Recent Trends of Law & Regulation in Korea

Vol.25 Winter 2017 ISSN 2288-4041

Expert Column - Current Trends in Korea’s Medical Disputes and Dispute Settlement System

Introduction to the Korean Legal System - Introduction to the Foreign Legal Consultant System in Korea

Interview - UNISDR Office for Northeast Asia and Global Education and Training Institute Recent Trends of Vol.25 Winter 2017 Law & Regulation in Korea

Expert Column 04 Current Trends in Korea’s Medical Disputes and Dispute Settlement System

Introduction to the Korean Legal System 10 Introduction to the Foreign Legal Consultant System in Korea

Law and Regulation 14 Enactments and Amendments of Law 24 Court Decisions

Interview 34 UNISDR Office for Northeast Asia and Global Education and Training Institute Cover Story The cover photo of the 25th Recent Trends Recent Events of Law & Regulation in Korea depicts Seongsan Ilchulbong, also called ‘Sunrise 38 2016 OECD-Asian Round Table on Corporate Governance Takes Place in Seoul Peak’. Seated in Seoguipo City of Jeju 39 The 9th Korea Human Rights for Crime Victims Conference held in Busan Island, Korea, the tuff cone has a bowl-like crater, which is about 600 meters in diameter and 182 meters high. The sunrise Policies of the Ministry of Justice at Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak is considered 40 MOJ, KNPA Join Hands to Efficiently Respond to Foreigner Crimes to be the best among the 10 most beautiful sceneries in Jeju. Because of its scientific values and extraordinary scenery, Ministry of Justice at a Glance it was designated as a UNESCO World 42 Caring, Law Compliance Campaign Natural Heritage site on July 2, 2007.

Law in Your Daily Life 46 How to Ride a Bicycle in Korea

Living in Korea 48 Winter in Korea

List of Useful Organizations 50 Government Departments

53 Readers Survey Publisher Feature contributors Lee Changjae / Acting Minister of Justice Expert Column - Dr. Hyun-ho Shin Editor Dr. Hyun-ho Shin is the representative lawyer with Shin & Partners, with primary Kim, Hochul / practices in medical malpractice. He is currently a member of the Standing Deputy Minister for Legal Affairs Committee on Human Rights Affairs at the Korea Bar Association. Dr. Shin was an advisor to the Korean Association of Medical Law, and an adjunct professor at Director Korea University School of Law. He received a presidential citation in recognition KOO Sang-Yeop / [email protected] of his services in communicable disease control. Dr. Shin holds a PhD in Law from Vice Director Korea University. Jeongsoo Soh / [email protected]

Translator Choi, Bori / [email protected] Rim, Na-hyun / [email protected] Introduction to the Korean Legal System - Young Lo Ko

Special Thanks to Young Lo Ko is a legal specialist at the International Legal Affairs Division within Yeon Ju Oh the Legal Affairs Office of the Ministry of Justice. Previously, he served as a third Seung Min Jeon secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and worked with POSCO. He was a Ji Young Jang full-time PhD researcher at the University of Edinburgh, and holds LLM from the Won Young Park London School of Economics and Politcal Science. Chungyoung Son Jiwon Kim Hyun Wook Park Ik Seon Jung Woo Taek Shin Jeongwan Kim Interview - Sanjaya Bhatia Sanjaya Bhatia is the Head of the Office of UNISDR Office for Northeast Asia Edited in International Legal Affairs Division (ONEA) and Global Education and Training Institute (GETI) for disaster risk Designed by AandF communication reduction in Incheon, Republic of Korea. He has worked with the Government of Published by Ministry of Justice India, the World Bank, and the United Nations in the field of disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation for over 24 years. He holds a degree in law and a Master’s Degree in public administration from New York University. He has authored a number of publications.

Ministry of Justice, Government Complex Gwacheon, 47 Gwanmoonro, Gwacheon-si, Gyeonggi-do, 427-720, Republic of Korea

TEL: 82-2-2110-3661, FAX: 82-2-2110-0327/ [email protected], www.moj.go.kr

Emblem The Republic of Korea government has changed its was inspired by the font used in the “Hunminjeongeum” official “government identity.” The new logo conveys (1446), the original Hangeul text, in consideration of the the dynamism and enthusiasm of the country with the harmony embodied in the taegeuk circle. Starting three colors of blue, red and white. It echoes off Korea’s March 2016, the new logo is used at all 22 ministries national flag Taegeukgi with the taegeuk circular swirl including the Ministry of Justice and 51 central and the blank canvas embodies in white. The typeface government agencies.

Winter 2017 Vol.25 03

Recent Trends of Law & Regulation in Korea | Expert Column

Current Trends in Korea’s Medical Disputes and Dispute Settlement System

1. Introduction Dr. Hyun-ho Shin The number of medical lawsuits began to increase in Korea in 1989 only after the country had successfully hosted the Seoul 1988 Summer Olympics. A mere 60 cases of medical malpractice Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed were published on the Publication of Cases between 1910 when the modern judicial system was in the article are those of the author and do adopted in the country and 1990. As the public witnessed a rise in their conscience of not necessarily reflect the official policy or righteousness and national income, an expansion in health insurance coverage, an extension in position of the Ministry of Justice of the average life expectancy and development in medical technology in the 1990s, they were more the Republic of Korea. prone to receive medical treatment and examination leading to the rising medical disputes.

Up until the 1980s, medical disputes were usually settled through social-deviant behaviors, including assaults, threats, demonstrations, and sit-ins rather than through litigation. This is attributed to the widespread frustration that suing a doctor is like beating your head against a brick wall along with a victim mentality that lawsuits consume a lot of time and money. With a growing distrust between patients and medical practitioners, the patients are left with health and financial burden caused by the defensive medicine and unnecessary health care of medical practitioners. Korea is one of the most vulnerable countries to medical disputes as the number of medical treatments in Korea reaches around 1.4 billion annually, 30 cases per person.

The Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency (K-Medi), the Korea Consumer Agency (KCA) and the Korea Commercial Arbitration Board (KCAB) handle alternative dispute resolution (ADR) for medical disputes.

To actively resolve medical disputes, the Supreme Court established a civil division for medical cases in the lower instance and the Korean Bar Association (KBA) adopted the medical law research institute system in 2010.

Recent Trends of Law & Regulation in Korea 04 2. Current trends in medical lawsuits Like general lawsuits, the burden of proof in medical lawsuits lies with the patient. A patient shall prove all the requirements of compensation A. Current trends in civil lawsuits for damages, including the existence of medical treatment, occurrence of damages, causal relationship between medical treatment and 1) Rising caseload damages and illegality and liability of medical treatment. Even though the K-Medi, KCA and KCAB carry out ADR for medical disputes, the number of medical lawsuits surged from 89 cases in 1989 The Supreme Court infers the causal relationship between medical by 10 percent per year to 1,101 cases in 2013. treatment and poor outcome and damages to alleviate the burden of proof of the patient to protect his or her right. This is because a patient The rate of appeals in medical lawsuits is relatively higher than other finds proving the causal relationship and malpractice in a medical cases as the trials are closed without sufficient deliberation during the lawsuit difficult due to reasons such as expertise of medical knowledge, first instance and appellate trial. The appellate rate in medical cases secrecy of medical treatment, preponderance of medical information, reaches 70 percent while that of the total civil suits just hovers around and exclusiveness of physicians. In terms of proving the causal 40 percent. Even though a second instance is a fact-finding proceeding, relationship in a medical lawsuit, the Supreme Court states, “strict it takes an ex post facto approach and tends to close the deliberation natural scientific proof that will not leave any suspicion is not necessary unilaterally without accepting new evidence. In this regard, the rate of to prove the causal relationship in a medical lawsuit. Rather, it will be final appeals is increasing in a steady fashion following the complaints sufficient enough if the high degree of probability that a certain fact led that appropriate deliberation has not been made in the trial on appeal. to a certain consequence can be recognized considering the empirical The growing rate of appeals proves that a medical ruling fails to evidence.” In this respect, the burden of proof of a patient can be persuade neither the patient nor the physician. Therefore, a fundamental reduced to impose fair share of burden to the physician. For the level of improvement is required for the discovery system and shift of burden of proof, the Supreme Court can infer the causal relationship only by the proof. probability between malpractice and poor outcome holding, “it will suffice to prove that the malpractice, which is based on the common 2) Reduction in burden of proof for causal relationship and malpractice sense of the ordinary people, occurred during a series of medical

Winter 2017 Vol.25 05 practices and that no other cause can be established between the series malpractice at the same time to prevent medical practitioners from of medical practices and the outcome.” holding too expansive liability for damages.

If a medical practitioner tampers with, conceals, damages or avoids submitting the medical record, the obstruction of evidence production 3) Active recognition of the violation of the duty to obtain informed will be applied to estimate the malpractice and the medical practitioner consent will be requested to produce contrary evidence that there is no such Physicians in Korea, who have been obligated to obtain informed malpractice. consent from patients since the 1970s, have been burdened with compensation for damages incurred by violating the patient right of self- The recent court decisions that reduced the burden of proof triggered determination. In the past, only solatium was given as a compensation frivolous medical lawsuits, causing adverse effects such as defensive for the violation of the duty to obtain informed consent. At present, medicine of medical practitioners. The Supreme Court, therefore, keeps Korean courts recognize compensation for property damages as well to vexatious litigation in check by pronouncing the judgments to prove the befit the global trend. The country is providing remedies for the patients causal relationship in a more stringent manner. The Supreme Court by imposing the burden of proof on medical practitioners, given that they ruled, “a physician will not hold strict liability for a poor outcome by have fulfilled their duty to obtain patients’ informed consent. presuming the physician’s malpractice and causal relationship in such outcome only based on the reasons not guaranteed by the probability The National Assembly revised the Medical Service Act in November that such outcome is attributable to the malpractice of the physician.” 2016 to give informed consent for medical practices including surgery, Hence, the court prohibits estimating the causal relationship and general anesthesia, and blood transfusion, and to punish a physician who has violated the duty to obtain informed consent by a fine not exceeding KRW 3 million. The revision is regarded as a step forward in ensuring the patients’ rights.

4) Expansion of limitation on liability and low recognition of solatium For medical indemnity cases, the Supreme Court increased the limitation on liability for patients to reduce the physician’s liability for damages. The limitation on liability for patients, which was confined to 20-30 percent in the 1990s, was escalated to an average of 50-60 percent in the 2000s. In this respect, patients complained that proper compensation is not ensured for their damages. In fact, the lack of predictability of a court decision following the unclear reasons for the limitation on liability is one of the reasons for the high rate of appeals.

The Supreme Court increased the amount of solatium for personal injury up to KRW 100 million in March 2015. In actual medical lawsuits, however, it is rare the solatium for death exceeds KRW 30 million ~ 50 million due to the contribution of previous illness and surgery failure rate. When a large-scale accident occurs in a company in Korea, the company will offer settlement of KRW 200 million ~ 300 million to the victim, three to ten times larger than recognized by the court. This is why the tendency to settle disputes through demonstrations and sit-ins, rather than due process lawsuits has not disappeared. There is no point for a patient to take the case to the court by bearing the risk of expenses and time taken to file a suit and dismissal. Complaints are growing that the human rights of the majority are guaranteed by demonstrations and sit-ins while those of the minority are not fully protected by the court.

