The riskiest moment in importing a Korean used car is the day the wire transfer goes out. Once that money lands in a Korean bank account, your protection depends almost entirely on choices you made before the transfer — choices about which exporter you trust, what documentation you demanded, and which red flags you ignored. This checklist is the one we wish every first-time buyer ran, even when they end up choosing a different exporter than us.
The 10-point pre-payment checklist
Step 1 — Verify the Korean Business Registration
Korean Business Registration numbers follow the format ###-##-##### (10 digits with dashes). For SH GLOBAL Auto, ours is 136-09-84466. Verify on the Korean National Tax Service business registration lookup at hometax.go.kr, or have your country's Korean embassy commercial section confirm. If the exporter refuses to share the number, the conversation is over. A real Korean exporter posts theirs publicly.
Step 2 — Confirm the bank account legal name
The international wire transfer destination must read the registered legal entity exactly. For SH GLOBAL Auto that means "SH GLOBAL Co., Ltd.". The single most reliable scam signal is a request to send payment to a personal name, a different company name, a freight forwarder intermediary, a cash app, or a cryptocurrency wallet. There is no situation in which a legitimate Korean exporter requires payment outside the registered entity.
Step 3 — Live video walkaround at the inspection lot
A real exporter has a yard. Ask for a live video call where the seller walks around the actual car you intend to buy, with VIN visible. SH GLOBAL Auto operates a used car inspection lot at 341 Gwonseon-ro, Gwonseon-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do, and we accept buyer video calls during business hours. A pure online operator who can never put a car on camera in real time is selling something they don't have.
Step 4 — Korean Performance Inspection Report (성능점검)
Required by Korean law for every used car transaction. The report covers engine, transmission, brakes, paint and bodywork, prior accident history, and odometer authenticity (Korea has aggressive enforcement against rollback). Demand the report for your specific VIN before payment. A "we'll send it later" answer is a flag.
Step 5 — Line-item quote breakdown
Quote should separate: (a) vehicle FOB price, (b) inspection fee, (c) Korean port handling, (d) ocean freight to your destination port, (e) documentation. Bundled "all-in" pricing typically hides a margin of USD 500–2,000 per car on shipping. Ask for the breakdown. Honest exporters provide it without resistance.
Step 6 — Reference customers in your region
Ask for two reference customers in your country who received cars from the exporter within the last 12 months. Reach out independently — phone, WhatsApp, email — and confirm that the cars arrived as described. SH GLOBAL Auto provides region-specific references on request for Kazakhstan, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kenya, and Ghana buyers.
Step 7 — Bill of Lading consignee
Confirm in writing that the ocean carrier Bill of Lading will list you as consignee. If the exporter wants to be the consignee and "release the car to you on arrival", you've lost control of the cargo at destination port. The B/L is the legal document that determines who can take physical possession of the container or vehicle when it lands.
Step 8 — Korean Export Declaration filing entity
The Korean Export Declaration filed with Korea Customs Service must be filed under the exporter's registered legal entity. If a broker is filing under someone else's name, your paperwork chain has a hidden party — and disputes have nowhere to land. Ask for a copy of the export declaration after filing.
Step 9 — Written delivery timeline
Port-of-origin departure window (e.g., "Busan, week of June 12"), ocean transit estimate (e.g., "12–18 days to Jebel Ali"), and destination port arrival window. Vague "a few weeks" answers don't bind the exporter to anything. SH GLOBAL Auto provides written timelines and updates buyers on any deviation within 24 hours.
Step 10 — Written no-personal-account guarantee
Get the exporter to state in writing — email or message thread you keep — that payment will never be requested to a personal account, cash app, or third-party intermediary, even by a different person claiming to represent them. This protects against impersonation scams where a hacked email account messages "the boss says wire to this account today".
Red flags that should end the conversation immediately
- Refuses to share the Korean Business Registration number. Not negotiable.
- Bank account in a personal name. Not negotiable.
- "We don't do video calls" or "the car is at another lot we don't have access to today". The car is not there.
- Pressure to wire today because "the price will go up tomorrow". Honest pricing doesn't move that fast on used cars.
- Quote that's USD 2,000+ below the indicative FOB range for the same model, year, and inspection grade. Either a different car than advertised, or no car at all.
- Email domain that looks like a free service or a typosquat. A 15-year-old export company has its own domain.
- Pushes crypto, cash apps, or "freight forwarder accounts". Single biggest scam signal.
Who this checklist applies to
This is the same checklist any first-time international buyer should run, whether or not they end up choosing SH GLOBAL Auto. We publish it because the cost of a buyer getting scammed by a fake Korean exporter is borne by the entire legitimate Korean export industry — fewer buyers next year, more skepticism, more friction. Every honest exporter benefits when buyers are harder to defraud.
Frequently asked questions
Related buyer guides
- Best Korean Used Car Exporters in 2026 — Honest Comparison Framework
- SH GLOBAL vs Typical Korean Wholesalers — Transparency Comparison
- Korean Used Car Buying Mistakes — 10 Costly Errors to Avoid
- Korean Car Exporter Questions — 20 Must-Ask Questions
- Korean Used Car Payment Methods — Safe Payment Guide
Talk to SH GLOBAL Auto
WhatsApp and Telegram are answered within an hour during Korean business hours (Mon–Fri 09:00–19:00 KST). Our team replies in English, Russian, Arabic, or Korean.