How Is a Fact Confirmation Certificate Used in Practice? 5 Common Cases in Contracts, Administrative Penalties, and Residence Verification

Hello, this is Jean, Administrative Agent.

Imagine this.

Your store receives an unexpected inspection. A few days later, you receive an administrative fine notice.

The notice says you were operating after 10 p.m.

But in reality, you closed at 9:50 p.m.

Now the real question begins.

How do you prove it?

CCTV footage may be overwritten after a short period. Employee statements may be treated as interested testimony. POS closing records may help, but they may not fully explain what actually happened at the scene.

This is where an Administrative Agent’s Fact Confirmation Certificate may become useful.

This is the third article in the “Administrative Agent and Fact Investigation” series.

Article 1: The True Scope of Fact Investigation Under the Administrative Agent Act
Article 2: Why Lawyers and Private Investigators Cannot Issue an Administrative Agent’s Fact Confirmation Certificate
Article 3: How Fact Confirmation Certificates Are Used in Practice
Article 4: Where Administrative Agent Fact Investigation Is Used
Article 5: Why Fact Investigation Matters More in the AI Era

When Is a Fact Confirmation Certificate Needed?

A Fact Confirmation Certificate is not a decorative explanation.

Its purpose is to organize objective facts.

Under the Administrative Agent Act, administrative agents may prepare documents relating to rights, obligations, or proof of facts. The Enforcement Rule of the Administrative Agent Act also provides a separate official form for the Fact Confirmation Certificate.

However, it is important to be clear.

A Fact Confirmation Certificate is not notarization. It is not a court judgment. It does not automatically solve every dispute.

Its practical value is that it can organize “what actually happened at that time” into a structured document that may be submitted as supporting material.

The main use cases fall into three categories.

| Category | Common Situations | Key Point | |---|---|---| | Contract and transaction disputes | Key money agreements, partnership agreements, service contracts, recorded conversations | Timing and confirmation process | | Administrative action response | Administrative fines, business suspension, permit cancellation, visa refusal | Deadlines and evidence preservation | | Residence, status, and life relationship verification | Actual residence, cohabitation, condition of a place at a specific time | Supplementing facts not shown in official registers |

Below are five practical examples.

Case 1. Key Money Agreements — Who Prepares the Document Matters

You agree to transfer a store with key money of KRW 19 million.

Both parties sign the agreement.

Three months later, the other party says:

“I never agreed to that amount. I signed, but I did not properly read the document.”

There are no messages. No recording. Only the contract remains.

In this kind of situation, the contract itself matters, but the surrounding facts also matter.

Who explained the contents?
Did both parties confirm the amount?
Was the agreement signed after the contents were reviewed?

A recent Supreme Court case is important here.

The Korean Supreme Court held that a licensed real estate agent who prepared a contract related to key money in the course of a daycare facility lease transaction could be liable for violating the Administrative Agent Act. The Court treated the key money agreement as separate from the real estate lease transaction.

In other words, a key money agreement is not simply part of real estate brokerage. It is a document concerning separate rights and obligations.

If you are transferring or acquiring a business and key money is involved, you should check from the beginning:

• who prepares the agreement,
• what exactly the parties agreed to,
• whether both parties confirmed the contents before signing.

A Fact Confirmation Certificate may be used together with the contract to support the factual record of the signing process.

Case 2. Partnership Agreement Witnessing — Oral Agreements Become Fragile Over Time

Two people decide to run a cafe together.

They orally agree that the investment ratio is 6:4, but profit distribution will be 5:5.

One person invests KRW 30 million. The other invests KRW 20 million.

They sign a written agreement.

Six months later, one party changes their position:

“We agreed to distribute profits according to the investment ratio, 6:4.”

Under Article 358 of the Civil Procedure Act, a private document bearing a signature, seal, or thumbprint may be presumed to be authentic.

But that does not mean every factual dispute disappears.

The other party may argue:

“I did not properly understand the contents.”
“Some parts were added later.”
“The agreement was never explained to me.”

At that point, the signing process itself becomes important.

If an administrative agent attends the signing, confirms the identities of the parties, checks the main terms, observes the signing and sealing process, and records those facts in a Fact Confirmation Certificate, the evidentiary structure changes.

The certificate may show:

• who attended,
• when and where the contract was signed,
• which document was reviewed,
• whether both parties confirmed the contents,
• how the signing process took place.

This is different from notarization.

Notarization is handled by a notary. A Fact Confirmation Certificate is a document by which an administrative agent records objectively confirmed facts.

Which method is more suitable depends on the amount, dispute risk, and whether enforceability is needed.

Case 3. Organizing Recorded Conversations — A Recording Alone May Not Be Enough

You have a phone recording.

The other party says they will pay the remaining amount by the end of the month.

But when the dispute begins, they say:

“That was not a final agreement. I only said I would consider it.”

Recordings are useful, but they are not always easy to use.

If the recording is long, if several issues are mixed together, or if the context of a particular sentence matters, the same recording may be interpreted differently by each side.

In this situation, an administrative agent may organize the recording into a written format.

The agent may summarize key parts of the conversation, identify important statements by time stamp, and prepare a structured document that connects the recording to the factual issue in dispute.

