DEV BOX / INFRASTRUCTURE

What to Check When Choosing a Domain and Hosting (Spec Items)

BOXLOGODEVTranslated from Korean 한국어 원문 보기

This English version is a translation of the original Korean post. Text, screenshots and product details reflect the date it was written.

A server rack in a dark room beside a sample DOMAIN WHOIS panel for example.com listing registry domain ID, registrar, dates, clientTransferProhibited status and name servers.
The WHOIS panel uses placeholder example values.

The boxes to check are spec items, not a vendor table. A service desk is only a service desk. Price lists and lowest-price columns stay closed.

This post was written for readers in Korea, so alongside the global gTLD rules it covers the Korean .kr/.한국 rules and Korean law. Korean statute and rule names are translated, and the Korean government and KRNIC sources are in Korean. Below, "the Act" means the Korean Act on Internet Address Resources, "the Rules" means KRNIC's Domain Name Management Rules, and "the Agency" means KISA.

1. The boxes this post covers

Domain boxes and hosting boxes are kept separate.

  • Domain: TLD type, registry vs. registrar, term, renewal and expiry grace, transfer lock and AuthInfo, WHOIS/RDAP, Korean-script domain registration rules, dispute channels
  • Hosting: box names written in the terms of service (shared, VPS, dedicated, cloud / data location / certificate type / backup, traffic, disk / uptime and SLA)

KISA, IANA, the ICANN accredited registrar list, KRNIC, ICANN Lookup and IDRC are places to verify. This post does not tell you to register or sign up there.

Not covered here: vendor ratings, lowest prices, coupons, or topics from issues 1–12.

2. TLD types

ItemOne-line official definitionSource
TLD (top-level domain)IANA: the Root Zone Database represents the delegation details of top-level domains, including gTLDs (such as .com) and ccTLDs (such as .uk). The CA/B BR cites RFC 8499 and describes a TLD as "the zone one layer below the root."S3, S14
gTLDICANN: general-purpose domains such as .com, .net, .edu, and .org. Includes New gTLD Program names and names in other scripts. ICANN coordinates gTLD registration rules and policies.S1
ccTLDICANN New gTLD Glossary: the class of top-level domains reserved for countries, territories and geographic locations identified in the ISO 3166-1 Country Codes list. See the IANA Root Zone Database.S2, S3
.krIANA Delegation Record: Country-code top-level domain. ccTLD Manager = Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA). Registration services URL: http://www.nic.or.kr/ WHOIS: whois.krS4
.한국IANA: Country-code top-level domain designated for two-letter country code KR. Punycode xn--3e0b707e. ccTLD Manager = KISA. Registration date 2011-02-05.S5
National domain (.kr) termKRNIC national statistics glossary: "the Latin-script national top-level domain that Korean nationals can register under the international standard (ISO-3166-410)"S20
National domain (.한국) termKRNIC national statistics glossary: "the Korean-script national top-level domain that Korean nationals can register"S20

ICANN/IANA refer to ISO 3166-1. The KRNIC statistics page writes "ISO-3166-410." Each is kept as its source writes it.

3. Registry vs. registrar

ItemOne-line official definitionSource
registryICANN: An authoritative master database of the domain names registered in a TLD. DNS obtains the authoritative name servers from the TLD registry.S21
registrarICANN: An organization through which individuals and entities (registrants) register domain names. It checks registry requirements and submits to the registry operator.S22
ICANN-accredited registrarICANN: a registrar that has signed the Registrar Accreditation Agreement. The list is on the ICANN website.S22, S23
Internet address management agencyAct Article 2(3): the Korea Internet & Security Agency under Article 52 of the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, and corporations or organizations entrusted by it with internet address management, which perform work related to allocating and registering internet addresses.S6
Internet address management agentAct Article 2: a party selected by the internet address management agency under Article 14(1) to carry out part of the allocation or registration work on its behalf.S6
Top-level domain registration businessAct Article 2: a business that handles registration for generic top-level domains or country-code top-level domains (excluding Korea's country-code top-level domains) on others' behalf.S6
Domain name registration agentRules Article 2(1): an internet address management agent under Act Article 2(6), selected by the Agency to carry out part of the domain name management work.S7
RegistrantRules Article 2(2): a person who has registered a domain name with the Agency and is a user of internet addresses under Act Article 2(4).S7
.kr/.한국 application routeRules Article 8: the application is submitted to the Agency through a registration agent, using information networks or other means.S7
Registration agent deskKRNIC: "a registration agent is a company that has signed a registration agency contract with the Korea Internet & Security Agency under the Act on Internet Address Resources"S24

The Act's "top-level domain registration business" covers gTLDs and foreign ccTLDs, excluding Korea's country-code top-level domains. Do not mix that box with .kr registration agents.