There are strong voices that the amount of solatium decided by the court should be increased immensely in order to prevent the vicious cycle of demonstrations, sit-ins, violence and assaults. In light of the humidifier

Recent Trends of Law & Regulation in Korea 06 sterilizer scandal in October 2016, the Supreme Court announced a patient suffer facial burn by performing decortication using a chemical, guideline to recognize the compensation for personal injury not phenol, the court held “the dermatologist failed to explain sufficiently exceeding KRW 900 million. the possibility of burn by using phenol to the patients”, recognizing the injury by professional negligence. Recently, in cases where the medical personnel breached the duty to obtain informed consent in relation to B. Current trends in criminal actions against medical medical acts which have relatively low need or urgency for surgery, such malpractices as a cosmetic surgery, courts increasingly deem such breach as a failure to satisfy the requirement of victim’s consent and actively charge the 1) Abuse of litigation defendants with the injury by professional negligence. In Korea, there is a notable trend of bringing criminal charges, such as manslaughter or injury by professional negligence or murder, against 3. Alternative Dispute Resolution medical personnel. Such high recourse to the criminal procedure mainly results from prolonged time taken for civil actions, excessive litigation A. Civil mediation by courts costs, accuser’s intent to retaliate against and punish doctors. Unless other circumstances exist, the Supreme Court encourages, more In response to a rising number of cases on manslaughter or injury by than once, in any stage of litigation to bring the case at issue to medical malpractices, the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office designated mediation for prompt and amicable resolution of the dispute. Currently criminal teams dedicated to healthcare cases in local offices throughout about 30% of all civil cases filed in the medical field are resolved the country, and Seoul and Busan Metropolitan Police Agencies have through alternative dispute resolution methods. been operating medical investigation teams since 2015. However, of all criminal cases on medical malpractices, indictment of health Based on this experience, the Supreme Court has set up and been professionals remains at around mere 10 percent, raising waste of the actively operating civil mediation centers in cities such as Seoul, Daegu, State’s investigative capacity as a social problem. Gwangju, Busan and Daejeon, where high courts are located. While the civil litigation procedures set strict criteria for proof, the civil mediation 2) Characteristics of causal relationship and burden of proof in criminal has various advantages which include simple explanation requirement, actions cheap stamp duty, and the convenient process. Unlike civil cases in which an inference of negligence is created, the Supreme Court demands the prosecution to prove the defendant’s guilt B. Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration “beyond a reasonable doubt.” Based on the proposition of criminal trial Agency to prevent human rights of medical personnel from being violated by the State’s excessive use of authority, the prosecution must establish As social deviances triggered by medical disputes become serious, the specifically that the defendant had failed to observe the duties to National Assembly legislated the Act on Remedies for Injuries from predict and avoid the result. Medical Malpractice and Medication of Medical Disputes to ensure stability in remedies for patients and in treatment environment, and Even if found civilly liable for damages based on the doctrine of res ipsa established K-Medi in April 8, 2012 for resolution of medical disputes loquitur, it is rare that the defendant is criminally accused. Some lower through mediation and arbitration. K-Medi is divided largely into two courts ruled in cases where the doctors were accused of causing death parts: (a) the appraisal part that investigates into facts like the of emergency patients that “considering the doctor employed possible prosecution, and (b) the arbitration part that makes normative evaluation treatments including necessary examinations in light of the symptoms of like courts. The former is mainly composed of career doctors while the the received patient, and the bereaved family were found 30% liable for latter is staffed by legal practitioners. They also invite non-governmental the death in the civil trial, it cannot be deemed that the negligence of organizations, professors, and other parties as members to secure the defendant amounts to the extent to hold the defendant criminally fairness. liable”, finding the accused doctors innocent. This shows that not all indictments result in convictions. K-Medi has made quite remarkable achievements by mediating 90% of almost 3,000 cases filed until October 2016. The average time taken to 3) Liability for violation of duty to obtain informed consent resolve a dispute was also far shorter than that for courts with the When the defendant has inflicted an injury on a patient by breaching the average time for an ordinary procedure standing at 80.3 days per case duty to obtain informed consent, the Supreme Court criminally punishes and that for a summary procedure at 62 days per case. K-Medi’s him or her on the ground that the injured did not consent to the mediation award takes the same effect as a court ruling unless it is concerned medical act. In a case where a medical practitioner had a objected by a party within 15 days.

Winter 2017 Vol.25 07

Previously, it was impossible to initiate a mediation process without the consent of a concerned medical institution. However, more active medical dispute mediations are expected to take place, as the law was amended to automatically commence a mediation process, even without the consent of such institution regarding medical malpractice involving death or severe injury in November 30, 2016.

K-Medi is also in charge of arbitration, compensation for no-fault accidents during childbirth, and payment of compensations on behalf of insolvent medical personnel.

C. Korea Consumer Agency and Korean Commercial Arbitration Board

The KCA, which was established in accordance to the Framework Act on Consumers undertook medical dispute mediation in 1999 together with K-Medi. The fact that 52% of all mediation cases filed with the KCA are small claims worth KRW 1 million or less, and 82.5% worth KRW 5 million or less shows how significant the KCA is in resolving small claims.

Meanwhile, the KCAB established by the Arbitration Act arbitrates medical disputes of commercial nature, such as disputes between medical personnel, lease disputes between medical personnel and medical device leasor, and medical product liability.

4. Conclusion

In Korea, all citizens benefit from national health insurance and medical aid, and no medical personnel can refuse patients. This led to increased hospital visits and medical disputes. To tackle these issues, Korea has made various efforts. After long discussions in the early 1980s, the country enacted the globally unique “Act on Remedies for Injuries from Medical Malpractice and Mediation of Medical Disputes” and revised the Medical Service Act to compel the duty to obtain informed consent and drive down the occurrence of disputes, and has strived to resolve disputes at early stages. The fact that, since 2006, medical dispute risk costs have been recognized and has begun to represent 1.4% of healthcare insurance premium encourages medical institutions to reach agreement with patients when a medical dispute arises.

With these laws and systems in place, the number of medical disputes has been dwindling since 2013 while dispute resolution through ADR is on the rise. Demonstrations and sit-ins often found before medical institutions have diminished. However, the advancement of information technology has increased blackmail and invisible strikes using social network services or e-mails. Korea needs to make further efforts to reduce medical disputes based on social consensus through guarantee of self-determination of patients, expansion of compensation fund, a fairer appraisal system, and transfer of burden of proof.

Recent Trends of Law & Regulation in Korea 08 Winter 2017 Vol.25 09

Recent Trends of Law & Regulation in Korea | Introduction to the Korean Legal System

Introduction to the Foreign Legal Consultant System in Korea

1. Overview Young Lo Ko In the early 2000s, the Republic of Korea was called on to liberalize its legal services market from 11 economies including the United States and the European Union at the World Trade Organization (WTO)’s Doha Development Agenda (DDA). In response, the Korean government submitted the schedule of commitment to the WTO regarding the opening of the legal services market, and started to prepare a relevant domestic legislation. In August 2005, the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) set up a special subcommittee on legislation on the foreign legal consultant (FLC) composed of about a dozen experts from domestic courts, law firms, the academia, businesses and overseas-licensed lawyers community. The subcommittee had drafted the Foreign Legal Consultant Act (the Act) based on the DDA schedule of commitment by April 2006. After several modifications, the draft Act was passed by the National Assembly and came into force on September 26, 2009. As the Act became effective, lawyers licensed in countries with which Korea entered into a free trade agreement (FTA) that obligates parties to open their respective legal services markets were allowed to provide legal advice on foreign and international laws as FLCs in Korea upon the approval of the Minister of Justice. Applications for FLCs, which had been rare until early 2011 when the market was open only to the economies from the European Free Trade Association and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), witnessed a dramatic increase afterwards as the country opened its legal services market to the EU. As of December 2016, 128 attorneys licensed in the US, the UK, France or Australia were approved to practice as FLCs. Once phase-three of the liberalization comes into effect in the EU (July 2016), the US (March 2017), Australia (December 2019) and Canada (January 2020) and the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) is signed, adding Japan to the list of states to which Korea’s legal services industry is open, the number of FLCs practicing in Korea will increase at a faster pace. With these developments in the domestic legal services market, demand for information related to Korea’s FLC system is expected to rise as well. Therefore, this Article aims to explain the main contents and legal implications of the FLC system to help foreign law firms and lawyers better understand the system.

Recent Trends of Law & Regulation in Korea 010 2. Main contents of the FLC system its legal services industry. As of December 2016, Korea liberalized the The FLC system in Korea is extensively regulated by the Foreign Legal market to the EETA member states, India, China, ASEAN, Peru, New Consultant Act. While its legislation was finalized in 2009, the Act was Zealand, Vietnam, the EU, the US, Australia and Canada, and lawyers amended twice to prepare for the phase-two (April 30, 2011) and phase- from these countries are eligible to apply for FLC2. However, when it three (July 1, 2016) liberalization respectively. comes to law firms, the scope of liberalization differs by country as follows: A. Definition of the Foreign Legal Consultant A foreign legal consultant refers to a foreign-licensed lawyer who is approved by the Minister of Justice to provide legal advice on statutes of a home country of license and international laws. The term, foreign Scope of liberalization by phase legal consultant reflects the occupational nature of FLCs who are, unlike -Phase 1: A lawyer licensed in a state on which phase-1 of the Korean-licensed lawyers, allowed to perform only a limited set of liberalization came into effect may establish a foreign legal services such as counseling on foreign laws and precluded from consultant office (FLCO) and practice as an FLC in Korea. litigation. More specifically, a lawyer licensed in a country to which -Phase 2: An FLCO established by a lawyer from a state on which Korea undertook to open its legal services market under an FTA phase-2 of the liberalization enters into force may practice in agreement therewith can practice as a foreign legal consultant upon the cooperation with a Korean law firm by case. qualification approval by the Minister of Justice and registration to the -Phase 3: A law firm from a state on which phase-3 of the Korean Bar Association.1 liberalization is effective may establish a joint venture law firm together with a Korean law firm, hiring (Korean-licensed) lawyers B. Eligibility of FLCs and FLCs to provide advice on domestic and international legal To qualify as an FLC, the applicant must have been admitted to practice issues. law at the bar of a foreign country to which Korea promised to liberalize

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States to which Korea’s legal services market opens under FTAs and timeline of liberalization by phase

States to which Korea’s legal services market opens under D. Obligations and limitations on the activities of FLCs FTAs and timeline of liberalization by phase The FLCA imposes FLCs the duty to reside in Korea to guarantee FLCs to Even a lawyer licensed in a country to which Korea liberalized its legal work diligently in Korea and protect the local clients. Thus, an FLC shall services industry must have performed legal services at least 3 years in reside in Korea for more than 180 days per year from the date he or she his or her home country of license to be eligible for FLC qualification commences practice.5 approval. Up to 3 years of the period during which an FLC applicant An FLC may only practice as a partner of a FLCO or a non-partner of an performed legal services in a country other than the home country of FLC affiliated therewith, or as an FLC affiliated with a law office, a law license and up to 2 years of the period in Korea may be counted as work firm, a limited liability law firm or a law firm partnership. Every FLC is experience3. For instance, if a US-licensed lawyer has practiced for 1 prohibited from being affiliated, employed by or holding concurrent year in the UK and 2 years in Korea, the lawyer satisfies the work positions in more than one foreign legal consultant office, law office, experience requirement. law firm, limited liability law firm, law firm partnership or joint-venture Any FLC who intends to be the representative of an FLCO, which is a law firm simultaneously.6 No FLC can employ, work in partnership with representative office established in Korea by a foreign law firm, must and apportion compensation or proceeds therefrom a Korean attorney- have provided legal services 5 years or more, 3 years of which has to be at-law, certified judicial scrivener, patent attorney, certified public in his or her home country of license. Here, the period he or she had accountant, certified tax accountant and customs broker.7 performed legal services either in Korea or a third country is not counted as work experience. E. Indication of qualification of FLCs The Foreign Legal Consultant Act prescribes the indication of C. Scope of practice of FLCs qualification of FLCs in order to clearly deliver the information of such An FLC may provide legal advice on the statutes of the home country of FLCs to clients. In detail, an FLC may be indicated as ①the name of the license, agreements to which the home country of license is a party and home country of license + Beop jamunsa (legal consultant) or ②the name universally approved customary international law; and represent in of the home country of license + Beop jamunsa (the foreign legal international arbitration cases.4 consultant may add a corresponding job title to a foreign-licensed However, an FLC may not perform services limited to Korean lawyers, lawyer in his or her native language) or ③the name of the home country including affairs related to the Korean legislations, litigation in of license (if the home country of license is a part of one country, such particular, businesses for government agencies and meeting a defendant as a province, state, prefecture, or autonomous district, etc., the name at a detention center. of the home country of license may be used as the name of the