However, there is an important limitation.

An administrative agent does not make the final legal judgment on whether the recording was lawfully obtained or whether it will be accepted as evidence in court.

If legality or admissibility is disputed, a lawyer’s review may be necessary.

The administrative agent’s role is to organize the contents and confirm the factual consistency between the recording and the written summary.

Case 4. Administrative Fines and Business Suspension — Deadlines Come First

A store receives an inspection.

A few days later, the owner receives a notice for violating operating-hour rules.

But CCTV shows that the store closed before the alleged violation time.

The first step is to identify what type of administrative action it is.

For administrative fines, the Act on the Regulation of Violations of Public Order generally applies. Before imposing a fine, the authority may provide an opportunity to submit opinions for at least 10 days. After receiving the fine notice, the party may file a written objection with the relevant administrative agency within 60 days.

For business suspension, permit cancellation, visa refusal, or similar administrative dispositions, an administrative appeal may be available. In general, an administrative appeal must be filed within 90 days from the date the person became aware of the disposition, and within 180 days from the date of the disposition itself.

So it is dangerous to simply remember “90 days” for every case.

The procedure and deadline differ depending on whether the matter is an administrative fine, business suspension, permit cancellation, or another type of disposition.

A Fact Confirmation Certificate may be used as supporting material.

For example, an administrative agent may review CCTV footage, POS closing data, reservation records, door-lock records, employee work logs, and other available materials, then organize the actual circumstances at the relevant time.

Speed is critical.

CCTV may be deleted. POS data may become difficult to retrieve. Records may disappear depending on the system.

Once you receive a notice, check the deadline first and secure the evidence immediately.

Case 5. Actual Residence and Cohabitation Verification — Registered Address Is Not Always Enough

When applying for visa extension or change of status in Korea, immigration authorities may ask for proof of actual residence.

A resident registration record or foreigner registration address shows a registered address.

But it does not always prove that the person actually lived there.

The same issue appears in lease disputes.

Was the person actually living there?
What was the condition of the property at the time of move-out?
Was the property restored properly before the deposit was returned?

Photos may help, but photos alone may not prove the exact timing or surrounding circumstances.

An administrative agent may visit the site, review objective materials such as photos, videos, lease agreements, utility payment records, delivery records, and other documents, then prepare a Fact Confirmation Certificate as supplementary evidence.

Cohabitation verification works in a similar way.

For unmarried partners, including same-sex or non-marital couples, the family relationship certificate does not show the relationship.

Actual co-residence, shared living expenses, utility payments, lease arrangements, and jointly purchased items must be organized separately.

The Biggest Limitation — You Cannot Create the Past Later

A Fact Confirmation Certificate cannot create past facts retroactively.

Contract witnessing must happen at the time of signing.

Site verification must happen while the site condition remains.

Residence verification is stronger when actual traces of residence and supporting records still exist.

If you ask an administrative agent to “prove what happened three months ago” after the dispute has already started, the agent can only examine the evidence and current facts that still remain.

That is why Fact Confirmation Certificates are often stronger as a preventive tool than as an after-the-fact response.

If you are about to sign an important contract, prepare the process in advance.

If you have already received an administrative notice, first check the deadline and preserve the evidence.

Quick Checklist

You may need a Fact Confirmation Certificate or related documentation if any of the following applies:

• You are preparing a key money agreement, partnership agreement, service contract, or lease special clause.
• Many terms were agreed orally, but little is written down.
• You signed a contract, but the explanation process may later be disputed.
• You received an administrative fine, business suspension, permit cancellation, or visa refusal.
• The facts stated in the notice are different from what actually happened.
• CCTV, POS records, bank transfers, access logs, or other evidence may disappear.
• You need to prove actual residence, cohabitation, or the condition of a site at a specific time.

How an Administrative Agent Can Help

Ethos Administrative Office can assist with:

• preparing Fact Confirmation Certificates,
• drafting and reviewing key money agreements, partnership agreements, and service contracts,
• attending contract signing and organizing confirmation records,
• preparing factual summaries for administrative action response,
• organizing materials for administrative fine opinions or objections,
• preparing supporting materials for administrative appeals,
• organizing actual residence, cohabitation, and site-condition verification materials.

However, litigation representation, court pleadings, and legal opinions on court strategy are within a lawyer’s role.

If notarization is needed, a notary office should be used.

If registration work is required, a judicial scrivener or lawyer may be needed.

An administrative agent’s role is to organize facts, prepare administrative documents, and draft documents related to rights, obligations, or proof of facts within the permitted scope.

Conclusion

A Fact Confirmation Certificate is not a magic card you suddenly pull out after a dispute explodes.

It is most powerful when prepared before the dispute becomes serious.

Who confirmed what at the time of signing?
What actually happened when the administrative inspection took place?
Did the person actually live at the address?
What was the condition of the property at a specific time?

Facts fade. Records disappear.

One document cannot solve every problem.

But one properly prepared document can change the direction of a dispute.

If you send the contract cover page, the disputed clause, the administrative notice, or the status of available CCTV or records, we can first check what type of document may be appropriate.