The ICANN accredited registrar list and KRNIC's registration agent list are places to verify.

4. Registration term · renewal · expiry grace

The gTLD consensus policies and the .kr Rules are separate boxes.

ItemOne-line official definitionSource
gTLD initial registration termBase Registry Agreement §2.10(a): Registry Operator shall offer registrars the option to obtain initial domain name registrations for periods of one (1) to ten (10) years at the discretion of the registrar, but no greater than ten (10) years.S25
gTLD renewal termSame section (b): renewals for periods of one (1) to ten (10) years … no greater than ten (10) years.S25
RAEERRP 1.1: Registrant at Expiration = the Registered Name Holder eligible to renew just before expiry.S10
Pre-expiry noticesERRP 2.1.1: at least two notices before a gTLD registration expires, about one month before and about one week before. (Compliance interpretation: 26–35 days and 4–10 days)S10
Notice within 5 days after expiryERRP 2.1.2: if not renewed or deleted, one more expiry notice (with renewal instructions) within five days after expiry.S10
Deletion after expiryERRP 2.2.1: subject to consensus policies and the RAA, a registrar may delete a registration at any time after expiry.S10
DNS interruption of at least 8 daysERRP 2.2.2–2.2.3: if deleted within 8 days after expiry, DNS resolution is interrupted from expiry until deletion; if deleted after 8 days, it is interrupted for at least 8 consecutive days before deletion.S10
RGPERRP 3.1: except for sponsored gTLDs, a 30-day Redemption Grace Period immediately after deletion. Deletion during the add-grace period is not subject to RGP.S10
No transfer during RGPERRP 3.2: during RGP, DNS is inactive and transfer attempts are prohibited (with exceptions such as ICANN-approved bulk transfers). RGP is shown in RDDS.S10
Fee disclosureERRP 4.1: renewal fees, post-expiry renewal fees and redemption/restore fees are disclosed to a reasonable extent at registration.S10
.kr/.한국 cancellation ground (fees)Rules Article 11(1)(3): the full registration fee remains unpaid 30 days after the end-of-use date, regardless of public holidays.S7
.kr/.한국 suspensionRules Article 11(2): suspended for 30 days before cancellation, regardless of public holidays. Article 11(3): if the ground is resolved during suspension, the suspension is lifted and the domain is not cancelled.S7
.kr user feesRules Article 13(1): applicants and registrants pay the registration agent the fee set by the registration agent.S7
.kr agent-to-Agency feesRules Article 13(2): registration agents pay the Agency the fees in Appendix 2. Appendix 2 is not the retail price to users.S7

No article of the Rules was found on the number of years available for an initial .kr registration (whether 1–10 years). It is marked only as a box in the registration agent's terms.

5. Transfer lock · AuthInfo

gTLD transfers and .kr transfers get separate rows. Where an "authorization code" is involved, for gTLDs it is AuthInfo; for .kr it is the verification email that KRNIC describes.

ItemOne-line official definitionSource
clientTransferProhibitedICANN EPP: a client status that tells the registry to reject requests to transfer the domain to another registrar.S26
serverTransferProhibitedICANN EPP: prevents transfer from the current registrar to another, for reasons such as disputes, requests or redemptionPeriod.S26
AuthInfoTransfer Policy I.A.5.2: the registrar provides a unique AuthInfo to the Registered Name Holder. Without self-service, it must be provided and the lock removed within 5 calendar days of the initial request.S9
Conditions for setting a lockTransfer Policy I.A.5.1: ClientTransferProhibited is set only at registration or at the RNH's request, with the conditions and explicit consent in the registration agreement.S9
Deadline to remove a lockSame section: without self-service, removed within 5 calendar days of the initial request.S9
No refusal over payment disputes aloneTransfer Policy I.A.5.4: AuthInfo may not be withheld, nor the lock kept, solely because of a payment dispute.S9
60 days after creationTransfer Policy I.A.3.7.5: a transfer request within 60 days of the creation date may be denied.S9
60 days after a transferTransfer Policy I.A.3.7.6: a new transfer request within 60 days (or a shorter period) after a completed transfer may be denied.S9
60 days after a Change of RegistrantTransfer Policy II.C.2: a 60-day inter-registrar transfer lock after a Change of Registrant. Opt-out is possible before the lock.S9
gTLD term on transferTransfer Policy I.A, Effect on Term of Registration: when a holder-authorized transfer completes, the existing registration is extended by one year. The total remaining term may not exceed ten years.S9
.kr registration agent transferKRNIC: "changing the registration agent of a .kr/.한국 domain." "When applying for a transfer, you must extend the term of use by one year." The procedure has 10 steps, including an application to the receiving agent, a verification email and receipt by KISA.S8
.kr AuthInfoNo primary definition. KRNIC's official transfer page describes a verification email.S8