Recent Trends of Law & Regulation in Korea 012 aforementioned home country of license in the title) + Beop jamunsa FLCs, to encourage more foreign attorneys to choose Korea over other (the foreign legal consultant may add a corresponding job title to a locations as a seat for arbitrations. foreign-licensed lawyer in his/her native language, combined with the The completion of the third-phase liberalization of the legal market does name of the home country, followed by the name of the home country of not necessarily mean Korea has stopped its efforts to open its legal license in Korean, which is commonly used in the Republic of Korea, services market. Korea will continue to review the foreign legal together with the expression "Byeonhosa (attorney-at-law)".8 consultant system to attract more foreign attorneys and law firms and For instance, a British solicitor will be indicated as ① 영국법자문사, ② seek ways to improve the FLC system to effectively respond to the 영국법자문사 (Solicitor - England&Wales), ③ 영국법자문사 (Solicitor - challenges that the country's legal services industry can face in the England&Wales, 영국변호사) while a New York State attorney as ① 미 future. 국법자문사, ② 미국법자문사 (U.S. Attorney-at-law), ③ 미국법자문사 (U.S. Attorney-at-law, 미국변호사). Qualification approval process for foreign legal consultant F. Differences between FLCs and non-FLCs In principle, a foreign attorney who is not qualified as an FLC may not perform any of the legal affairs under his or her name but only perform Consulting process for qualification approval as an assistant to Korean attorneys or FLCs. In other words, a non-FLC in a law firm or company is reckoned as an office worker who cannot practice legal affairs related to not only local but foreign laws under his or her name. However, with the amendment of the FLCA on July 1, 2016, Pre-application for qualification approval a non-FLC may handle international arbitration cases if he or she resides (Article 5 of Enforcement Decree of the Act) no more than 90 days in Korea.9

3. Conclusion Formal application for qualification approval Seven years have passed since the country has liberalized its legal (Article 3 of the Act) services market by enacting the FLCA in 2009. Now, a total of 28 leading ▶ Submit the application form and foreign law firms and 128 FLCs have entered into the Korean legal documentary evidence services market. In this regard, it is not an exaggeration to say that ▶ Confirm the vow Korea is the mecca of the legal services in Asia. Transferring their advanced legal services, these law firms and FLCs have contributed greatly to the enhancement of the competitiveness of the local legal services industry, the very purpose of liberalizing Korea’s legal market. The revision of the FLCA for the third-phase liberalization of the legal Review by the Ministry of Justice market was completed on July 1, 2016, which is what Korea has committed itself to when signing the free trade agreements with its counterparts. Now, law firms located in the EU can establish joint ventures with Korean law firms, employ Korean attorneys and handle Qualification approval by the Minister of Justice Korean laws excluding a few areas. In particular, the revised Act allows non-FLCs to represent in Give a written Give a written Publish in an international arbitration cases, which were previously limited only to notice to the notice to the official gazette applicant Korean Bar (Article 8.1 of (Article 8.1 of Association the Act) 1 Articles 2 and 6 of the Foreign Legal Consultant Act, Republic of Korea 2 Article 6 of the Foreign Legal Consultant Act the Act) (Article 8.1 of 3 Article 4 of the Foreign Legal Consultant Act, and Article 4 of the Enforcement Decree of the the Act) Foreign Legal Consultant Act 4 Article 24 of the Foreign Legal Consultant Act 5 Article 29 of the Foreign Legal Consultant Act 6 Article 25 of the Foreign Legal Consultant Act 7 Article 34 of the Foreign Legal Consultant Act 8 Article 27 of the Foreign Legal Consultant Act Application for registration at the Korean Bar 9 Article 24-2 of the Foreign Legal Consultant Act Association (Article 10 of the Act)

Winter 2017 Vol.25 013

Recent Trends of Law & Regulation in Korea | Law and Regulation

The National Assembly of the Republic of Korea

Enactments and Amendments of Law

NOTE: The translation is NOT official. It only serves as a guideline.

Legislative Intent 01 Act on Fair Transactions in Large Franchise The Act on Fair Transactions in Large Franchise and Retail Business was and Retail Business modified to force the Dispute Mediation Council, which was set up to resolve disputes between large retailers and suppliers, to initiate the Act No. 14136, Mar. 29, 2016, Partial Amendment mediation proceedings right upon the receipt of an application for Legislative Intent mediation from the supplier and to make the Fair Trade Commission The Amendment aims to enhance the possibility of execution of the notify, with the consent of the reporter, the concerned retailer of the fact supplier’s claims by granting the application for mediation lodged by the that its breach of law had been reported to the Commission. Accordingly, supplier with the Dispute Mediation Council the effect of suspension of this Enforcement Decree was also amended afterwards to provide for the prescription and by granting the medication result the effect of matters delegated by or necessary to enforce the Act, for instance by settlement in court, and to ensure prompt remedy of the supplier by specifying procedures to initiate dispute mediation and to make notice seeing to it that the Council initiates mediation proceedings shortly after of a report to the large retailer. the receipt of an application from the supplier. Main Contents Enforcement Date Sep. 30, 2016 A Elaboration upon the procedures of dispute mediation (Article 17-2 is newly added.) Where the Dispute Mediation Council initiates a dispute mediation 02 Enforcement Decree of the Act on Fair procedure upon the request of a party to a dispute or the Fair Trade Transactions in Large Franchise and Retail Commission, the Council must notify all the parties to the dispute of the mediation number, mediation starting date, etc. without delay and record Business the parties to the dispute and the details of the dispute in the registry. Presidential Decree No. 27504, Sep. 21, 2016, Partial Amendment

Recent Trends of Law & Regulation in Korea 014 B Elaboration upon the notification procedures of report to large Main Contents retailers (Article 25 paragraphs 2 through 4 are newly added.) A Introduction of arbitration (Article 1, Article 2 subparagraph 3, and The Fair Trade Commission must ask in writing within 15 days from the Article 45-2 through 5 are newly added.) receipt of a report from a reporter that a large retailer has breached law if the reporter consents to notify such report to the retailer, and the B Changes in the level and route of underground water become subject reporter must confirm its consent within 15 days from the delivery of to the environmental dispute mediation. (Article 2 subparagraph 1 and such inquiry from the Commission. Then, the Commission must, within 7 Article 5 subparagraph 1) days from the receipt of such consent, notify the retailer of the report, the reporter, etc. C Increase in the number of members of the Environmental Dispute Resolution Commission (Article 7) Enforcement Date Sep. 30, 2016 Enforcement Date Dec. 22, 2015

03 Environmental Dispute Adjustment Act Act No.13602, Dec. 22, 2015, Partial Amendment 04 Enforcement Decree of the Environmental Dispute Adjustment Act Legislative Intent Act No.27576, Nov. 8, 2016, Partial Amendment This Amendment intends to introduce arbitration that is an expeditious dispute resolution mechanism based on the consent of parties, to Legislative Intent and Main Contents expand the scope of environmental damages subject to the dispute The Environmental Dispute Adjustment Act was amended to introduce mediation for prompt remedy of damages incurred by changes in the arbitration, an expeditious dispute resolution mechanism based on the level and route of underground water, and to complement areas of agreement of parties, and to form an adjudication committee with 10 or improvement revealed in the operation of current system. more members when it has to deal with a dispute involving material

Winter 2017 Vol.25 015 damages inflicted on the lives and bodies of multiple people. Main Contents Accordingly, this Enforcement Decree was also amended to provide for A Increase in the gross amount of assets of a holding company (Article matters to be stated in the arbitration application, such as the 2, Addenda Article 2) arbitration agreement reached by the parties in dispute, to provide that Taken into account the economic developments and the reduced cases subject to the adjudication of the adjudication committee necessity of regulating small-sized holding companies, the current composed of 10 or more members are disputes involving deaths or standard of KRW 100 billion for a holding company will increase to KRW serious bodily injury inflicted on 5 or more people, and to regulate 500 billion, and current holding companies that do not meet the new matters delegated by or necessary to enforce the Act. standard must meet it by June 30, 2027.

Enforcement Date Dec. 23, 2016 B Adjustment upward of the gross amount of assets which is the standard to determine conglomerates subject to limitations on mutual investment, etc. (Article 17, Addenda Article 3) 05 Enforcement Decree of the Monopoly To reflect the changes in the economic conditions such as the size of Regulation and Fair Trade Act national economy, the sum of the gross asset amounts of a domestic company belonging to a conglomerate on the balance sheet of the Presidential Decree No.27529, Sep. 29, 2016, Partial Amendment business year right before it was designated as a conglomerate, etc. Legislative Intent subject to limitations of mutual investment, which is the standard for a The Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act was amended to disclose conglomerate subject to limitations of mutual investment, was adjusted the exercise of voting rights regarding stocks of affiliates which are upward from a current KRW 5 trillion or more to KRW 10 trillion or more, not holding companies and stocks of domestic affiliates of financial or and any existing conglomerate subject to limitations on mutual insurance institutions for accurate understanding of the status of investment which does not meet the new standard is considered to be conglomerates (Act No. 14137, Promulgated Mar. 29, 2016, Enforced excluded from such conglomerates from the date this Decree comes into Sep. 30, 2016). Accordingly, this Enforcement Decree was amended to force. provide for matters delegated by or necessary to enforce the Act such as additional items to be disclosed in relation to the status of a C Addition of new items to be disclosed in relation to the status of conglomerate, to adjusted up the gross amount of assets, which is the conglomerates (Article 17-11 (2)) standard to determine a conglomerate subject to limitations on mutual The status of affiliates which belong to a conglomerate subject to investment, by reflecting changes in the economic conditions such as limitations on mutual investment but not a holding company and the the size of the national economy and complement inadequate areas exercise of voting rights regarding stocks of a domestic affiliate revealed in the operation of the current system. acquired or owned by a financial or insurance institution that belongs to a conglomerate subject to limitations on mutual investment are added to the list of items that must be disclosed in relation to the status of conglomerates subject to limitations on mutual investment.

D Change of the deadline for repor of companies belonging to conglomerates subject to limitations on mutual investment (Article 20 (1)) The deadline for submission by a company belonging to a conglomerate subject to limitations on mutual investment or subject to limitations on debt guarantee of its shareholders’ ownership of its stocks or other domestic companies’ stocks, and financial situations to the Fair Trade Commission is extended from the end of April every year to May 31 every year to provide a sufficient period for the reporting process.

Enforcement Date Sep. 30, 2016

Recent Trends of Law & Regulation in Korea 016 (Article 21) 06 Enforcement Decree of the Personal The scope of manager of unique identifying information, who the Information Protection Act Minister of Government Administration and Home Affairs has to investigate on whether necessary measures for securing the safety of Presidential Decree No. 27522, Sep. 29, 2016, Partial Amendment unique identifying information are taken, is a person managing unique Legislative Intent identifying information regarding public institution and at least 50,000 The Personal Information Protection Act was revised (Act No.12504, subject of information, and investigation period and methods are Proclaimed Mar. 24, 2014, Effective Mar. 24, 2014) to require notification prescribed, like investigation shall be done more than once every two by a personal information manager who meets the standard set out by years, necessary data shall be submitted through online or written the Presidential Decree to the information principal of the source and document, etc. purpose of collected information when such manager processes The new provision provides that a manager of personally identifiable personal information collected from a source other than the information information whom the Minister of Government Administration and principal and to demand the Minister of Government Administration and Home Affairs must investigate to learn whether measures necessary to Home Affairs to carry out regular investigation into whether measures to secure safety of personally identifiable information have been taken is ensure safety of personally identifiable information have been taken by public institutions or a person who manages personally identifiable the manager of such information. Accordingly, this Enforcement Decree information regarding 50,000 information principals or more, and that was amended to provide for matters delegated by and necessary to such investigation shall be carried out more than once every two years enforce the Act, such as the type of personal information manager who by demanding such managers to submit necessary information on the must notify the source of personal information collected and how in Internet or in writing. instances where such manager has to deal with such information, and the scope of personal information manager subject to the investigation Enforcement Date Sep. 30, 2016 by the Minister of Government Administration and Home Affairs into whether safety measure have been taken and method of such investigation. 07 Occupational Safety and Health Act Act No.13906, Jan. 27, 2016, Partial Amendment Main Contents A New provision on to whom and how to notify where the personal Legislative Intent information collected from a source other than the principal of such As the previous Occupational Safety and Health Act does not require a information comes from (Article 15-2 is newly established.) workplace hiring less than 50 to designate persons in charge of safety 1) The new provision provides that where collecting and processing and health management (“person in charge of management”) and personal information from a source other than the principal of such safety and health officers, such lack of duty leads to insufficient information, a personal information manager who must notify the voluntary safety and health management, causing such workplaces to principal of such source even when there is no request from the represent over 80% of all accidents. principal is a person who processes sensitive information such as Hence, the Amendment intends to put in place “safety and health criminal record and personally identifiable information such as management officers” who will assist business owners in undertaking resident registration number of 50,000 information principals or more matters concerning safety and health to strengthen health and safety or a person who processes personal information of 1 million management system at workplaces hiring less than 50 and prevent information principals or more, and a personal information manager industrial accidents. who falls into either of the above categories must notify the As the most important issue in construction work for a constructor is information principals of such facts within 3 months from the receipt deadline the initially set for completion, the attempt to meet the of such personal information by means easily noticeable for deadline no matter how it is delayed, be it due to changes in design, information principals such as in writing or via phone, short message bad weather, natural disaster, or else, increases the chance of service or e-mail. industrial accidents. Therefore, the Amendment intends to make the 2) A personal information manager must keep record of the fact that client extend the construction period in instances of force majeure information principal was notified of the source, etc. of the collected that goes beyond the control of the constructor or delayed personal information until such information is destroyed. commencement or suspended construction caused by a reason attributable to the client. B New provision on the object and method of investigation on the The Amendment also provides that any specialized institution which measures for securing safety of personally identifiable information intends to be commissioned to deliver education on safety and health

