Korean ATMs: withdrawing money in South Korea without fees

By Clem | Apr 4, 2018
Budget Asia Banking ATM South Korea

If you own a foreign credit card, such as a Visa or a Mastercard, most ATMs in South Korea will have withdrawal fees (usually from around ₩3,000 to around ₩5,000) for international transactions. This can quickly add up if you like to withdraw regularly small amounts of cash. Here is a list of the main ATMs that you can run into:

Bank Withdrawal fees
KB Kookmin Bank (KB국민은행) No
Busan Bank No
Shinhan Bank (신한은행) Some of their ATMs have fees, some do not
Citibank Korea Some of their ATMs have fees, some do not
Woori Bank (우리은행) Yes
KEB Hana Bank (Korea Exchange Bank) Yes
NH Bank (Nonghyup Bank / 농협은행) Yes
Industrial Bank Of Korea (IBK / 기업은행) Yes

If an ATM has fees, it is legally obligated to prompt you. You'll see a screen such as "this operation has a fee of ₩4500, do you wish to continue?". If this happens, just press "no" to cancel the transaction and go find another ATM.

The ATMs you can find in convenience stores will almost all have fees.

South Korea Central Bank, Seoul

South Korea Central Bank, Seoul

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Written by Clem
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Comments:

Tzipporah
Mar 22, 2019 at 17:58

Great thanks! No extra fees for me with a KB Kookmin Bank ATM in Seoul.

Allan Wo

Allan Wo
May 16, 2019 at 01:34

Just walked around Seoul looking for a bank that would not charge me between ₩3500 and ₩5000. Could not find one. I ended up exchanging USD at a bank branch which cost about ₩900. Good luck to the rest.

daavid
Apr 16, 2019 at 17:35

Can I use my ICICI bank (india) debit card to withdraw money from KB kookmin bank ATM in seoul with 0% charges?

Clem
Apr 16, 2019 at 17:38

I believe it's a Visa so it should work!

daavid
Apr 17, 2019 at 07:43

Thanks for your answer. Yes my card is a Visa but I heard from people that there will always be some withdraw charges in any bank ATM. Any comment on this.

Clem
Apr 17, 2019 at 13:03

Charges from your bank are possible, its depends on the pricing of your bank account / credit card. But if you choose the proper ATM, you won't pay anything to the Korean bank it belongs to.

Tom

Tom
May 20, 2019 at 04:54

Couldn't find one in Busan. I tried all those supposedly without fees on the list, but they all asked for a fee (usually 3500). I ended up paying...

Thoughts? Questions?

See also

Hot places to go when you're in South Korea
Ski in South Korea: Olympic Standards with a Cheap Price Tag
ATM fees in Taiwan
Currency of India