6. WHOIS / RDAP

ItemOne-line official definitionSource
RDAPICANN: Registration Data Access Protocol. Developed by the IETF. Replaces WHOIS. Internationalization, secure access and authoritative server discovery.S11
gTLD WHOIS sunsetICANN announcement of 2025-01-27: from 2025-01-28, RDAP is the definitive source of gTLD registration data. WHOIS services are sunset.S27
Remaining WHOIS exceptionsICANN RDAP page: after 2025-01-28, gTLD registries and registrars are no longer required to provide WHOIS. Exceptions: .com, .name, .post.S11
Registration Data PolicyICANN Consensus Policy on how gTLD registries and accredited registrars handle registration data (collection, transfer, publication, retention). Effective 2025-08-21.S12, S28
ICANN LookupThe RDAP-based lookup that ICANN points to: https://lookup.icann.org/enS27
.kr WHOIS scopeRules Article 25(2): (1) domain name (2) registrant name and address (3) administrative contact name, phone number and email (4) name servers (5) registration agent name (6) registration date, last modified date and end-of-use dateS7
.kr WHOIS exceptionsRules Article 25(1): (1) the domain name search service (WHOIS service) provided by the Agency (2) where a law specially provides (3) where a government agency requests information in a form that cannot identify a specific individual to carry out duties under the relevant law.S7
whois.krIANA .kr / .한국 Registry Information: WHOIS Server whois.krS4, S5

The scope of gTLD personal data masking is not described as "industry practice." Only the box from the Registration Data Policy text is used.

From KRNIC's fee comparison table, only the box-name definition "privacy: a service that replaces domain name registration details with the registration agent's details" is used. The vendor comparison table is not included. (S29)

7. Korean-script domains

ItemOne-line official definitionSource
What .한국 isKRNIC: a Korean-script domain you can use as a website address by adding ".한국" after the Korean expression you want. Structure: second level (Korean.한국).S30
.한국 registration rules (the Rules)Rules Article 5(3): Korean (Unicode precomposed Hangul syllables), Latin letters, digits and hyphens. Length 3–63 characters, or 1–17 characters if Korean is included. May not start with a hyphen or "xn--," or end with a hyphen.S7
.한국 registration rules (guide page)KRNIC .한국 page: 17 characters or fewer, at least one Korean character, no hyphen at the start or end, no consecutive hyphens in the 3rd and 4th positions.S30
Second-level Korean.krRules Article 5(2): Latin letters, Korean, digits and hyphens. 3–63 characters, or 2–17 characters if Korean is included.S7
Third-level krRules Article 5(1): Latin letters, digits and hyphens. 2–63 characters.S7
Registration condition (address)Rules Article 4(1), main text: applicants and registrants must have an address in Korea.S7
No unique identifiersRules Article 5(4): another person's unique identifying information under Article 19 of the Enforcement Decree of the Personal Information Protection Act, and another person's phone number, cannot be registered as a domain name.S7
.한국 emailKRNIC .한국 page: "Email with a .한국 domain is currently not available."S30

Rules Article 5(3) (1–17 characters) and the KRNIC guide page (17 characters or fewer) are listed side by side.

8. Disputes

The UDRP and Korea's internet address dispute resolution (KR-DRP) are not the same system. Split the box by TLD.

