In Seoul it is extremely easy and perfectly legal to send money outside the country. Most expats living in Seoul send a large portion of their monthly wages back to their home countries, and if you have a bank account set up in Korea, it is a simple process.
About $50,000.00 USD per year is permitted to be sent outside the country (including credit card charges outside Korea and remittances). The past few years have been disappointing, though, for many expats sending money home to the United States or Canada, as the exchange rate has been very poor. How much money you want to send home per month will likely be affected by the exchange rate, and expats in Seoul always keep a wary eye on it.
To send money back to your home country, or to another international bank account, you will have to have a bank account in a Korean bank (or an international bank in Korea). When you want to send money internationally, you need to visit a clerk and ask them to do an international transfer. They will ask for your alien card, your bank book and your passport (sometimes), and you will fill out a form (you need to fill out your name, address, the bank’s address to which you are sending it, the recipient’s information, and the amount you would like to send in the correct currency). The clerk will input the information into their computer, ask you to compose your pin number on the number pad on the desk, and will give you the receipt with the recipient’s information. Usually, it takes three business days for the transfer to be completed and the recipient to receive the money. Be sure that the account numbers and all other information is correct. There are no systems in place to recover funds that are accidentally deposited in a mistaken account.
If you plan to make your transfer to one or more accounts frequently, you can ask the clerk to register this remittance to your ATM card. Some Korean banks have foreign remittance at the ATM machine. This way you literally just have to push a button to send money overseas. The fee for this service is also less expensive. Going into the bank will cost approximately 15,000 won on the Korean end (and then another fee will be charged by the recipient bank); on the other hand, the ATM remittance is only around 5,000.
In the past it was not possible for a foreigner to use their ATM card outside of Korea, but this is no longer the case. When you open your account simply tell the clerk that you would like to have a global card.
if you prefer, you can also use Western Union. The best way to find a Western Union closest to you is to look on their website or call their customer service line (toll free if calling from inside Korea).
Western Union Korea Website:http://www.westernunion.co.kr/en/index.php
Customer Service: 00798 8521 3000
There are no other actual conditions aside from the fact that you can only send out $50,000.00 USD per year.