Winter 2017 Vol.25 017 register with the Minister of Employment and Labor after securing C The Amendment provides for grounds for regular evaluation on personnel, facilities and equipment prescribed by law and sets out specialized institutions which intent to be commissioned for education regular evaluation on such institutions and grounds for cancellation of on safety and health and cancellation of registration. (Article 31 registration since the lack of registration process for institutions subparagraphs 5 and 6, Article 32-2 (1), and Article 32-3) commissioned for education on industrial safety and health causes too many institutions with substandard personnel, facilities and equipment Enforcement Date Oct. 28, 2016 and lowered quality of education, and the lack of mandatory vocational education of personnel at some institutions related to safety and health causes deteriorated professional capabilities and poor job performance. 08 Enforcement Decree of the Occupational Safety and Health Act Main Contents Presidential Decree No. 27559, Oct. 27, 2016, Partial Amendment A The Amendment introduces safety and health management officer at workplaces hiring less than 50 who will assist the business owner in Legislative Intent undertaking matters related to safety and health prescribed by the The Occupational Safety and Health Act was revised to put in place Occupational Safety and Health Act. (Article 16-3) safety and health management officers at workplaces prescribed by the Presidential Decree to ensure safety and health of employees and B A person who places a construction order to another must extend prevent industrial accidents at small-sized workplaces and to require the construction period if requested so by the contractee because of institutions which wish to be commissioned for education on safety delayed construction caused by a reason attributable to the client or and health for employees to register with the Minister of Employment force majeure. (Article 29-4) and Labor (Act No. 13906, Promulgated Jan. 27, 2016, Effective Oct. 28, 2016). Accordingly, the Enforcement Decree was amended to

Recent Trends of Law & Regulation in Korea 018 provide for matters delegated by and necessary to enforce the Act, management of the concerned business owners be alleviated. such as the type and size of a business that must have a safety and 2) From now the standard on the size of business is to be relaxed so health management officer in place, and the registration requirements that real estate businesses except for property management service and process of institutions commissioned for education on safety and and leasing service which hire from 100 to less than 1,000 full-time health, and to complement areas of improvements revealed in the workers are required to have at least one safety officer, and that the operation of the current system. photograph processing business that employs from 100 to less than 1,000 and one that employs from 100 to less than 5,000 has at least Main Contents one health manager have at least one safety officer and one health A Type and sizes of businesses that are required to have a safety and officer in place respectively. health management officer (newly established Articles 19-4 and 5, Appenda Article 1 proviso) Enforcement Date Oct. 28, 2016 1) The owner of a business engaged in manufacturing, forestry, sewage and waste disposal, raw material recycling or environmental restoration must have in place one or more safety and health 09 Enforcement Decree of the Act on the management officer (“management officer”) at workplaces hiring Structural Improvement of the Financial between 20 and 49 full-time employees. Considering the size of workplaces, workplaces hiring between 30 and 49 full-time workers Industry must appoint a management officer starting from September 1, 2018, Presidential Decree No. 27533, Sep. 29, 2016, Partial Amendment and those hiring between 20 and 29 from September 1, 2019. Legislative Intent and Main Contents 2) A management officer must be appointed among employees who The Act is revised to impose more stringent restrictions on a financial belong to the concerned workplace, and either licensed as a safety or institution holding stocks by regulating that a financial institution health officer or completed education on health and safety recognized holding stocks with voting rights of another company is required to by the Minister of Employment and Labor, and assist the business obtain prior approval from the Financial Service Commission (FSC). As owner in delivering safety and health education to employees and the Act on the Structural Improvement of the Financial Industry (Act provide advice and guidance to supervisors. No. 14120, promulgated on March 29, 2016, enforced on September 30, 2016) is amended, when a financial institution owns more than B Provision on the requirement for registration and procedure, etc. of 10% or 15% of stocks with voting rights of another company, the institution commissioned for health and safety education (Article 26-10) approval of the FSC is required. The revision includes the necessary To strengthen management and post evaluation of institutions details in the process of the execution of the Act such as, possessing commissioned for safety and health education, the new provision the greatest percentage of stocks or having power to control the provides that a corporation that intends to carry out safety and health relevant company’s stockholders’ rights based on the distribution of education for employees or a college that has a department related to stock shares. Furthermore, the aim of the amendment is to improve industrial safety and health must register with the Minister of and supplement inadequacies in the current law, including entrusting Employment and Labor after getting equipped with proper personnel, to the Head of the Financial Supervisory Service the review of the facilities and equipment, and that their registration may be cancelled if documents related to the approval when requesting for approval of such organizations deny to deliver education without due reasons or owning more than the number of issued stocks with voting rights of prepare fake documents related to education. another company with similar affiliation.

C Relaxation of the standards on the size of business that is required Enforcement Date Sep. 30, 2016 to have safety and health officers (Attached Tables 3 and 5) 1) Until now, all workplaces of real estate businesses, leasing service, and photograph processing businesses hiring 50 or more full-time 10 Act on the Consumer Protection in workers were required to have one or more safety or health officers. Electronic Commerce, Etc. However, considering the likelihood of injuries or diseases incurred by Act No. 14142, Mar. 29, 2016, Partial Amendment industrial accidents is low for real-estate businesses other than property management service, leasing service and photograph Legislative Intent processing business, it is necessary that the standard on the size of The Act is revised to assign responsibility to web portals that are business in relation to the assignment of a safety or health officer be gaining significant profit from increase of number of visitors and relaxed and the duty and expenses of occupational safety and health online banner ads via online cafés and blogs, to ensure that online

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from the day when interference ends. In case of separate service and digital content, the withdrawal of subscription shall be allowed for the part in which the provision has not yet been initiated. When a consumer cannot withdraw the subscription for the digital content, a mark will be indicated specifying that such withdrawal of the subscription is not possible and trial products shall be provided to ensure the exercise of withdrawal rights. (Article 17)

D The revision shall expand the subject obligated to provide the identification information from “mail order broker who is a mail order distributor” to “mail order broker” so that all mail order brokers are obliged to provide identification information. In case a mail order broker cafés and blogs adhere to the law. Also, the revised Act shall count receives a subscription or payment of the goods, the obligation the period of withdrawal of subscription from the day when corresponding to that role should be provided. Since only a mail order interference ends and improve the withdrawal of subscription on sales agent has such obligation, a mail order broker shall hold the services and digital contents. responsibility only when the mail order sales agent fails to fulfill the In addition, this amendment aims to make the mail order broker, such obligations. (Article 20.2 & Article 20.3 are newly established.) as open markets and app stores, who directly perform part of the important tasks in the transaction process, including application and E With respect to the corrective measures, the Act is amended to payment of subscription, carry out responsibilities consistent with eliminate the applicable provisions on the consumer’s exercise of rights their roles. Under the current law, business suspension system has and consumer organization’s obligation to submit documents rather than limitations in preventing the spread of damages as a long time is a provision on granting duty to a business operator and add to the required to secure the evidence and decision of the Fair Trade corrective measures the relevant parts of the newly established Commission. To prevent the spread of consumer damages, the revised provision. For the suspension of business, “significantly” is deleted in Act introduces a temporary suspension order system and aims to the provision, “when it is significantly difficult to prevent consumer amend regulations related to the new system. damage” and add “when compensation for consumer damage is not possible through only the corrective measures” in order to enhance the Main Contents consumer rights. (Article 32.1 & 32.4) A When a dispute arises between a business operator and a consumer, the provision “the consumer who is a party to the dispute,” is limited to F In case an urgent measure is required for an e-commerce business “in case a consumer raises a lawsuit” among the subjects who can operator operating a counterfeit merchandising site, a fraudulent site, request the hosting service provider for the identification information of and etc., the amended Act shall a) adopt a system that can temporarily the provider. (Article 9.3) suspend all or a part of the transaction prior to the determination of corrective action and b) impose an obligation to cooperate with the B The amendment a) defines the information and communication temporary suspension order, such as abandonment of the current service service provider, who operates the message board using the concept of provision, to host carriers, mail order brokers and other related operators message board in the Act on Promotion of Information and to ensure the effectiveness of the temporary suspension order. (Article Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, etc., 32.2 is newly established.) which includes the concept of all electronic message boards where e-commerce can be performed via online cafés and blogs, as “electronic G The Act is revised to establish a penalty provision on physical message board service provider”, b) ensures the electronic message investigation interruptive activities, raise the penalty for violating the board service provider manages the message board so to prevent illegal suspension order and implement a fine for the violating of temporary e-commerce transactions from occurring and c) prepares a system suspension order. (Article 40, Article 41 deleted, Article 45) substituting the application for damage redress to the dispute resolution body when a dispute arises between the person using the message Enforcement Date Sep. 30, 2016 board for e-commerce such as a mail order or brokerage and the consumer. (Article 9.2 is newly established.)

C The revised Act shall count the period of withdrawal of subscription

Recent Trends of Law & Regulation in Korea 020 decline in the interest rates on lending by commercial banks, reduce the 11 Enforcement Decree of the Act on the calculated interest rate of late payments to consumers from 20/100 per Consumer Protection in Electronic annum to 15/100 per annum if the mail-order distributor delays compensation or refund. Commerce, Etc. Presidential Decree No.27530, Sep. 29, 2016, Partial Amendment D Temporary injunctions (Article 34-2 to Article 34-4 is newly added) Legislative Intent The Fair Trade Commission can order a temporary suspension of The Act on the Consumer Protection in Electronic Commerce, Etc. (Act e-commerce or telesales in whole or in part before giving orders to take No.14142, promulgated on March 29, 2016, enforced on September corrective measures and can demand web hosting service providers to 30, 2016) is revised to a) ensure electronic message board service cease their service. The Korea Consumer Agency and the E-Commerce provider manages electronic message board to prevent illegal Mediation Committee can make a request for temporary injunctions to e-commerce from occurring, b) prepare a system substituting the the Fair Trade Commission by specifying the grounds in written form. application for damage redress to the dispute resolution body when a Concerned parties who intend to raise an objection to a temporary dispute arises between a mail order distributor or mail order broker injunction should submit an application stating the reason for the and a consumer and c) adopt temporary suspension order system to objection to the Fair Trade Commission. promptly prevent the spread of consumer damage due to illegal act in the electronic commerce field. The Enforcement Decree of the Act is Enforcement Date Sep. 30, 2016 amended to a) determine the matters delegated by the law and necessary details for the enforcement of the law, such as the method or procedure of electronic message board service provider substituting 12 Act on the Promotion of Education of the application for damage redress and the method of temporary Critical Foreign Languages suspension order and b) improve and supplement some of the Act No. 13944, Feb. 3, 2016, Enactment deficiencies in the operation of the current system, such as reducing the estimated interest rate of deferred compensation to be paid to the Legislative Intent and Main Contents consumer when the mail order distributor has delayed the refund. The current foreign language education in Korea is excessively concentrated on English and the education of second foreign Main Contents languages is also limited to only a few certain languages. A Electronic message board service provider substituting the However, the importance of learning new foreign languages is being application for consumer’s damage redress (Article 11.3 is newly emphasized as knowledge of foreign languages is now considered a established.) basic skill due to the globalization of the world economy. With the An electronic message board service provider shall specify the duties of expansion of Korean businesses into emerging markets and the the dispute resolution body and the damage redress procedure on the increase in strategic resource diplomacy and public diplomacy, the message board so that the consumer could choose the appropriate need for people with an excellent command of critical foreign dispute resolution body for the consumer damage. In case a consumer languages is growing. requests an electronic message board service provider to substitute the Therefore, the enactment of this legislative bill aims to establish a application for consumer damage redress, the electronic message board public education infrastructure for critical foreign languages, enhance service provider shall deliver the case within three business days and national competitiveness through the development of human notify it to the consumer without delay. resources, and to prepare a legal basis for the purpose of securing professional workforce. B Method to provide trial products of digital content (Article 21.2 is newly established.) Enforcement Date Aug. 4, 2016 The method to provide trial methods from mail-order distributors should be typified in order for the consumer’s exercise of rights, such as subscription withdrawal on digital contents, to be ensured; mail-order distributors should provide trial products through more than one method.

