Korean Used Car Performance Inspection Report (성능상태점검기록부): Complete Buyer's Guide (2026)

A Korean used car performance inspection report (성능상태점검기록부 / seongneung sangtae jeomgeom girokbu) is the legally mandated condition document that every used vehicle sold in Korea — including every car exported abroad — must carry under Article 58 of the Used Motor Vehicle Management Act (자동차매매업법). Issued by a certified inspector and backed by a 30-day / 2,000 km Performance Liability Insurance policy (자동차성능보장보험), the report covers 90+ checkpoints across 8 major sections and is the single most authoritative document an international buyer can rely on before paying. According to the Korea Auto Inspection Association (KAA), more than 3.5 million performance inspection reports were issued in Korea in 2025, and 100% of the 545,000+ vehicles exported that year carried one. This guide explains exactly what the report contains, how to read it, what its 30-day liability covers, how to verify the inspector's credentials, and how SH GLOBAL uses it to protect international buyers.

This guide is part of SH GLOBAL's Korean export documentation series. For the broader pre-purchase walkthrough, see our inspection process guide. For the destination-side document checklist, see the complete export paperwork guide.

1. What Is the Korean Used Car Performance Inspection Report?

The korean used car performance inspection report is a standardized condition certificate issued by a certified Korean motor vehicle inspector before a used car can be legally sold by a licensed dealer in Korea. The document — typically an A3 form printed in both Korean and (since 2019) a partial English template — captures three categories of information:

1. Vehicle identity and registration (VIN, registration number, model year, mileage at inspection)
2. Accident, repair, and frame damage history (cross-referenced with the KIDI national database)
3. Performance state of all major mechanical, electrical, and structural systems

Critically, it is not a marketing document prepared by the seller. It is a regulated legal instrument. The inspector who signs it is personally and financially liable under Korean law for any misrepresentation, and a mandatory insurance policy (covered later in this guide) sits behind every signed report.

2. Legal Framework: Why It's Mandatory

The legal basis for the korean used car performance inspection report is split across three Korean statutes:

Statute	Article	What It Mandates
Used Motor Vehicle Management Act (자동차매매업법)	Article 58	All licensed dealers must provide the buyer with a 성능상태점검기록부 before any sale closes
Motor Vehicle Management Act (자동차관리법)	Article 8	Defines the inspection categories and certification of authorized inspectors
MOLIT Notice 2018-783 (last updated 2024)	—	Mandates the 30-day / 2,000 km Performance Liability Insurance backing every report

Penalty for forging or knowingly issuing a false report: up to 2 years imprisonment or a KRW 20 million fine (~USD 14,800) under Article 80 of the Used Motor Vehicle Management Act. This is one of the strongest legal deterrents in any country's used vehicle market.

For exports, the rule is simple: no Korean licensed dealer can sell a vehicle without a valid 성능상태점검기록부, so every Korean used car exported through a legitimate channel — whether via a direct dealer, an exporter consolidator, or an auction house — has this report attached. If your exporter cannot produce it, the car was not legally acquired in Korea. Cross-reference this against our 10 costly buying mistakes guide — the missing performance report is mistake #1.

3. Performance Inspection Report vs Other Condition Documents

International buyers often confuse the korean used car performance inspection report with other inspection-related documents. They are not interchangeable:

For a deeper dive on KIDI history checks, see our vehicle history check guide. For destination-country PSI, see our pre-shipment inspection guide. For remote third-party inspections, see the remote inspection guide.

4. Who Issues the Report?

A valid korean used car performance inspection report can only be issued by one of three categories of authorized inspector:

1. Korea Auto Inspection Association (한국자동차진단보증협회 / KAA) — the largest issuer, ~63% of all reports nationwide.
2. Authorized Auto Repair Cooperative inspectors (정비조합 인증검사원) — independent shops certified to issue reports under cooperative supervision.
3. MOLIT-registered specialty inspection centers — large dealer-affiliated certification centers.

Every signed report carries the inspector's:

• Personal certification number (검사원 자격번호) — a 12-digit ID verifiable on the KAA portal
• Inspection center business registration (사업자등록번호)
• Performance Liability Insurance policy number (보장보험 증권번호) — typically issued by Samsung Fire, DB Insurance, KB Insurance, or Hyundai Marine

5. The 8 Major Sections of the Report

A standard 성능상태점검기록부 is organized into 8 sections. Reading each correctly is the difference between a confident buyer and a buyer who pays for surprises.

Section 1 — Vehicle Identity (차량 식별 정보)

VIN (차대번호), registration number (등록번호), first registration date (최초등록일), model year (연식), engine number (원동기 형식), color, body style. Buyer check: every field here must match the export contract and the de-registration certificate exactly.

Section 2 — Mileage (주행거리)

Current odometer reading at inspection (km), with three sub-fields: previous recorded reading, current reading, and assessment (정상 / 변경의심 / 변경 — meaning "normal / suspected tampering / confirmed tampering"). If "정상" is not selected, do not buy.

Section 3 — Accident & Repair History (사고·수리 이력)

Two sub-tables: (a) Frame/Structural damage showing which of 14 mapped frame zones were repaired (cross-member, A-pillar, B-pillar, side panel, etc.), and (b) Cosmetic panel replacement marking which of 16 outer panels were replaced or repainted. Coded with W (welded), X (replaced), C (corroded), U (uneven).

