Will my residence report be canceled if an F-4 overseas Korean stays abroad for a long time?

No. If you return within your period of stay, your residence report is not canceled just because you stayed abroad for a long time. An overseas Korean (F-4) who has made a domestic residence report (국내거소신고) does not need a re-entry permit if they come back within their period of stay.

What matters is not how long you stay abroad. What matters is your period of stay expiration date. If the expiration date passes while you are abroad, your F-4 status of stay ends. Then your residence report card (거소신고증) can no longer be used. After that, you must get an F-4 visa again to enter Korea, and you must make a new residence report.

⚠️ Points to watch

• You must extend before the expiration. You can apply to extend your period of stay from 4 months before the expiration date until the expiration date. You can apply in one of these ways: HiKorea (hikorea.go.kr) e-application, a visit to the immigration office in your area, or an immigration application agency (출입국민원대행기관). If you plan to stay abroad for a long time, check before you leave whether you can apply for an extension.
• If you leave with no plan to return, you must return your residence report card at the airport or port when you depart. If you do not return it, you may get a fine of up to 1,000,000 KRW.

Whether you can apply for an extension while you are abroad can differ by situation. Before you leave, check once more with HiKorea or the Foreigner Information Center (외국인종합안내센터, 1345).