C Reduction in the interest rate for calculation of delayed compensation (Article 21.3) Considering the recent changes in economic conditions, such as the

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foreign languages and critical foreign language education and research 13 Enforcement Decree of the Act on the institutions. These fact-finding surveys and the preparation of statistics Promotion of Education of Critical Foreign should be able to be commissioned to and carried out through specialized research institutions. Languages Presidential Decree No. 27420, Aug. 2, 2016, Enactment D Standards and procedures regarding the designation of specialized Legislative Intent educational institutions for critical foreign languages (Article 6) In line with the Act on the Promotion of Education of Critical Foreign Schools that wish to be designated as specialized educational Languages (Act No. 13944, Promulgation Date Feb. 3, 2016, institutions for critical foreign languages shall make an application to Enforcement Date Aug. 4) which was enacted with the purpose to the Minister of Education after meeting specified standards such as prepare foundations for creative critical foreign language education, being equipped with programs, facility, and equipment necessary for nurture talents with the ability to use critical foreign languages, and critical foreign language education. The Minister of Education should provide access to various and professional educational opportunities settle the standards and procedures for the designation within three to people who wish to learn these languages, this Enforcement months from the date of application in order to decide whether or not Decree aims to settle the contents of the matters delegated in the Act the applying school should be designated as a specialized educational regarding the scope of critical foreign languages, establishment of a institution. master plan and action plan for the promotion of education of critical foreign languages, target of fact-finding surveys, standards and E Financial support for specialized educational institutions for critical procedures for the designation of specialized education institutions for foreign languages (Article 7) critical foreign languages, and to settle matters necessary for its Financial support that can be provided to specialized educational enforcement. institutions for critical foreign languages are specified as expenses necessary for the exchange and training of critical foreign language Main Contents experts and the development and operation of educational programs A The scope of critical foreign languages (Article 2 and Attached Table) related to critical foreign languages. A total of 53 languages are categorized as critical foreign languages under this Enforcement Decree: 12 languages including Arabic from the Middle East and African region, 7 languages including Kazakh from the Eurasian region, 14 languages including Hindi from the Indian region and ASEAN countries, 18 languages including Polish from the European region, 2 languages including Brazilian from the Central and South American region.

B Establishment of a master plan and action plan for the promotion of critical foreign language education (Articles 3 and 4) 1) The Minister of Education should establish a master plan for the promotion of critical foreign language education until the end of February of the year the plan commences and an action plan until March 31st every year. Furthermore, details on the main business and operation plans for each business regarding the promotion of critical foreign language education should be included in the action plan. 2) The Minister of Education should make an announcement on the homepage of the Ministry of Education upon the establishment of a master plan and action plan for the promotion of critical foreign language education.

C Target of fact-finding surveys (Article 5) The target of fact-finding surveys necessary for the establishment and implementation of a master plan and action plan for the promotion of critical foreign language education shall be current experts of critical

Recent Trends of Law & Regulation in Korea 022 The Scope of Critical Foreign Languages (Related to Article 2)

Region Language

A. Arabic B. Turkish C. Azerbaijani D. Iranian E. Pashto F. Dari 1. Middle East∙Africa G. Hebrew H. Hausa I. Swahili J. Zulu K. Rwandan (Kinyarwanda) L. Amharic

A. Kazakh B. Uzbek C. Kyrgyz D. Ukrainian 2. Eurasia E. Turkmen F. Tajik G. Mongolian

A. Hindi B. Urdu C. Sanskrit D. Nepali E. Bengali F. Sinhalese 3. India∙ASEAN G. Vietnamese H. Malay I. Indonesian J. Thai K. Myanmar (Burmese) L. Khmer M. Lao N. Tagalog

A. Polish B. Romanian C. Hungarian D. Czech E. Slovak F. Serbian G. Croatian H. Latvian I. Belarusian J. Georgian 4. Europe K. Greek L. Bulgarian M. Italian N. Dutch O. Norwegian P. Danish P. Danish R. Finnish Q. Swedish

5. Central and South America A. Brazilian B. Portuguese

Enforcement Date Aug. 4, 2016

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Court Decisions

NOTE: The translation is NOT official. It only serves as a guideline.

Protection, Etc.” and “Relevance with the said user: Investigation of 01 Supreme Court Decision 2012Da105482 Decided March 10, 2016 suspect.” Two days later, the Defendant provided the Plaintiff’s NAVER Damages ID, name, resident registration number, e-mail address, cell phone number, and date of subscription. The Plaintiff seeks compensation for NAVER Co., Ltd. (“NAVER” or “Defendant”) — Korea’s leading Internet damages from the Defendant on grounds of violation of the duty to portal — falls under the definition of a telecommunications business protect personal information. operator pursuant to the Telecommunications Business Act, and the Plaintiff is a member of an online community operated by NAVER. Main Issues and Holdings The Plaintiff while surfing the Internet found photos of the Minister of [1] Meaning of personal information subject to protection by the right to Culture, Sports and Tourism (“Non-Party 1”) welcoming athletes who self-determination and whether personal information generated in competed in the Vancouver Winter Olympics. Among the photos which public life or made public is included (affirmative); Whether the freedom appeared to have been edited, one caught the Plaintiff’s eye in which a of anonymous speech is included within the scope protected by the gold medalist (“Non-Party 2”) seemed to be dodging Non-Party 1 who freedom of expression guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution appeared to be using both hands to tap on the shoulders of Non-Party 2 (affirmative) / Whether the right to self-determination of personal as a sign of welcome. The Plaintiff then posted the photo on the online information or the freedom of anonymous speech can be restricted by community’s humor page. law pursuant to Article 37(2) of the Constitution (affirmative) The Minister filed a defamation lawsuit against individuals who posted [2] Where a telecommunications business operator — upon request by the said photo online. Accordingly, the Chief of Jongno Police Station in a prosecutor or the head of an investigating agency — examines Seoul requested the Defendant to provide personal information on the perfunctory and procedural requirements prescribed under Article 54(3) Plaintiff via an information request form which indicated information and (4) of the former Telecommunications Act and provides a user’s such as “Reason for request: Violation of the Act on Promotion of communications data, whether such act can be deemed as an unlawful Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information infringement of the user’s right to self-determination of personal

Recent Trends of Law & Regulation in Korea 024 information or freedom of anonymous speech, etc. (negative in principle) Stabilization Mission in Haiti. The Plaintiff asserts that the Transport Agreement is subjected to application of the Convention for the Summary of the Decision Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air (hereinafter [1] The right to self-determination of personal information — derived “Montreal Convention”). from fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution such as the In order to apply the Montreal Convention to an international air transport assurance of human worth and dignity and the right to pursue happiness agreement, the place of departure and the place of destination should (Article 10) and the right to privacy and freedom of private life (Article both be a contracting party. However, under the Transport Agreement 17) — refers to the right in which an individual determines the concluded between the parties, the Republic of Korea (place of disclosure and use of his or her personal data. Personal information departure) is a contracting party to the Montreal Convention, whereas subject to protection by the right to self-determination means any and the Republic of Haiti (place of destination) is not. all information about an identifiable individual such as physical Therefore, even if the Defendant appeared to not held a different view as characteristics, belief, social status, standing, etc., including but not to applying the Montreal Convention to the Transport Agreement limited to private information and personal information generated in disputed during litigation proceedings, the extent of the Defendant’s public life or made public. compensation liability, etc. based thereof cannot be determined. Also, the freedom of expression guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution is indispensable for an individual to maintain dignity and Main Issues and Holdings worth as a human being and realize national sovereignty, and includes [1] Whether places of departure and destination should both be a the freedom to express or disseminate one’s thought or opinion in contracting party in order to apply the Convention for the Unification of anonymity or through an alias. Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air to an international air Concurrently, fundamental rights under the Constitution should be transport agreement (affirmative) exercised within the scope that enables a nation’s community of people [2] Whether a fact subjected to legal judgment or evaluation and to co-exist without undermining other constitutional values or law and application of a law, or having legal effect can be deemed a confession order. Therefore, the right to self-determination of personal information (negative) or the freedom of anonymous speech can be restricted by law pursuant to Article 37(2) of the Constitution in order to ensure national safety, Summary of the Decision maintain order, or promote public welfare. [1] An international covenant signed by the Republic of Korea generally [2] In case where a prosecutor or the head of an investigating agency supersedes civil, commercial, or international private laws; however, its requests a telecommunications business operator to provide applicability should be strictly determined as prescribed under the said communications data for the purpose of investigation pursuant to Article covenant. Korea signed the Convention for the Unification of Certain 54(3) and (4) of the former Telecommunications Business Act (wholly Rules for International Carriage by Air (hereinafter “Montreal amended by Act No. 10166, Mar. 22, 2010), and the telecommunications Convention”) — which took effect in Korea on December 29, 2007 — business operator examines the perfunctory and procedural providing that “[t]his Convention applies to all international carriage of requirements prescribed under the above Article and then provides a persons, baggage, or cargo performed by aircraft for reward” (Article 1 user’s communications data, such cannot be deemed as an unlawful subparag. 1) and that “the expression ‘international carriage’ means any infringement of the user’s right to self-determination of personal carriage in which, according to the agreement between the parties, the information or freedom of anonymous speech, etc., unless special place of departure and the place of destination, whether or not there be a circumstances exist where it is objectively apparent that the interests of break in the carriage or a transshipment, are situated either within the a principal agent of information or a third party is unduly impeded by a territories of two States Parties, or within the territory of a single State prosecutor or the head of an investigating agency who is abusing his/ Party if there is an agreed stopping place within the territory of another her authority to request provision of communications data. State, even if that State is not a State Party” (Article 1 subparag. 2). As (Source:eng.scourt.go.kr) such, the places of departure and destination should both be a contracting party in order to apply the Montreal Convention to an international air transport agreement. 02 Supreme Court Decision 2013Da81514 Decided March 24, 2016 [2] The facts confessed by the parties in court do not require any Damages attestation (Article 288 of the Civil Procedure Act), and such facts which constituted a confession are binding on the court. However, it shall be The Plaintiff (a limited company) and the Defendant (a limited company) confined to key facts in which legal application is a prerequisite, and concluded an international air transport agreement (hereinafter facts subjected to legal judgment or evaluation and application of a law, “Transport Agreement”) in which the place of departure is the Republic of or having legal effect cannot be deemed a confession. Korea and the place of destination is the base of the United Nations (Source:eng.scourt.go.kr)

