Source: https://library.iccwbo.org/content/dr/COUNTRY_ANSWERS/CA_SUPP_0029_39.htm?l1=Country+Answers&l2=Korea
Timestamp: 2019-09-23 08:02:36
Document Index: 19345284

Matched Legal Cases: ['Art. 39', 'Art. 217', 'Art. 26', 'Art. 27', 'Art. 1', 'Art. 1', 'Art. 2', 'Art. 2', 'Art. 1', 'Art. 35', 'Art. 165', 'Art. 7', 'Art. 134', 'Art. 37', 'Art. 37', 'Art. 255', 'Art. 48', 'Art. 255', 'Art. 5', 'Art. 6', 'Art. 163', 'Art. 257', 'Art. 5', 'Art. 5', 'Art. 254']

Jay Ki Lee
The Republic of Korea ('Korea').
9 May 1973.
(Source: Treaty No. 471 (New York Convention), heading.)
Korea made a reciprocity reservation under the New York Convention at the time of signing. However, awards rendered in non-Contracting States could still be recognized and enforced in Korea.
(Sources: of Arbitration Law, Art. 39, para. 2; Civil Procedure Law, Art. 217; Civil Enforcement Law, Art. 26, para. 1 and Art. 27.)
Korea made a reservation for commercial relationships at the time of signing the New York Convention.
(Source: Treaty No. 471 (New York Convention), Art. 1(3).)
Awards rendered in the Republic of Korea that are not considered as domestic awards ('International Awards rendered in Korea'), mainly because they do not involve Korean interest (e.g. because (i) none of the parties in the arbitration are Korean, or (ii) the award does not affect any Korean parties or interests at all, or (iii) Korean procedural laws have not been applied to the arbitration proceeding), could still be recognized and enforced under the New York Convention in Korea. In the answers to this Questionnaire, International Awards rendered in Korea and awards rendered in the territory of another State will be collectively referred to as 'Foreign Awards'.
(Source: Treaty No. 471 (New York Convention), Art. 1(1).)
Arbitration Law, Art. 2 of which provides that the provisions of any treaties or conventions in effect, to which Korea is a signatory, shall remain valid and enforceable, regardless of the provisions of the Arbitration Law.
(Sources: Arbitration Law, Art. 2; Treaty No. 471 (New York Convention), Art. 1(1).)
(Sources: Arbitration Law, Art. 35; Civil Code, Art. 165 para. 1.)
Ten years from the time the award became binding. An award is deemed binding when it cannot be challenged by any ordinary means of recourse.
The following trial courts in Korea have jurisdiction: (i) the court agreed upon in the arbitration agreement; (ii) the court in whose jurisdiction the place of arbitration is situated in the case of International Awards rendered in Korea; (iii) the court in whose jurisdiction assets owned by the respondent are located; or (iv) the court in whose jurisdiction the respondent's address, place of business or last known address or place of business are located.
(Source: Arbitration Law, Art. 7 para. 4.)
See Q.7 above. Thus, for the Korean courts to have jurisdiction, there must be: (i) agreement by the parties on a Korean court with jurisdiction over recognition and enforcement of the arbitral award; or (ii) in respect of an arbitration giving rise to an International Award rendered in Korea, jurisdiction of a Korean court over such arbitration under Korean law; or (iii) assets owned by the respondent in Korea; or (iv) an address, place of business or last known address or place of business of the respondent in Korea.
The first decision granting recognition and enforcement is obtained through inter partes proceedings.
(Sources: Civil Procedure Law, Art. 134; Arbitration Law, Art. 37.)
Two. A decision of the trial court can be appealed to the court of appeal. A decision of the court of appeal can be appealed, with leave, to the Supreme Court. In principle, only errors in law are appealable to the Supreme Court, not errors in fact.
(Source: Civil Procedure Law, Arts. 390 and 422.)
The judgment recognizing an award may be executed against assets immediately after the court order for recognition and enforcement becomes final. An appeal has to be filed with the relevant court within 2 weeks after receipt of the written judgment from the court, after which the judgment becomes final. The parties may finalize the judgment by relinquishing their respective rights to appeal.
Provisional execution may be granted at the discretion of the court with jurisdiction. When applying for provisional execution, the applicant has to provide prima facie evidence showing that execution of the final judgment may become extremely difficult or impossible if the court does not grant a provisional execution order prior to the issuance of final judgment.
