Take Over a Korean Website From Your Old Agency
Agency gone quiet? Get the domain, hosting, code, payment gateway and KakaoTalk accounts into your name first, then audit and decide: fix or rebuild.
To take over a Korean website from a previous agency, secure the accounts first and touch the code second. Get the domain, DNS, hosting, source code, database, admin logins and every Korean service account (payment gateway, KakaoTalk Channel, Naver Search Advisor, SMS sender number) into your company's name, take a full backup, and only then audit what you have. That order keeps the site and your payments running while you decide whether to fix it or rebuild it.
This guide is for companies whose Korean site was built by an agency that has gone quiet, closed, or simply no longer fits, and who need someone new to run it.
What do you need to get from the old agency?
Ask for everything on this list in one written request. Items in the second half are the Korea-specific ones that foreign teams most often miss.
| Item | Why it matters | Whose name it should be in |
|---|---|---|
| Domain registrar account | Whoever is the registrant controls the domain | Your company |
| DNS | The same zone often runs your email; a careless change breaks it | Your company |
| Hosting or cloud account | Server, backups and SSL certificates live here | Your company |
| Source code repository | Without the source you can only patch the live site | Your company, with full history |
| Database and file storage | Content, members and orders | Your company; a fresh dump before any change |
| CMS and admin logins | Day-to-day editing | A new administrator account for you |
| Analytics and Google Search Console | Traffic history and search data | Your company, as owner |
| Naver Search Advisor | Korean search registration and reports | Your company, as owner |
| Payment gateway merchant admin and keys | Live payments, refunds and settlement | Your company is the merchant |
| KakaoTalk Channel and AlimTalk dealer account | Customer chat and transactional messages | Your company as channel owner |
| Kakao and Naver developer apps (login) | Social login stops if these are deleted | Your company's developer accounts |
| SMS sender number | Korea requires sender numbers to be registered before use | Registered to your company |
| Fonts, plugins and paid licences | Some are tied to the agency's account | Transferred, or replaced |
If the old agency registered the domain or the merchant contract in its own name, start with those two. They are the slowest to move and the ones that can take the site or your payments offline.
Stuck with a site nobody will touch? Write to us in two minutes. Tell us the address and what is not working; no brief needed.
Is it a custom-built site or a builder site?
Find out before anyone promises a fix, because it changes what "taking over" means.
| Built with | What you can take with you | What it usually means |
|---|---|---|
| Custom code (for example Next.js, Laravel, Spring) | Source, database and files | A developer can take over, audit and continue |
| WordPress | Theme, plugins, database and uploads | Takeover plus a plugin and update review |
| A hosted Korean or global builder | Content exports, within the platform's limits | You keep running it on the platform, or rebuild elsewhere |
| A hosted shop platform | Product, customer and order exports, within the platform's limits | Staying is often cheaper than moving; check the export options first |
Ask the old agency directly, or check the page source and the admin login page. If nobody can produce source code for a custom site, a rebuild is usually faster than reverse-engineering the live one.
What should you check in the first week?
- Back up everything. Database, uploaded files and the current code, stored somewhere the old agency cannot reach.
- Change every password and remove accounts you do not recognise, starting with hosting, the admin and the payment gateway.
- Check the payment flow end to end with a small real transaction and a refund. Payments are where a broken site costs money fastest.
- Check framework and plugin versions against known security issues. For a Next.js site, our guide to the September 2026 Next.js security patches has a two-minute version check.
- Check forms and notifications. Inquiries that go to an old agency mailbox or an expired SMS account are leads you never see.
- Check search registration. Make sure Google Search Console and Naver Search Advisor are verified in your accounts, and that the site's robots.txt does not block Naver.
Should you fix the site or rebuild it?
| Fix and continue when | Rebuild when |
|---|---|
| You have the source code and database | The source is missing or incomplete |
| The framework is supported and can be updated | The framework or major plugins are years out of date |
| The structure fits what the business does now | The business has changed and the site no longer fits |
| Problems are specific: a form, a payment, a page | Every change breaks something else |
A rebuild does not have to mean starting from nothing. Content, images, members and orders can usually be migrated, and the domain and search history stay with you.
What does a takeover cost?
It depends on what you inherit, so the audit comes first. From our pricing catalogue (version 1.1, 23 September 2026), excluding 10% VAT, the lines that usually apply are:
| Item | Price (USD, excl. VAT) |
|---|---|
| Discovery and audit before the work | 200–550 |
| Data migration from an old site (posts, images, members, orders) | 350–1,100 |
| Rebuilt company website, three tiers | 1,900 / 3,100 / 4,300 |
| Rebuilt web app or platform | 1,800–3,900 |
Hosting and maintenance after the takeover are a separate contract from any build work, with their own terms. The full price list is in website development cost in Korea.
How we take over and renew sites
Our estimator has a renewal path for exactly this: you choose "renew existing site" and whether to start fresh, move posts and images, or also move members and orders. Renewals we have done include the platform for UNESCO i-WSSM, which we rebuilt and which is now in operation, and the website of a Korean academic society, renewed with its existing OJS journal system connected.
We are a two-person studio in Korea; our CEO and a director do the work themselves. Our English-speaking founder runs consultations and documents directly, and we can meet you in person in Korea. See web development in Korea for how we build and hand over sites.
Frequently asked questions
How do I take over my website from my old web developer?
Ask in writing for the domain registrar account, DNS, hosting, source code, database, admin logins and every third-party account, all transferred to your company's name. Back everything up, change the passwords, then audit the site before deciding to fix or rebuild it.
Who owns the domain if the agency registered it?
Whoever is listed as the registrant controls the domain. If the agency registered it in its own name, ask for the transfer first, before any other change.
Can I move my Korean payment gateway to a new developer?
The merchant contract is between your company and the payment gateway, so it does not need to move. Your new developer needs access to the merchant admin and the keys. If the old agency holds the contract in its own name, contact the gateway about moving it to your company.
Can you take over a site built with a website builder?
Usually the content can be exported within the platform's limits, but the platform itself stays. You can keep running the site there or rebuild it elsewhere and migrate the content.
Is it cheaper to fix an old website or rebuild it?
Fixing is cheaper when you have the source code, the framework can be updated and the structure still fits the business. Rebuilding is usually cheaper when the source is missing or every change breaks something else. An audit tells you which one you are in.
Sources
- NQ Solution pricing catalogue v1.1 (23 September 2026), in USD excluding VAT
- NQ Solution English estimator, /en/estimate: renewal and content migration options, checked in 2026
- Korea Ministry of Government Legislation, Telecommunications Business Act (Article 84-2, sender number registration)
Need someone to take over your Korean site?
Write to us in two minutes with the site address and what is not working: no brief needed. If you have the old agency's documents or a list of accounts, send them with the project request form. To outline a renewal yourself, use the estimator and choose "renew existing site".