Section 4 — Major Systems Performance (주요장치 성능 상태)

Six sub-systems checked: self-diagnosis (자기진단 — OBD-II scan), engine (엔진), transmission (변속기), steering (조향), brakes (제동), electrical (전기장치). Each is graded 양호 (good) / 불량 (defective) / 오일누유 (oil leak) / 미세누유 (minor seep).

Section 5 — Exterior & Body Condition (외판 / 주요골격)

Visual inspection of paint, panels, glass, lights, and trim — coded against the same body diagram from Section 3.

Section 6 — Interior & Optional Equipment (실내 및 옵션)

Air conditioning, infotainment, sunroof, heated seats, ADAS modules. Coded 정상 / 작동불량 (not working).

Section 7 — Tires, Brakes, Battery (타이어, 브레이크, 배터리)

Tire tread depth (mm) per wheel, brake pad thickness, battery state-of-charge. Tread depth below 1.6 mm fails Korean roadworthiness standards.

Section 8 — Inspector Certification & Insurance (점검자 / 보험)

Inspector's name, certification number, signature, inspection center, Performance Liability Insurance policy number, and insurance issuer.

6. The 90+ Inspection Points: What Inspectors Actually Check

A typical report covers between 90 and 120 distinct checkpoints, distributed approximately as follows:

Note: SH GLOBAL adds an additional 150-point internal inspection layered on top of every 성능상태점검기록부 — including paint thickness gauging, undercarriage rust mapping, and ECU history pulls. The Korean legal report is the floor, not the ceiling. See our pre-purchase checklist for the full SH GLOBAL inspection protocol.

7. Validity Period & Performance Liability Insurance

This is the section most international buyers don't know about — and it's the single most powerful protection in the entire Korean used car system.

Every korean used car performance inspection report comes with a mandatory Performance Liability Insurance policy (자동차성능보장보험) attached. The policy:

• Is purchased by the inspector or inspection center, not the buyer
• Costs roughly KRW 100,000 (USD 75) per vehicle
• Pays out for the first 30 days OR 2,000 km after the report is issued — whichever ends first
• Covers the cost of repairs if the vehicle is found to have a defect that was misrepresented in the report
• Has a typical coverage cap of KRW 5–10 million (USD 3,700–7,400) per claim

For international buyers, the insurance creates a real economic incentive for inspectors to be honest. An inspector who issues many bad reports loses their license under Article 58-3, and their insurance premium rises sharply. This insurance backing is something the destination-country PSI, the KIDI history report, and the auction grade sheet do not offer.

8. What 30 Days / 2,000 km Liability Means For International Buyers

International buyers are typically taking delivery 4–8 weeks after purchase, which usually exceeds the 30-day window. Here is how SH GLOBAL handles this gap:

Scenario	Buyer Protection
Defect discovered during pre-shipment inspection (Korea)	Full Performance Liability Insurance still active — claim filed in Korea, repair completed before shipping
Defect discovered during destination unloading	Marine cargo insurance + SH GLOBAL warranty (90 days / 5,000 km)
Defect discovered post-delivery	SH GLOBAL after-sales warranty + parts support

Crucially, the 30-day clock starts on the date of the inspection report — not the date of vehicle handover. International buyers should always insist that inspection happens as close to shipment as possible to maximize remaining coverage. SH GLOBAL re-inspects every export vehicle within 7 days of container loading.

For background on the multi-layer warranty stack, see our warranty & after-sales guide, and for the broader buying workflow, the step-by-step buying process.

9. How to Read the Report Like a Professional Buyer

International buyers should read a 성능상태점검기록부 in this order:

Pro tip: Korean reports use very small print and the body diagram can be ambiguous. SH GLOBAL provides a full English translation overlay for every export 성능상태점검기록부, including a re-drawn body diagram in higher resolution.

10. 5 Red Flags & Forged Reports — How to Spot Fakes

Every year, the Korean Consumer Agency (한국소비자원) reports a small number of forged 성능상태점검기록부 cases — typically below 0.5% of all transactions, but disproportionately concentrated in private (non-licensed-dealer) sales. Five red flags to watch for:

Verification check: Every certification number can be looked up on the Korea Auto Inspection Association portal. SH GLOBAL runs this check automatically for every vehicle and provides screenshot proof to international buyers.

11. Cost & Who Pays in Export Transactions

The standard cost structure for a 성능상태점검기록부:

Item	Typical Cost (KRW)	USD Equivalent
Inspection fee (90-point)	30,000 – 50,000	$22 – $37
Performance Liability Insurance	80,000 – 120,000	$60 – $90
Total	110,000 – 170,000	$82 – $127

Who pays: In a properly structured Korean used car export, the inspection cost is embedded in the FOB price by the exporter. International buyers should never see this as a separate line item on the proforma invoice — if it appears, ask why.

For the full FOB cost breakdown, see our import cost breakdown guide.

12. How SH GLOBAL Uses the Performance Inspection Report

For every vehicle SH GLOBAL exports, our standard buyer protection package includes:

• Original 성능상태점검기록부 scanned in high-resolution (3000×4000 px)
• Full English translation overlay with re-drawn body diagram
• KAA inspector verification screenshot confirming the inspector is active and licensed
• Performance Liability Insurance policy verification confirming policy is active for the export window
• Independent re-inspection within 7 days of container loading (SH GLOBAL's 150-point internal protocol)
• KIDI accident database screenshot cross-referenced against the report's history section

This bundle is included free with every export — browse Hyundai inventory to see a sample vehicle with full report attached, or see our current stock across all brands.