(Sources: Civil Execution Law, Arts. 24, 277 and 280; Civil Procedure Law, Arts. 396, 423, 425 and 498.)
The following evidence must be submitted to the court: (i) the original or a certified copy of the arbitral award; (ii) the original or a certified copy of the arbitration agreement; and (iii) certified Korean translations of the arbitral award and the arbitration agreement.
(Source: Arbitration Law, Art. 37.)
The arbitral award has to be submitted in its entirety. However the court may accept relevant sections of the contract containing the arbitration agreement unless the respondent raises an objection.
Either originals or duly certified copies are sufficient.
The court requires one original or duly certified copy for each respondent, plus one additional copy for the court.
(Source: Civil Procedure Law, Art. 255; Civil Procedure Regulations, Art. 48.)
Yes. The court keeps the original award if submitted, unless a written and reasoned request for return of the original is submitted to the judge.
(Source: Civil Procedure Law, Art. 255.)
The translations have to be certified by an official, sworn translator or by a diplomatic or consular agent in Korea.
The applicant must provide translations of all documents which are submitted-this includes translations of the arbitral award in its entirety and of relevant sections of the contract containing the arbitration agreement (unless the respondent raises an objection).
Yes. If an application to set aside or suspend a Foreign Award is made by the respondent before the competent authority, the Korean court may dismiss the proceedings for recognition and enforcement without prejudice or order their stay.
(Sources: Arbitration Law, Arts. 2 and 35; Treaty No. 471 (New York Convention), Art. 5(1)(e).)
There are no other grounds under Korean law to stay legal proceedings for recognition and enforcement.
If granted, the court may require the provision of security.
(Source: Treaty No. 471 (New York Convention), Art. 6.)
Documents filed in legal proceedings for recognition and enforcement do form part of the public record. At present, there are no steps that could be taken to preserve the complete confidentiality of such documents. However, the applicant could file a petition with the court, asking for stricter confidentiality over certain documents for the protection of trade secrets and sensitive private information.
(Source: Civil Procedure Law, Art. 163.)
inter partes hearings are generally open to the public. However, if all parties agree, the judge may decide that such hearings shall be confidential.
Judgments on recognition and enforcement could be published, where the court believes the judgment has value as precedent. An application not to disclose the names of parties involved or the contents of trade secrets etc. will be scrutinized by the court, which exercises its discretion in this regard.
In principle, it is possible to obtain recognition and enforcement of interim or partial Foreign Awards. In practice, however, a claimant may have great difficulty overcoming a respondent's objection that the interim or partial Foreign Award has no binding effect.
(Source: Civil Procedure Law, Arts. 200 and 201.)
As a general rule, it is possible to obtain recognition and enforcement of Foreign Awards granting non-monetary relief.
(Sources: Civil Procedure Law, Arts. 200 and 201; Civil Execution Law, Art. 257.)
In most cases, a recognition and enforcement order will cover entire Foreign Awards. However, partial recognition and enforcement could be given if: (i) a certain portion of the award cannot be subjected to arbitration in Korea; (ii) a certain portion of the award violates Korean public policy; and (iii) such portion of the award is legally separable from the rest of the award.
(Source: Treaty No. 471 (New York Convention), Art. 5(1)(c), Art. 5(2)(a) and (b).)
In theory, it is possible for Korean courts to proceed with the recognition and enforcement action regardless of the fact that a foreign award has been set aside by the competent authority. However, the chances of this happening in practice are very low, and Korean courts will do so only in exceptional circumstances.
When filing its application for an enforcement order, the plaintiff will need to pay stamp duty amounting to a certain percentage of the amount claimed (i.e. the amount of the arbitral award sought to be enforced). For example, for a claim of 1 billion Korean Won (approx. USD 900,000 at the current exchange rate) or more, the statutory maximum rate of stamp duty is 0.35% of the amount claimed.
In addition to stamp duty, if the plaintiff is not resident in Korea, the defendant may request the court to order the plaintiff to post with the court a deposit as security to cover the defendant's legal fees and costs (the amount of which will be determined by the court at its discretion) in the event that the defendant prevails in the case (i.e. successfully opposes plaintiff's application for enforcement). Such deposit is refundable when the case is finalized, after deduction of any legal fees and costs that the court may order the plaintiff to bear.
Finally, other minor court costs (e.g. a fee for serving court documents on the parties) may be imposed.
(Sources: Stamp Duty Law for Civil Actions etc., Arts. 1 and 13; Civil Procedure Law, Art. 254.)