 직제 시행규칙) (Prime Ministerial Decree No. 2054), promulgated and in force 2025-10-01, Addenda. Addenda to the versions of the Enforcement Rules of the Patent Act (특허법 시행규칙) and the Regulation on the Collection of Patent Fees, etc. (특허료 등의 징수규칙) in force from 2025-10-01; list of versions by enforcement date of the Patent Act and its three subordinate statutes. https://www.law.go.kr/법령/지식재산처와그소속기관직제시행규칙 (checked 2026-10-09)
5. Article-by-article comparison of the Patent Act (특허법) (Act No. 20700, in force 2025-07-22) and the Patent Act (Act No. 21065, in force 2025-10-01). Comparison of the versions of the Enforcement Decree of the Patent Act (특허법 시행령), the Enforcement Rules of the Patent Act and the Regulation on the Collection of Patent Fees, etc. before and after 2025-10-01. Patent Act (Act No. 21134, in force 2025-11-11), Arts. 16, 42, 63, 87, 132-16, 198-2 and 217. Enforcement Decree of the Patent Act (Presidential Decree No. 35809, in force 2025-10-01), Art. 9. Patent Attorney Act (변리사법) (Act No. 21065, in force 2025-10-01), Arts. 2 and 4-3. https://www.law.go.kr/법령/특허법 (checked 2026-10-09)
6. Framework Act on Intellectual Property (지식재산 기본법) (Act No. 21954), promulgated and in force 2026-09-15, amendment text, Arts. 6 and 7, Addenda, Arts. 1 and 2. The same Act (Act No. 18873), in force 2022-12-11, Arts. 6 and 7. https://www.law.go.kr/법령/지식재산기본법 (checked 2026-10-09)
7. Ministry of Intellectual Property, first screen of the English website and Organizational Chart. https://www.moip.go.kr/en/ (checked 2026-10-09)
8. WIPO, PCT Applicant’s Guide, KR – Republic of Korea, valid as from 1 August 2026. https://pctlegal.wipo.int/eGuide/view-doc.xhtml?doc-code=KR&doc-lang=en (checked 2026-10-09)
9. Ministry of Government Legislation (법제처), English statutes. GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION ACT (version in force 2025-12-23), Article 28; PATENT ACT (version in force 2024-08-21); list of versions of the English translations. Indication of the ministry in charge of the Copyright Act (저작권법) (Act No. 21336, in force 2026-08-11). https://www.law.go.kr/LSW/eng/engMain.do (checked 2026-10-09)
10. Korean Intellectual Property Office (특허청), Organizational Chart on the English website (last updated 2025-06-19). Copy saved by the Internet Archive on 2025-07-11. https://web.archive.org/web/20250711062513/https://kipo.go.kr/en/HtmlApp?c=10301&catmenu=ek01_03_01 (checked 2026-10-09)