Any person who uses or intends to use a trademark in the Republic of Korea may be entitled to have his/her trademark registered: Provided, that no one under jurisdiction of the Korean Intellectual Property Office or the Intellectual Property Tribunal shall have a trademark registered during his/her tenure of office, except in cases of inheritance or bequest.

Any corporation jointly founded by the persons who carry on the business of producing, manufacturing, processing or selling goods or by the persons who carry on service business (in cases of a geographical collective mark, it is limited to a corporation comprised solely of the persons who carry on the business of producing, manufacturing, or processing goods eligible for the geographical indication) may be entitled to have its collective mark registered.