What is the Partnership Dissolution & Settlement Calculator?
This calculator estimates how much each business partner receives or owes when a partnership ends or when one partner leaves, under Korean law.
Korean law treats a business partnership as a “partnership” and settles two situations differently: winding the partnership up entirely (dissolution and liquidation) and one partner leaving (withdrawal).
The tool covers both, computing the distribution of remaining assets and a withdrawing partner’s share refund by either capital-contribution ratio or an agreed profit-share ratio, on one screen.
Every figure follows the 2026 Korean Civil Act partnership provisions (art. 703 and following), mirrored from the National Law Information Center.
Enter each partner’s capital contribution and the partnership’s current assets and liabilities, and the calculator returns each partner’s share ratio, distribution, and profit or loss against their contribution.
Korea-specific disclaimer: This calculator is based entirely on Korean law — the Civil Act partnership provisions (arts. 703, 704, 711, 716, 717, 719, 720, 721, 724) and Supreme Court precedent (2024Da234239, 2025Da205399).
It is a reference estimate for 2026 rules only and does not replace advice from a Korean attorney or tax advisor, a court decision, or a case-specific review. Actual settlement depends on the partnership agreement, unfinished profit and loss, partnership debts, and asset valuation.
Who is this for?
- • Co-owners winding down a partnership and dividing partnership property
- • A withdrawing partner reclaiming their share on the way out
- • Anyone claiming a settlement or share refund from the remaining partners
- • People checking how much they receive versus what they contributed
- • Anyone verifying a settlement against the profit-share ratio in a partnership agreement
- • Tax and legal staff handling partnership dissolution and liquidation
Partnership Basics under the Civil Act (arts. 703, 704)
A partnership is formed when two or more people agree to make mutual contributions and jointly operate a business (Civil Act art. 703(1)).
A contribution may be money, property, or labor, so an arrangement combining a capital partner and a working partner is still a partnership (art. 703(2)).
The contributions and other partnership property are held in collective ownership by all partners, so no single partner may dispose of it or pull out only their own portion at will (art. 704).
Collective ownership is why settlement is needed
Because partnership property is collectively owned, each partner’s share is only a notional ratio while the partnership continues.
The actual amount is fixed only when the partnership property is calculated at the moment of withdrawal or dissolution.
- • Mutual contribution: money, property, or labor — a contribution is required to form a partnership.
- • Joint business: more than a simple loan or profit-sharing, the partners must operate a business together.
- • Collective ownership: property belongs to all partners jointly, so shares crystallize only through settlement.
Dissolution, Liquidation & Remaining Assets (arts. 720, 721, 724)
To end the partnership entirely, it is dissolved and then liquidated.
Any partner may claim dissolution for compelling reasons (art. 720), and once dissolved, liquidation is carried out jointly by all partners or by a liquidator chosen by a majority of the partners (art. 721).
Remaining assets are distributed in proportion to contributions
The property left after paying all external debts is the “remaining assets.”
Civil Act art. 724(2) distributes those remaining assets in proportion to each partner’s capital contribution.
If the partnership agreement sets a separate profit-share ratio, that ratio may prevail, so this calculator supports both contribution-proportional and agreed-ratio methods.
Remaining assets = total assets − external liabilities. If liabilities exceed assets (a capital deficit), the remaining assets are negative and each partner shares the loss by their ratio.
Withdrawal & Share Calculation (arts. 716, 717, 719)
When only one partner leaves and the others keep running the business, it is handled as a withdrawal.
If no fixed term was set, a partner may in principle withdraw at any time (art. 716), and death, bankruptcy, commencement of adult guardianship, or expulsion causes automatic withdrawal (art. 717).
Calculated on the partnership property at the time of withdrawal
The accounting between the withdrawing partner and the others is based on the state of the partnership property at the time of withdrawal (art. 719(1)).
The withdrawing partner’s share may be returned in money regardless of the type of contribution, so even property or in-kind contributions are refunded in cash by default (art. 719(2)).
Matters not yet completed at the time of withdrawal may be settled after completion (art. 719(3)).
- • Reference point: the partnership’s net assets (assets − liabilities) on the withdrawal date.
- • Cash refund: even in-kind contributions are refunded as money by default.
- • Unfinished items: ongoing deals or lawsuits can be settled after they conclude.
Profit-Share Ratio — Contribution vs Agreement (art. 711)
The heart of settlement is the ratio by which each partner shares property and profit or loss.
Civil Act art. 711(1) provides that if the parties did not set a profit-and-loss ratio, it is fixed in proportion to each partner’s capital contribution.
If a ratio was set for only profit or only loss, it is presumed common to both profit and loss (art. 711(2)).
| Situation | Ratio applied | Basis |
|---|
| No agreement | Proportional to contribution | Civil Act art. 711(1) |
| Partnership agreement sets a ratio | Agreed ratio prevails | Freedom of contract / art. 711 |
| Dissolution — remaining assets | Proportional to contribution (default) | Civil Act art. 724(2) |
Choose the contribution-proportional method and the calculator derives each share ratio from the capital you enter; choose the agreed-ratio method and it normalizes the ratios you type to a base of 100.
A labor-only partner is hard to value in money and often triggers disputes, so in that case it is more accurate to set the profit-share ratio directly with the agreed-ratio method.
Dissolution Distribution ≠ Withdrawal Share Return (Supreme Court 2024Da234239)
The Supreme Court treats a claim for distribution of remaining assets on dissolution and a claim for return of a share on withdrawal as separate rights (Supreme Court, 13 Sept 2024, 2024Da234239).
On dissolution, if unfinished business remains, distribution of remaining assets cannot be claimed until liquidation ends; but if only distribution is left with no unfinished business, it can be claimed directly.
What if one of two partners leaves?
The Court holds that when one partner leaves a two-person partnership, the partnership is not dissolved and liquidated; instead the partnership property vests in the remaining partner, and the leaver claims a return of their share.
If the partnership property calculated at the time of withdrawal is not in deficit, the withdrawing partner can be refunded their share, and the burden of proving that property state generally lies with the person claiming the refund.
Because the claim method and the burden of proof differ depending on whether you settle as a withdrawal or as a dissolution, it helps to compare both modes of this calculator against your situation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. How is it divided if no profit-share ratio was set?
A. Without an agreement, it is divided in proportion to each partner’s capital contribution (Civil Act art. 711(1)).
On dissolution, remaining assets are also distributed in proportion to contribution by default (art. 724(2)).
Q. When and how much do I get back on withdrawal?
A. The share is calculated on the partnership property at the time of withdrawal and may be returned in money regardless of contribution type (art. 719).
If not in deficit, you are refunded net assets multiplied by your share ratio.
Q. Does a labor-only partner also share in the property?
A. A labor-contributing partner may share in profit and remaining assets absent a special agreement.
Because valuing labor is difficult, it is more accurate to state the profit-share ratio in the agreement and use the agreed-ratio method here.
Q. Is partnership settlement taxed?
A. Simply getting your capital contribution back is generally not taxable.
But if partnership property includes real estate or goodwill and a valuation gain is realized, capital gains tax, comprehensive income tax, or VAT may arise, so consult a tax professional.
Q. Can I claim exactly what the calculator shows?
A. This is a reference estimate.
Actual settlement depends on the partnership agreement, unfinished profit and loss, partnership debts, and valuation, so consult an attorney or tax advisor before a concrete claim.
Estimate your partnership settlement now
Enter the contributions and the partnership’s assets to see the distribution of remaining assets and a withdrawing partner’s share refund on one screen.
Based on the 2026 Korean Civil Act arts. 711, 719, and 724 for partnership dissolution and settlement.