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land without purifying the contaminated soil, or who illegally buried 03 Supreme Court en banc Decision 2009Da66549 Decided May 19, 2016 waste sells the land without treating the waste, such act can be Damages deemed a tort committed against a counterparty or current owner of the relevant land (subsequent buyer) barring special circumstances. Furthermore, if the current landowner is in a position of having incurred Seah Besteel Co., Ltd. (“Defendant Seah Besteel”), which had or expecting to incur costs for contaminated soil purification or waste operated a casting foundry on this case’s land from around 1973, each treatment as a means to fully exercise one’s land ownership right (e.g., sold one-half of the land (excluding the portion of the city/state- developing and using the land including subterranean areas where the owned land attached to this case’s land it had used on a loan) around contaminated soil or waste is buried), or is put in the same position after 1993 to Kia Motors Co., Ltd. (“Defendant Kia Motors”) and to Gisan being ordered to take necessary measures, etc. from a competent Co., Ltd. (“Gisan”). administrative agency pursuant to the former Soil Environment Gisan demolished the casting foundry and underwent both Conservation Act, the current landowner can be said to have realistically reclamation works (project outsourced by Defendant Seah Besteel) incurred damages (i.e., shouldering the costs for purifying contaminated and construction works such as surface grading and asphalt overlaying soil or treating waste). Therefore, the previous landowner who either on concrete in order to build an automobile shipment factory (project caused soil contamination or buried waste is deemed liable, as the outsourced by Defendant Kia Motors). While leaving the subterranean tortfeasor, to compensate the current landowner for damages structures (e.g., utility tunnels) intact, Gisan tore down the surface amounting to costs incurred or expected to be incurred for purifying structures, buried the construction waste (e.g. waste concrete) contaminated soil or treating waste. underground, and carried out surface grading and asphalt overlaying works. Thereafter, the Plaintiff purchased each portion of land from Dissenting Opinion by Justice Park Poe-young, Justice Kim Defendant Kia Motors and Gisan, without being aware of such fact. Chang-suk, Justice Kim Shin, and Justice Jo Hee-de】 Following the Plaintiff’s land acquisition, it was ascertained that Where the previous landowner (first buyer) who caused soil contaminated soil existed and that wastes were deliberately buried on contamination and subsequently sold that land or who contaminated the land during the 20-year period when Defendant Seah Besteel another’s land which was then sold, the previous landowner cannot be operated the casting foundry. This prompted the Plaintiff to seek deemed liable for compensating the current owner of the relevant land compensation from the Defendants for costs incurred as to purifying (subsequent buyer) with whom the previous landowner has no direct the contaminated soil and treating the buried waste. transactional relationship for damages amounting to the costs for contaminated soil purification or waste treatment, based solely on the Main Issues and Holdings grounds that the previous landowner was the one who illegally buried Where a previous landowner sells land after either causing soil pollution the waste or caused the soil to be contaminated. by discharging, leaking, dumping, or neglecting soil contaminants without (Source:eng.scourt.go.kr) subsequently purifying the contaminated soil, or illegally burying waste without subsequently treating the waste, whether such act can be deemed a tort committed against a counterparty or current owner of the 04 Supreme Court Decision 2014Do14364 Decided Aug. 29, 2016 relevant land (affirmative in principle) / Whether the previous landowner, Violation of the Foreign Exchange Transactions as the tortfeasor, is liable for compensating the current landowner for Act due to unregistered foreign exchange damages amounting to costs incurred or likely to incur for purifying the contaminated soil or treating the buried waste (affirmative) business

Summary of Decision Main Issues and Holdings Majority Opinion In case a defendant, who runs a currency exchange office, operates the In light of the relevant laws and legal principles as to a soil polluter’s office by exchanging a huge amount of foreign exchange at a bank and duty to compensate for damages, duty to purify contaminated soil, duty transferring the money to multiple accounts periodically and repeatedly to treat waste, etc. along with the purport of Article 35(1) of the under the request of a few regular clients but not including their names Constitution, the former Framework Act on Environmental Policy (wholly in the ledger, whether the defendant has violated the Foreign Exchange amended by Act No. 10893, Jul. 21, 2011), the former Soil Environment Transactions Act by engaging in unregistered foreign exchange affairs, Conservation Act (amended by Act No. 10551, Apr. 5, 2011), and the such as payment and receipt between Korea and foreign countries. former Wastes Control Act (amended by Act No. 8260, Jan. 19, 2007), (Affirmative) where a previous landowner (first buyer) who caused soil pollution by discharging, leaking, dumping, or neglecting soil contaminants sells the

Recent Trends of Law & Regulation in Korea 026 Summary of Decision The violation of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act due to the 05 Supreme Court Decision 2014Du46034 Decided Aug. 30, 2016 unregistered foreign exchange affairs, which in violation of Article 8.1 of Cancellation of Ineligibility Decision for Status of the Act, is occurred when foreign exchange affairs such as payment, People of Distinguished Services to the State collection and receipt between the Republic of Korea and a foreign country are conducted without legal registration or such relevant [Gong2016Ha, 1525] incidental business is executed. In case the defendant denies criminal intent in the foreign exchange affairs asserting that he or she only Main Issues and Holdings conducted the affairs as a registered currency exchange agent, there is [1] Whether a person falls within the scope of the requirements for a no other way but to prove indirect or circumstantial evidence that is person of distinguished service to the state in accordance with the Act highly relevant to the nature of the criminal intent. To decide what on the Honorable Treatment of and Support for Persons, etc. of corresponds to indirect evidence shall be based on the method to Distinguished Services to the State in case the performance of duties or reasonably determine the connection between evidence under the education and training partially had an effect on one’s death or injury, precise observing or analytical power based on the empirical rules (refer but cannot be seen as the major cause. (Negative) to Supreme Court 2014Do7631, Decision April 9, 2015). [2] Whether the requirements for a person of distinguished service to Therefore, by comparing the defendant’s specific business affair with the state are satisfied if the performance of duties or education and that of a currency exchange operator, and comparing the defendant’s training are recognized as a main cause of the disease, even though an crime method with that of hwanchigi (illegal foreign exchange existing disease is related to or influenced by the deterioration of the transaction) transaction crime that is punished by the violation of the applicable disease. (Affirmative) Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, as well as by considering the overall [3] Whether only the applicable injuries recognized from the ineligibility circumstances related to the defendant, whether the defendant's decision shall be canceled if only parts of the injuries meet the business affair may be evaluated objectively as an act within the normal requirements for a person of distinguished service to the state amid a scope of a currency exchange operator or shall be regarded as a part of number of revocation litigations regarding such requirements. the act to receive or pay foreign exchange between a foreign country (Affirmative) and the Republic of Korea shall be judged for the existence of the criminal intent. Summary of Decision A defendant, a registered currency exchange operator, runs a currency [1] Taking into consideration the differences of literary descriptions in exchange by receiving a large amount of Japanese Yen and the the regulations, the details and the circumstances of Article 4.1.6 of the remittance list periodically and repeatedly from a few certain clients, Act on the Honorable Treatment of and Support for Persons, etc. of exchanging the money at a foreign exchange bank without confirming Distinguished Services to the State (hereinafter referred to as “the the personal information of the clients, transferring the money to Persons of Distinguished Services to the State Act”), Article 2.1.2 of the multiple accounts and writing the name of the remittee and not Act on Support for Persons Eligible for Veteran’s Compensation including the names of the clients in the ledger. A sentence of acquittal (hereinafter referred to as “the Persons Eligible for Veteran's was pronounced by the first instance and the appellate trial judging that Compensation Act”), Article 3.1 Attached Table 1(2) of the Enforcement there is no proof that there was a mutual consent to pay or receive Decree of the Act on the Honorable Treatment of and Support for foreign exchange between the defendant and the remittee in Japan. Persons, etc. of Distinguished Services to the State and Article 2.1 However, given the identity between two accounts of the defendant and Attached Table 1(2) of the Enforcement Decree of the Act on Support for another criminal committing hwanchigi, it is appropriate to deem the Persons Eligible for Veteran’s Compensation, the “direct causal defendant’s act as hwanchigi, which goes beyond the general currency relationship” required to be recognized as soldiers or police officers exchange affair and that he or she has conducted foreign exchange wounded on active duty by the Persons of Distinguished Services to the affair that corresponds to incidental business, which is directly relevant State Act shall not be established with a proximate causal relationship and closely related to the payment and receipt between Japan and the between the performance of duties or education and training and death Republic of Korea. Also, the decision of the appellate trial was reversed or injuries. The main cause of the death or injuries shall be attributed to for reasons that the criminal intent of the defendant has been proved the performance of duties or education or training that is directly related sufficiently by the indirect evidence. to the security or the protection of the lives and property of the people. Thus, even though the performance of duties or education and training partly influenced death or injuries, in case the performance of duties or education and training cannot be regarded as the main cause of one’s death or injury such as if one’s own fault or personal circumstances considerably compete as a cause, if the cause is due to one’s own

Winter 2017 Vol.25 027 physical disposition or life style and if an existing disease slightly deteriorated due to the duty or education and training, it is difficult to 06 Supreme Court Decision 2016Do7273 Decided Sep. 28, 2016 conclude that it falls within the scope of the requirements for the person Violation of the Child Welfare Act [Gong2016Ha, of distinguished services to the state prescribed by the Persons of 1650] Distinguished Services to the State Act. [2] Article 3.1.2-8 Attached Table 1 (hereinafter referred as “The Table”) of the Enforcement Decree of the Persons of Distinguished Services to Main Issues and Holdings the State Act, which is one of the standards for a person of The intent of Article 34 of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the distinguished services to the state, defines the “diseases that are Punishment, etc. of Child Abuse Crimes and whether Article 34.1 of the medically recognized to acutely occur due to the direct cause of” the same Act shall apply to child abuse crimes for which the limitation performance of duties or education and training listed in 2-1to 2-7 period has not run completely, while the criminal act was completed as (maintenance, dissemination, transportation and management of of the effective date of the same act. (Affirmative) munitions such as vigilance, search, ambush, reconnaissance, equipment and supplies of a soldier and performance of duties or Summary of Decision education and training) states that it “ excludes any cases in which an The Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, etc. of Child existing disease have caused or worsened.” However, since Article 4.1.6 Abuse Crimes (Legislated as Statute No.12341 on January 28, 2014 and of the Persons of Distinguished Services to the State Act states that went into effect on September 29, 2014, hereinafter referred to as “the “diseases” are included in the scope of “injuries”, the injuries defined in Act on Punishment of Child Abuse Crime”) was enacted with the 2-1 and 2-2 of Table 2 shall also be interpreted to include the injuries purpose to protect children and help them grow as healthy members of resulted from the diseases caused by accidents. If any disease has been society by prescribing special provisions on the punishment of crimes of directly caused by the performance of duties or education and training child abuse. Article 2.4 (i) of the Act on Punishment of Child Abuse directly related to national defense or security or the protection of the Crime provides “committing physical abuse against a child that may hurt lives and property of the people (hereinafter referred to as “national his/her body or injure his/her physical health and development” under protection, etc.”), there can be no difference in receiving honor and Article 71.1.2 of the Child Welfare Act and Article 17.3 of the Child respect from the people regardless of whether an accident or disaster Welfare Act [this provision corresponds to “committing physical abuse was involved in the occurrence of the disease. On the other hand, if the against a child” under Article 29 subparagraph 1 of the old Child phrase “excludes any cases in which an existing disease have caused or Welfare Act (prior to the entire amendment on August 4, 2011 to Statute worsened” stated in 28 of Table 2 is interpreted literally to exclude all No. 11002)] as one of child abuse crimes. Furthermore, under the title of the cases where an existing disease influenced the cause or “Suspension and Effects of Prescription of Public Prosecution” under deterioration, it is unjust for it results in an significantly different Article 34, paragraph 1 of the Article provides “Notwithstanding Article decision without any rational basis compared to when 2-1 or 2-2 of 252 of the Criminal Procedure Act, the limitation period against a crime Table two is applied. Therefore, for the part which requires the disease of child abuse shall start from the date the child victim of the relevant to occur “acutely” and “excludes any cases in which an existing disease child abuse crime reaches the age of maturity,” and the Addendum have caused or worsened” as the requirements for a person of provides that “This Act shall enter into force eight months after the date distinguished service to the state defined in 2-8 of Table 2, it is of its promulgation.” As such, the purpose of the Act on Punishment of reasonable to interpret that it is only intended to exclude cases in which Child Abuse Crime is to protect child victims from child abuse crimes job performance of duties or education and training directly related to and pursuant to Article 34 of the same Act, and by stopping the the protection of the state cannot be evaluated as the main cause of the limitation period to start from the date the child victim of the relevant occurrence or deterioration of the problematic disease. Thus, even if child abuse crime reaches the age of majority for a crime of child abuse there is a possibility that an existing disease is related to or influenced not to be relieved from punishment, the purpose is to realistically the occurrence or deterioration of the disease, it should be considered protect child victims under the age of 18 from their guardians. as fulfilling the requirements for a person of distinguished service to the Based on such legislative purpose of the Act on Punishment of Child state if the performance of duties or education and training is Abuse Crimes and the intent of Article 34 of the same Act in light of the recognized as the main cause of the disease. legal principles of new adoption and retrospective application of special [3] According to the interpretation of Article 4.1.6, Article 6.3.1 and provisions suspending the limitation period, although the Act on Article 6.4 of the Persons of Distinguished Services to the State Act, Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes does not provide express transitional only the injuries that fulfill the requirements should be cancelled provision for retrospective application of Article 34.1, as this provision regarding when parts of the injuries fulfill the requirements for a person suspends progressing of the limitation period that has not run under of distinguished service to the state among the revocation litigations of certain circumstances towards future, it shall apply to child abuse the ineligibility decision dispositions. crimes for which the limitation period has not run completely, while the

