## 1 Introduction
As such, ASR is emerging as a key alternative to securing water resources worldwide [12]. Among various types of MAR, despite the practicality, usefulness, necessity, and economic feasibility of ASWQE as an alternative for securing alternative water resources, it has been regarded to have considerable obstacles and limitations to overcome in legal/institutional as well as physical/technical aspects, because the development of ASWQE technologies is at an early stage worldwide and even in its first attempt in Korea [7,13]. The critical issues, for example, which have been pointed out to address are injection well and aquifer clogging, collection and withdrawal efficiency of stored water, water quality and environmental pollution, etc. in the physical/technical dimension [8] and deficiencies in the integrated and systematic legal basis to effectively support the ASWQE project in the legal/institutional dimension [9]. Korea has been actively participating in this global trend and launched the ASWQE Research Group on 15 June 2013. The main goal of this research group is to develop and verify the total solution technologies required for the overall life-cycle of a groundwater reservoir, from the planning stage of ASWQE projects to the design, construction, and operation and maintenance (O&M) stages. This group has been developing a pilot ASWQE project with a storage capacity of 1 million m\({}^{3}\)/d and source water production capacity of 2000 m\({}^{3}\)/d for drinkable water. The pilot project involves the following four phases:  
1. collection of raw water from the Nakdong River and pretreatment;
2. artificial injection into the aquifer at the nearby ASWQE site;
3. storage for a certain period of time and release;
4. recovery and supply of stored water to water treatment facilities [14]. However, the current legal system in Korea lacks regulatory/institutional support for the implementation of ASWQE projects. Quite a few countries around the world, especially some European countries, the US, and Australia, have been actively establishing and implementing regulatory/institutional/policy grounds and foundations, as well as plans for ASWQE projects. In contrast, Korea lacks even the basic legal concepts regarding ASWQE in terms of current related acts and subordinate statutes [6]. Therefore, not only the physical/technical aspects, but also the regulatory/institutional aspects should be established in Korea because they have been regarded as highly important factors for successfully commercializing and operating ASWQE. This foundation is necessary for making accurate and rational decisions, and component policies can act to minimize inevitable uncertainties that are associated with the application of advanced scientific technology, such as in ASWQE projects. An overall framework can also provide clarity, which is absolutely necessary for carrying out and operating actual projects. In addition, clarifying the legal rights, obligations, and responsibilities of parties involved in a project is a prerequisite for carrying out and operating the projects [9; 15]. Considering this situation, the main objectives of this study are to (i) analyze the various legal issues and current major legislation related to ASWQE projects in Korea and (ii) briefly introduce approaches and plans that could assist with the establishment of a legal system that reflects the requirements of ASWQE project implementation. To this end, this study mainly reviews and analyzes various legal issues regarding ASWQE projects.