ItemOne-line official definitionSource
UDRPICANN: incorporated into the registration agreement. Covers disputes with third parties (not the registrar) over registration and use. For trademark-based disputes, the registrar does not cancel, suspend or transfer before agreement, court action or arbitration. Abusive registrations are brought to an approved dispute-resolution provider.S31, S32
UDRP scopeICANN: All registrars must follow the UDRP.S32
Internet Address Dispute Resolution CommitteeAct Article 16(1): an Internet Address Dispute Resolution Committee is established to mediate disputes over the registration and use of internet addresses.S6, S34
KR-DRPIDRC: bad-faith registration and use of .KR and .한국 domains, among others, under the Act on Internet Address Resources.S34
Dispute clause in the RulesRules Article 12: an application may be made to the Committee under Act Article 18. Once a mediation application is received, changes to registration details may be restricted.S7
Transfer registration exception (2026.7.1.)Rules Article 4(1), proviso: where a transfer mediation under Act Article 20(2)–(3) is concluded, a court judgment is issued, or an arbitral award is made, the transfer can be registered regardless of a domestic address.S7, S34
Mediation languageIDRC: with the amendment of Article 13 of the Internet Address Dispute Mediation Detailed Rules, from 2026-01-01 proceedings can be held in a language other than Korean when needed.S34
UDRP Asia deskIDRC: IDRC – ADNDRC Seoul Office.S34

Only the desk, the governing law and the covered TLDs are listed.

9. Hosting product type names

Shared / VPS / dedicated / cloud (as hosting product names) have no primary definition in Korean law or from KISA, the Ministry of Science and ICT or ICANN. Only the box names are kept.

Legal terms are kept in separate boxes from product names in the terms of service.

ItemOne-line official definitionSource
Shared hostingNo primary definition—
VPSNo primary definition—
Dedicated serverNo primary definition—
Cloud (hosting product name)No primary definition—
Integrated information and communications facility operatorInformation and Communications Network Act Article 46(1)(1): a party that operates and manages integrated information and communications facilities to provide information and communications services for others.S13
Integrated facility operators, etc.Same article: parties under item 1 or item 2 (those that directly operate and manage integrated facilities for their own services) that meet the Presidential Decree's criteria. They have protective-measure obligations.S13
Size criteria in the Enforcement DecreeInformation and Communications Network Act Enforcement Decree Article 37: item 1 operators have a computer room floor area of 500 ㎡ or more. (Item 2 combines floor area, revenue and number of users.)S35
Outage reportingInformation and Communications Network Act Article 46(6): when service is interrupted for the period set by Presidential Decree due to disasters or similar events, the status, cause, emergency measures and recovery plans are reported without delay to the Minister of Science and ICT.S13

This post does not say that integrated information and communications facilities are the same as all web hosting.

10. Data location · cross-border transfer

What the law sets out are requirements. It does not declare that "overseas servers are illegal." The box is: "Does the privacy policy state the countries personal data is transferred to and where it is stored?"

ItemOne-line official definitionSource
Cross-border transferPersonal Information Protection Act Article 28-8(1): personal information must not be provided (including access), entrusted for processing, or stored overseas (a "transfer" in this section). It may be transferred if one of the provisos applies.S16
Conditions for transferItems of the same paragraph: separate consent from the data subject; provisions of law, treaties or agreements; entrustment or storage needed to conclude or perform a contract (statutory requirements); certification under a Commission notice; recognition of an equivalent level of protection in a country or international organization.S16, S17
Items to disclose when obtaining consentArticle 28-8(2): items transferred; country, timing and method; name of the recipient (company name and contact details); purpose of use and retention period; how to refuse, the procedure and the consequences.S16, S17
Disclosure in the privacy policyPersonal Information Protection Commission: for cross-border transfers, disclose the legal basis in the privacy policy, and for consent-based transfers, the details of the consent (Enforcement Decree Article 31(1)(2)).S17
Direct collection from overseasPersonal Information Protection Commission: a party overseas collecting personal information directly from data subjects is not a "cross-border transfer" under this article.S17

11. SSL/TLS certificate type names

Only the type names are listed. No CA products are recommended.

ItemOne-line official definitionSource
domain-validated (DV)CA/B Forum BR §1.2 OID 2.23.140.1.2.1. Object Registry: Certificate issued in compliance with the TLS Baseline Requirements – No entity identity asserted.S14, S15
organization-validated (OV)OID 2.23.140.1.2.2. Object Registry: Organization identity asserted.S14, S15
individual-validated (IV)OID 2.23.140.1.2.3. Object Registry: Certificate issued in compliance with the TLS Baseline Requirements – Individual identity asserted.S14, S15
Extended Validation (EV)EV Guidelines: the minimum requirements for a CA to issue an EV Certificate. Certain software may display the Subject Organization information. Incorporates the BR by reference.S36
Maximum Subscriber Certificate validityBR Relevant Dates: from 2026-03-15, the maximum validity period of Subscriber Certificates is 200 days. Later dates follow the BR table (2027-03-15: 100 days, 2029-03-15: 47 days).S14

Validity periods are only stated together with the BR's table of effective dates.