Recent Trends of Law & Regulation in Korea 028 criminal act was completed as of the effective date, September 29, Koreans are foreigners or Koreans with foreign nationality, the foreigner 2014. registration or report of change of place of stays performed by foreigners pursuant to the Immigration Act shall have the same legal effect of the resident registration provided as a requirement for 07 Supreme Court Decision 2015Da14136 Decided Oct. 13, 2016 acquiring the opposing power for housing lease and Article 3.1 of the Recognition of opposing power under the Housing Lease Protection Act. This shall not be seen differently because Housing Lease Protection Act the foreigner registration or report of domestic place of stay, etc. serves weak function of public notice compared to the resident registration. Also, the resident registration that is required for acquiring the opposing Main Issues and Holdings power under Article 3.1 of the Housing Lease Protection Act includes not If a foreigner reported a change of foreigner registration or place of stay only the resident registration of the lessee him/herself, but also that of pursuant to the Immigration Act, whether it is admitted as having the the family such as spouse and children and such legal principle shall be same legal effect as the resident registration, which is the requirement seen as applying likewise if the oversea Korean pursuant to the Act on for the opposing power under the Housing Lease Protection Act. the Immigration and Legal Status of Overseas Koreans is the lessee.

Summary of Decision In light of that Article 88.2.2 of the Immigration Act deems any foreigner 08 Constitutional Court Decision 2013Hun-Ga1 Decided June 30, registration and report on change of place of stay filed to be any 2016 [Unconstitutional] resident registration and moving-in report, respectively, shows intention Public Official Election Act Article 60 (1) 5 to provide the same legal protection as resident registration to the foreigner registration and report of change of place of stay as foreigners cannot be registered under the Resident Registration Act, that although [1] Whether the part “a person who falls under Article 53 (1) 8” of the effect of providing public notice is limited in the foreigner Article 60 (1) 5 of the former Public Official Election Act (the Act revised registration compared to the resident registration, as the resident by Law No. 9974 on Jan. 25, 2010 and by Law No. 13617 on Dec. 24, registration is also available only for reading or delivery in registered or 2015; hereinafter “the former Public Official Election Act”) that bars abstract copy to the principle or the head of the household or interested journalists from election campaigns (“restriction clause”) violates the parties with justified causes, its function as public notice is limited to doctrine of prohibition on blanket delegation (affirmative) the extent of that of the real estate registration, thereby when compared [2] Whether the restriction clause and the part “a person who falls under to the effect of the public notice by the foreigner registration, the Article 53 (1) 8” of Article 60 (1) 5 of Article 255 (1) 2 of the former Public difference is only relative, and that under Article 2.2 of the Constitution, Official Election Act that provides for the punishment of the restriction the country has an obligation to protect overseas Koreans as provided by clause violations (the latter “penalty clause”; and the former and the statutes, based on which, the constitutional spirit can be actually latter collectively “clauses at issue”) are in violation of the freedom of realized only if they are fulfilled also in case the families of overseas election campaign (affirmative)

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Summary of Decision conducts towards press insiders, and conducts towards certain outside [1] The restriction clause does not set the limit of contents to be candidates. Therefore, the clauses at issue are in violation of the prescribed by a presidential decree other than the term “journalist” as it freedom of election campaign. simply refers to “journalists prescribed by the presidential decree”. From the relevant clauses, it is hardly predictable which media, of various Dissenting opinions of Judges Kim Chang-jong and press media from broadcasting, newspaper and news communications, Cho Yong-ho will be subject to the clause and which person who engages in which [1] As mass media organizations to which journalists belong are work to which degree will fall into the category of journalist. Therefore, gradually expanding their scope with the technological developments the restriction clause is in violation of the doctrine of prohibition on and the range of personnel working for them is also diverse, the need blanket delegation. for delegation is acknowledged. Moreover, relevant clauses and the [2] The clauses at issue are justifiable in that they prohibit journalists’ former Public Official Election Act are sufficient to be prima facie criteria involvement and biased influence in elections on the ground of the press to predict whether the journalists to be prescribed by a presidential influence in public official elections and the public interest and social decree will be those engaged in works related to the formation of public responsibility that journalists must pursue, and ultimately intend to opinions about elections such as management, administration, editing, ensure fairness and equity of elections. Blanket ban on election writing and reporting in the press such as broadcasters or newspapers campaigns by a certain set of journalists is a proper means to achieve or in similar media. Therefore, the restriction clause is not in violation of such intention. the doctrine of prohibition on blanket delegation However, issues concerning journalists’ intervention in elections arise [2] The clauses set minimum standards for the range of journalists from their activities through the press, i.e. use of the status or the status whose campaigns are prohibited, and it is hard to say that the itself as a journalist. Thus, it is unnecessary to prevent election journalists engaged in the Internet newspaper have less public benefit campaigns carried out by individual journalists not using media or social accountability than journalists engaged in newspaper or altogether. The legislative intent of the clauses at issue can be achieved broadcasting. On the other hand, because there is no provision to punish by regulating possible problems that may arise from activities made by a the violation itself as it is subject to deliberation and action by the certain scope of journalists through media. Meanwhile, as the media deliberation committee regarding the duty of fair reporting by media outlets including online newspaper are exponentially increasing and organizations under the former Public Official Election Law, it is difficult citizens are actively engaged with media, the scope of journalists that to say that there is enough power to suppress the election movement. can fall under the category subject to the clauses at issue are Therefore, the clauses shall not infringe the freedom of election excessively wide. In addition, the former Public Official Election Act campaign. obligates the press to make fair report, and sets forth sufficient The clauses at issue set the necessary minimum standard for journalists provisions on conducts that may undermine fairness of elections from banned from election campaigns and it cannot be deemed that a various aspects, including reports and comments using the media, journalist working for online newspaper has lesser degree of public

Recent Trends of Law & Regulation in Korea 030 interest or social responsibility than those working for newspapers or disgraceful conduct that does not amount to molestation and quasi- broadcasters. In the meantime, mass media organizations’ duty to fair molestation, and a sexually satisfactory conduct between same-sex report under the former Public Official Election Act is only subject to military personnel that arouses aversion of ordinary people from deliberation and measures of the respective deliberation committee and objective perspective, goes against good sexual morality and does not no clauses of the Act punish its violations. In addition, the amount to sodomy, and whether to fall into such conduct or not is merely abovementioned measures themselves are not considered to be an issue of normal interpretation and application of law by courts. sufficient deterrent to curb election campaigns particularly through Hence, the clause at issue is not in violation of the principle of legal online press. Thus, the clauses at issue are not in violation of the certainty of the principle of legality. freedom of election campaign. [2] In its decisions, 2001Hun-Ba70 on June 27, 2002 and 2008Hun-Ga21 on March 31, 2011, the Constitutional Court held that as “the legislative intent of “other disgraceful conduct” in Article 92 of the former Military 9 Constitutional Court Decision 2012Hun-Ba258 Decided Jul. 28, Criminal Act is to establish the sound communal life and discipline of the 2016 [Constitutional] military, forbidding same-sex military personnel from sexually Constitutional complaint against Article 92-5 of satisfactory conduct is a proper means to achieve the intent, and the Military Criminal Act considering Korea’s security situation and conscription system, mere administrative sanctions are not an effective tool to control disgraceful Main Issues and Holdings conducts committed between same-sex military personnel. Therefore [1] Whether the part “other disgraceful conduct” in Article 92-5 of the the clause at issue is not in violation of the principle of proportionality.” former Military Criminal Act (the Act revised by the Law No. 9820 on While the clause was later revised to the clause at issue, and the Nov 2, 2009 and revised by the Law No. 11734 on April 5, 2013) that statutory punishment thereof was raised to 2 years or less, still it is provides for criminal punishment of “other disgraceful conduct” goes difficult to say such punishment is heavier than that of other against the principle of legal certainty of the principle of legality molestations provided by other laws, and it is possible to give (negative) suspended sentence or stay of execution depending on circumstances. [2] Whether the clause at issue goes against the principle of Thus, it is difficult to see there are special circumstances that may proportionality, violating military personnel’s right to sexual self- change the abovementioned decisions. Therefore, the clause at issue determination, secrecy and freedom of privacy and personal liberty does not infringe on sexual self-determination, secrecy and freedom of (negative) privacy and personal liberty of military personnel in violation of the [3] Whether the clause at issue goes against the principle of equality principle of proportionality. (negative) [3] As the clause at issue does not apply to “molestation by violence or intimidation”, the “serviceperson” subject to disgraceful conduct of the Summary of Decision clause at issue is not in nature the same as “ordinary citizen” subject to [1] “Other disgraceful conduct” of Article 92-5 of the former Military molestation of Article 298 of the Criminal Act. Moreover, as the clause Criminal Act is construed that it only applies to sexual behaviors at issue does not punish a sexual conduct between same-sex military between the same sex military personnel considering the following: 1) personnel, but a sexually satisfactory conduct short of sodomy that Article 92-5 of the former Military Criminal Act presents examples, and arouses aversion of ordinary people from objective perspective and goes the example provision of “sodomy” refers to anal intercourse between against sexual morality, undermining the discipline and sound communal males; 2) considering the characteristics of the military that same sex life in the military. Hence, even if same-sex servicemen are at persons lead closed communal life, the possibility of abnormal sexual disadvantage compared to opposite-sex servicemen, the restriction is to behavior between same sexes; 3) The main benefit and protection of this preserve the uniqueness and combat power of the military as discussed clause is “healthy life and military discipline of community called before, and thus a reasonable ground for differential treatment. military” which is social benefit and protection of laws. Whereas the Therefore, the clause at issue is not in violation of the principle of former Military Criminal Act revised in 1962 regulated disgraceful equality either. conduct involving coercion of all stages by Article 92 on Other Molestation alone, the former Military Criminal Act revised in 2009 Dissenting opinion of Judges Kim Yi-Su, Lee Jinsung, Kang regulates molestation by violence and intimidation (Article 92-2) and Ilwon and Cho Yongho quasi-molestation taking advantage of the other person’s insanity or inability to resist (Article 92-3) in separate provisions. Thus the “other The Criminal Act and the Act on Special Cases Concerning the disgraceful conduct’ in the clause at issue is limited to disgraceful Punishment, etc. of Sexual Crimes (“Act on Punishment of Sexual conducts excluding molestation and quasi-molestation. Therefore, “other Crimes”) strictly distinguish ‘disgraceful conduct’ infringing on disgraceful conduct” in the clause at issue is interpreted to be a individual’s sexual freedom by coercion and ‘lewd behavior’ undermining

