How to Pay Utility Bills in Korea as a Foreigner

How to pay utility bills in Korea: who sends each bill, what the apartment maintenance fee covers, setting up auto-debit, and settling up when you move.

By Susu KoreanPublished 2026-11-12How we write

A few weeks after you find a home in Korea, the bills start arriving: electricity, gas, water and, in an apartment, the maintenance fee. Faced with a page full of Korean, it is easy to put them aside without knowing what to pay or when. This guide explains who sends each bill, how to pay it, and what to take care of when you move.

Who sends which bill

Electricity → Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO, "Hanjeon"). Its customer centre number is 123
Gas → a city gas company that differs by region. Its name and number are printed on the bill
Water → the waterworks office of your city or county
Maintenance fee → in apartments and some officetels or villas, the management office collects the cost of shared facilities

Every bill shows who sent it, your customer (payer) number, the amount and the due date. Even if you cannot read all the Korean, those four are enough. How often bills come and when they are due differ by provider, so take a photo of your first bill to compare with the next one.

작은 부엌에 전등이 켜져 있고, 가스레인지 위에 주전자가 놓여 있으며 앞쪽에 수도꼭지가 보인다.

In an apartment, start with the maintenance fee

In many apartments, electricity and water are not billed separately but included in the maintenance fee bill. In that case there is nothing extra to pay to KEPCO or the water office. Gas, on the other hand, often comes separately. Which way it works depends on the complex.

Usually in the maintenance fee → shared costs such as cleaning, security, elevators and common-area electricity
Sometimes included as well → each household's own electricity and water use
How to check → read the items on the maintenance fee bill and ask the management office about anything unclear
Bills that come separately → anything not in the maintenance fee is paid directly to that company

Before signing a monthly-rent or jeonse contract, ask the landlord or agent roughly how much the maintenance fee is and what it covers. Low rent with a high maintenance fee can end up costing about the same each month.

햇살이 드는 아파트 단지 안 정원. 나무와 덤불 사이로 길이 나 있고 벤치가 놓여 있으며, 뒤로 아파트 건물이 흐리게 보인다.

Four ways to pay

Auto-debit → the amount is taken from your bank account or card each month. Nothing to forget, so it is the easiest
Bank app → most bank apps have a menu for utility or giro payments; enter the number from the bill
Internet Giro → on giro.or.kr, run by the Korea Financial Telecommunications and Clearings Institute, look up the bill by its number and pay
Account or QR on the bill → transfer to the account printed on the bill, or scan its QR code with a payment app

You can apply for electricity auto-debit through the KEPCO customer centre (123) or the KEPCO ON app and website. For gas and water, ask the company or office printed on the bill. Auto-debit requires a bank account in your own name; our article on opening a bank account as a foreigner explains how.

나무 탁자 위에서 두 손이 빈 화면의 휴대폰을 들고 있고, 옆에 작은 화분과 찻잔이 놓여 있다.

When you move: settling bills and auto-debit

When you move, the bills need to be settled up to the moving day. If you miss this, charges used after you left may come to you, or unpaid charges left by the previous tenant may be passed on to you in the new home.

On moving day → take photos of the numbers on the electricity, gas and water meters
The home you leave → call 123 for electricity and the numbers on your gas and water bills to request a moving settlement. In apartments the management office may handle it together
The home you enter → check with the landlord or management office that the previous occupant left no unpaid bills
Auto-debit → cancel the one for the old home and apply again with the new home's customer number

If explaining in Korean on the phone is hard, ask the Immigration Contact Center (1345) first. It offers advice on daily life in several languages.

이삿날의 텅 빈 방. 햇빛이 나무 바닥에 들고, 커튼이 날리는 창턱에 열쇠 꾸러미가 놓여 있다.

It also comes up in the interview

Public charges and taxes are words that appear in the daily-life and constitution questions of the naturalization interview. Here are examples from the practice questions we compiled. The interview is in Korean.

국가 또는 지방자치단체가 국민에게 부과하는 공과금의 대표적인 예는 무엇입니까? — 세금

국민이 세금을 내야 하는 의무는 무엇입니까? — 납세의 의무

Words you see on your bills every month can still sound unfamiliar in an interviewer's voice. Our service lets you hear these questions in an interviewer's voice and practise answering aloud.

This article is not legal advice. Rates and payment methods change by provider and over time, so confirm the details with the company or office on your bill, or with your management office.