12. Backup · traffic · disk

Backup, traffic and disk are items that hosting terms use as box names. The material this post received contains no official or primary document stating capacity or transfer numbers as an industry standard.

13. SLA / uptime

ItemOne-line official definitionSource
Availability (E.800)ITU-T E.800: Availability of an item to be in a state to perform a required function at a given instant of time or at any instant of time within a given time interval, assuming that the external resources, if required, are provided.S18
SLA (E.800)ITU-T E.800 (2008) 3.3.6: A service level agreement is a formal document listing a set of performance characteristics and target values (or range) to be delivered for a service or portfolio of services by the service provider.S18
Service Availability (E.860)ITU-T E.860: percentage of time (SA%) during which the contracted service is operational at the respective Service Access Points. Operational = the service can be used at the quality level stated in the SLA. SA% = 100% − UA%.S19

If the terms have an "uptime" or "availability" box, check only whether the terms define it, state the measurement period and list the exclusions. No specific percentage is given as an industry standard.

14. Checklist

Domain

#ItemOne-line official definitionSourceCheck
D1TLD classgTLD / ccTLD (ICANN, IANA)S1–S3[ ]
D2.kr / .한국 or notIANA delegation, KISA as ccTLD ManagerS4, S5[ ]
D3Registry vs. registrarregistry / registrar; statutory management agency / management agentS6, S21, S22[ ]
D4Registration and renewal termgTLD 1–10 years (Base RA). .kr user term is a box in the agent's termsS25, S7[ ]
D5Expiry gracegTLD ERRP notices, 30-day RGP. .kr 30-day suspension before cancellationS10, S7[ ]
D6Transfer lockgTLD ClientTransferProhibited and AuthInfo. .kr follows the KRNIC transfer procedureS9, S8, S26[ ]
D7WHOIS/RDAPgTLD RDAP and Registration Data Policy. .kr items in Rules Article 25S11, S12, S7[ ]
D8Korean-script domain rulesRules Article 5, IANA .한국S7, S5, S30[ ]
D9Dispute channelUDRP or internet address dispute resolution (KR-DRP)S31–S34[ ]
D10Domestic address condition (.kr/.한국)Rules Article 4, main text and provisoS7[ ]

Hosting

#ItemOne-line official definitionSourceCheck
H1Product type nameShared/VPS/dedicated/cloud: no primary definition, box names only—[ ]
H2Integrated information and communications facilityWhether the Article 46 term of the Network Act appears in the terms or noticesS13[ ]
H3Data location and cross-border transferArticle 28-8 requirements of the Protection Act and privacy policy noticeS16, S17[ ]
H4Certificate type nameDV/OV/IV/EV (CA/B Forum)S14, S15, S36[ ]
H5Backup, traffic, diskBox names in the terms. No industry-standard numbers—[ ]
H6SLA and uptimeE.800/E.860 terms. Only the target values in the terms. Do not assert a specific percentageS18, S19[ ]

15. Where to verify

DeskURLWhat it does
IANA Root Zone Databasehttps://www.iana.org/domains/root/dbTLD delegation, type and manager
IANA .krhttps://www.iana.org/domains/root/db/kr.htmlccTLD Manager, WHOIS
IANA .한국https://www.iana.org/domains/root/db/xn--3e0b707e.htmlPunycode, delegation
ICANN accredited registrar listhttps://www.icann.org/en/accredited-registrarsThe list
ICANN Lookuphttps://lookup.icann.org/enRDAP lookup
KRNIC Ruleshttps://www.nic.or.kr/jsp/infoboard/law/domManRule.jsp.kr/.한국 registration, cancellation, WHOIS
KRNIC registration agent transferhttps://nic.or.kr/jsp/business/management/domain/transInfo.jspTransfer procedure
whois.krwhois.krThe WHOIS server listed by IANA
Internet Address Dispute Resolution Committeehttps://www.idrc.or.kr/KR-DRP
law.go.krhttps://www.law.go.krAct on Internet Address Resources, Network Act Article 46, Personal Information Protection Act Article 28-8

Sources

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