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International Arbitration Guide
South Korea

Describe the international arbitration governing bodies/structure in your jurisdiction.

The Arbitration Act is the principal legislation that governs arbitration, which applies to both domestic and international arbitrations seated in Korea. The Korean government acceded to the New York Convention on 9 May 1973 and ratified it on 8 February 1974, and made both the reciprocity and commercial reservations.

Describe any unique circumstances in your country that affect international arbitration (i.e., change in government, etc.).

Korean courts are in favor of enforcing arbitration agreements and only refuse to enforce an arbitral award if one of the grounds for refusal under the Arbitration Act exists, which grounds are identical to those set forth in Article V of the New York Convention. An arbitral award regarding a commercial dispute will be treated as a New York Convention award under the Arbitration Act so long as it is rendered in a jurisdiction that is also a contracting state to the New York Convention.

Please provide a brief overview of your firms international arbitration capabilities (team members, experience as litigators in arbitration as well as experience as arbitrators).

We have represented foreign clients in arbitrations administered by the Singapore International Arbitration Centre and the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board involving contract disputes governed by Korean law, and also represented Korean client as co-counsel in ICC arbitration. Around 14 lawyers from our law firm are currently acting as arbitrators in the KCAB.

In which areas does your firm handle arbitration? (i.e., international investment, infrastructure, public works, energy, construction, etc.)

In the last 3 years, we represented clients in construction, pharmaceutical, infrastructure, energy, and waste management industries, to name a few, in the arbitrations administered by the KCAB.

Which industries does your firm serve in this area (i.e., energy, insurance, public concessions, etc.)?

We relentlessly endeavor to become a true one-stop service law firm, and we are ready to serve our clients in commercial arbitrations involving Korean law disputes in various industries, including but not limited to construction, infrastructure, energy, real estate, and intellectual property.

Does your firm provide lawyer representation or certified arbitrator resources, or both? Please describe.

We represent our clients in arbitrations, and our lawyers also serve as arbitrators in the KCAB.

ClassHankyul

Offices

ClassHankyul
Kyobo Bldg., 9th and 16th Floors
Jongno 1, Jongno-gu
Seoul, South Korea 03154
+82 2 3487 3000

Delegates


Suin Youn
Senior Foreign Attorney