Winter 2017 Vol.25 031 good custom unaccompanied by coercion. In contrast, the clause at issue sets ‘other disgraceful conduct’ as element constituting a crime, 10 Constitutional Court Decision 2014Hun-Ga3 Decided Sep. 29, leaving unclear whether it involves coercion. As a result, it equally 2016 [Unconstitutional] punishes lewd behavior made in voluntary agreement between parties Constitutional appeal against Article 3 (1) 3 of without coercion and disgraceful conduct by very compulsory violence the former Assembly and Demonstration Act and intimidation with a same punishment clause, creating a paradox unacceptable in a penalty system. Furthermore, since the clause at issue enumerates possible examples, it Main Issues and Holdings is only reasonable to think ‘other disgraceful conduct’ is at least a [1] Whether Article 3 paragraph 1 subparagraph 2 of the former behavior that amounts to ‘sodomy’ suggested in the exemplary Assembly and Demonstration Act (enacted as Law No. 1245 on provision. Still, the clause at issue is unclear about the degree of December 31, 1962 and wholly amended by Law No. 4095 on March 29, conduct subject to it, leaving the actor and tribunals unable to envisage 1989; hereinafter the Assembly and Demonstration Act regardless of which conduct is subject to punishment under law, and as a result, legislative history is referred to as the “Act”.) and Article 3 paragraph 1 causing ‘other disgraceful conduct’ to be considered sexual conduct subparagraph 2 stated in Article 14 paragraph 1 of the Act (amended by between same-sex persons that is short of sodomy and to be deemed Law No. 2592 on March 12, 1973 and amended by Law No. 3278 on satisfied by sexual behavior lesser in the degree of obscenity than December 18, 1980) (collectively “subparagraph” 2 at issue) violates the sodomy. freedom of assembly (affirmative) Moreover because the clause at issue does not have any provisions on [2] Whether Article 3 paragraph 1 subparagraph 3 of the Act (enacted as the object of a conduct, it is ambiguous whether ‘other disgraceful Law No. 1245 on December 31, 1962 and amended by Law No. 3278 on conduct’ applies to disgraceful conduct only between males or it also December 18, 1980) and Article 3 paragraph 1 subparagraph 3 stated in applies to such conduct between females or opposite sexes. The clause Article 14 paragraph 1 of the Act (one amended by Law No. 2592 on at issue is also ambiguous whether it punishes disgraceful conduct March 12, 1973 and amended by Law No. 3278 on December 18, 1980) between military personnel only or it is also applicable to a conduct that prohibits assemblies and demonstrations which undermine committed by a serviceman against an ordinary citizen. democratic basic order under the Constitution and criminally punish In the meantime, considering that the reason why disgraceful conduct violations of such prohibitions (collectively “subparagraph 3 at issue”) committed in the military was regulated by the Military Criminal Act are in violation of the freedom of assembly (affirmative) separately from the Criminal Act and the Act on Punishment of Sexual Crimes is that “it is in effect impossible to disobey the order of senior Summary of Decision officer as same-sex servicemen live in barracks together and are subject [1] It is difficult to deem that subparagraph 2 at issue is a proper means to strict top-down command and control”, the disgraceful conduct to secure judicial independence in that, while its legislative intent is subject to the clause at issue must be limited to “lewd conduct justifiable as it intends to secure fairness and independence of judicial committed within the military base between same-sex servicemen”. action by protecting the professional independence of judges, the However, as the clause at issue does not provide for the time and place exercise of the State’s judicial authority must base its legitimacy on the of such conduct and the legal interest established by precedents of the intent of its people and fair criticism on trial can contribute to the Court is also comprehensive and extensive, it is also unclear whether fairness of judicial action. Moreover, even if the judicial independence “lewd act made outside the military base” is also subject to the clause can be guaranteed by general provisions on outdoor assembly and at issue. demonstration of the Act and regulations and punishments under the In sum, as it deprives the convicted of predictability and incurred Criminal Act, subparagraph 2 at issue prohibits any assembly and possibility of arbitrary legal interpretation by a law enforcement demonstration which may or intents to affect a trial entirely and in institution, the clause at issue is in violation of the principle of advance, and does not present any standard for determining which definiteness of the principle of legality. assembly and demonstration will be subject to regulation, thereby precluding effectively any collective representation of opinions on a trial and resulting in the de facto deprivation of the freedom of assembly. Therefore, it infringes upon the principle of minimized damage. In addition, in that, while the public interest subparagraph 2 at issue intents to achieve is hypothetic and abstract, the degree of limitation on the freedom of assembly violated by subparagraph 2 at issue is material, subparagraph 2 at issue loses the balance of legal interest as well. Therefore it infringes upon the freedom of assembly in violation of the principle of proportionality

Recent Trends of Law & Regulation in Korea 032 [2] As subparagraph 3 at issue was adopted during the time of military tension between the two Koreas and ongoing social chaos in the wake of the Korean War and the April 19 Revolution as a protection mechanism to safeguard the democratic basic order which is the dominant principle of Korea’s Constitution, it is a proper means to achieve a just objective. However, subparagraph 3 at issue does not specifically state the goal or contents of an assembly or demonstration which is subject to regulation, simply setting forth “the democratic basic order”, which is the dominant principle of the Constitution, as a constituent element, and has not presented any specific standard for setting limits on restriction on fundamental rights. The extensiveness of such regulation makes it possible to punish any argument in contrast to the specific content of democracy provided for by the Constitution or any slight unintended violation of the democratic basic order incurred in the process of assembly and demonstration, and consequentially precludes any collective presentation of opinions by people critical of the social reality and government policy, thereby undermining the principle of minimized damage and the balance of legal interest. Therefore, subparagraph 3 at issue infringes upon the freedom of assembly in violation of the principle of proportionality.

Winter 2017 Vol.25 033

Recent Trends of Law & Regulation in Korea | Interview

UNISDR Office for Northeast Asia and Global Education and Training Institute

Sanjaya Bhatia The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction’s (UNISDR) mandate is to serve as the focal point The Head of UNISDR ONEA-GETI in the United Nations system for the coordination of disaster risk reduction and to ensure synergies among disaster risk reduction activities. Mr. Sanjaya Bhatia is the Head of the Office of UNISDR Office for Northeast Asia (ONEA) and Global Education and Training Institute (GETI) for disaster risk reduction in Incheon, Republic of Korea.

What is the role of UNISDR in reducing various disasters, especially for the Q: countries in Northeast Asia?

UNISDR means the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction. It has its headquarters based in Geneva, and this office for Northeast Asia in Incheon also functions as a Global Education and Training Institute. Our main objective is to help countries understand how they can reduce the risk of disasters before they actually happen. This enables the reduction of suffering from disasters and spending time and money on response and recovery. This idea has been embodied in the global agreement known as the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, which was signed by all the United Nations countries including all the countries in Northeast Asia in 2015. We assist these countries in implementing the Sendai Framework with the objective of reducing the risk of disasters.

UNISDR strives to ensure disaster risk reduction which is applied to climate Q: change adaptation. What kind of projects have you worked on to ensure this?

All our trainings include a component on climate change adaptation. We train civil servants of national and local governments to adapt to climate change so that they can reduce the impact of disasters. This is what we are doing for the entire world, specifically for the countries in Northeast Asia: Korea, China, Japan, and Mongolia.

Recent Trends of Law & Regulation in Korea 034 building, it is subjected to the hazard of fire. However, if we install smoke alarms, smoke detectors, a sprinkler system, and evacuation routes, we can reduce the risk of disasters. The Sendai Framework was signed and agreed by all 198 member states of the United Nations in 2015, and it is also well linked with the Paris Agreement on climate change and the Sustainable Development Goals, which was signed in New York in 2015. All three agreements work together to make sustainable development possible.

Why was UNISDR ONEA-GETI established in Korea Q: and what has been achieved since then?

The UNISDR Office for Northeast Asia was established in Incheon City as the city is located at the center of Northeast Asian countries, including the two Koreas, Japan, China, and Mongolia. The other reason is that Incheon City was very generous in hosting us and the Ministry of Public Safety and Security has been providing great support to us as well. For the Global Education and Training Institute, that support helped us to outreach all over the world. Secondly, there are many Korean partners, including SUNY Korea, Pohang University of Science and Technology and Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, with which we can showcase the technology that can be used for reducing disaster risks. This is a great advantage. So far, we have provided training for more than 3,000 civil servants all over the world, both here in Korea and in their own countries and the number continues to grow.

UNISDR focuses on reducing urban risks and building Who is the target group for the education and training Q: disaster-resilient cities. What actions does UNISDR Q: of disaster management and in what ways does take for urban safety? UNISDR ONEA-GETI educate and train them?

We have a separate component for urban risk reduction. We target The target group is two-fold. The first is political leaders – ministers, civil servants from local governments and their mayors. We first mayors, and governors. In order to work with their teams, we need raise the awareness of mayors, who are the political heads of local their support, blessings, and push. The main focus is on political governments, and governors on how disaster risk reduction can engagement and raising awareness. The second target group is the actually be an investment, not a cost. Once the mayors and operational level in national and local governments. We train them governors are interested, we provide practical training to their staff on the steps they need to take to reduce disaster risks. The trainings on how they can actually implement measures to reduce risks of are very practical as they are based on case studies from different disasters. This helps them take necessary steps for the reduction of countries that help us learn from the experiences of others and disaster risks within their local government. avoid repeating mistakes.

What is the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk What are the strategies or plans of UNISDR ONEA- Q: Reduction 2015-2030? Q: GETI to play a central role in managing disaster risks in a global setting? The Sendai Framework was built on the earlier Hugo Framework from 2005 to 2015. The Hugo Framework looked more at how to be better As the Sendai Framework is not a law, but a voluntary agreement, our prepared to respond to emergencies and disasters, whereas the work is to make sure that we can support the countries in their Sendai Framework focuses on the causes or underlying risk factors of implementation of the Sendai Framework. We bring to them global disasters and ways to reduce them. For example, in the case of a tools and methodologies.

Winter 2017 Vol.25 035

You have worked in the field of disaster risk Do you agree on the idea that technology is the future Q: reduction and climate change adaptation for more Q: key to disaster risk reduction? If you think so, could than 20 years. What inspired you to work in this field? you give us some examples where technology has been used to manage disaster risks? I think it is important to realize that many of these disasters either could have been prevented or, if not prevented, reduced. This I think there are two aspects: disaster risk management and disaster motivates me to spread the message amongst different countries and risk reduction. Risk management means managing the risks, such as also learn at the same time. In fact, every day I come across new coastguards and fire service. Reducing disaster risks refers to reducing experiences or cases that other countries have gone through to reduce underlying factors, such as using building codes and planning. We can disaster risks. This is satisfying because as I learn, I continue to use technology for both aspects. disseminate what I have learned. One very good example of using technology for risk management is Ultimately, this leads to saving lives. I lived in Japan for 5 years where Korea’s PSLTE, Public Safety Long Term Evolution. Korea will probably earthquakes are quite common; even Richter 6 or 6.5 earthquakes, be the first country to implement PSLTE in the world. It is a common which are quite significant. Since Japan has made investments in communication platform for all agencies involved in disaster risk disaster risk reduction, these earthquakes do not make much management. Coastguards, police agencies, fire services, and central difference to Japanese people. On the other hand, a 6 or a 6.5 and local governments can all talk to each other through various earthquake in another country can cause immense damage and loss of channels in real time on the common platform without intermediaries. lives. Likewise, there are many other countries with similar examples The first phase has been completed in Korea, and second phase is to where investing in disaster risk reduction secures their economy and expand it to include transportation networks, which will take place in people. 2017.

Recent Trends of Law & Regulation in Korea 036 The other technology in reducing disaster risks is definitely space initiative measure, other UN agencies help Nepal in Post-Disaster- technology. Space imagery can help in developing disaster risk Needs-Assessment (PDNA) in which they plan reconstruction, assessment by locating key villages, critical infrastructure, and items community rebuilding, and so on. UNISDR also gives its contribution in that may cause disasters, such as oil refinery in port and gas lines. policy advice. However, ultimately, it is the government’s decision in that the government has to apply the measures to solve the issue. As What do you think the biggest disaster threat of Korea we can only assist but cannot force the government, we provide Q: is? How should the country prepare for such a training beforehand so that national governments can understand the disaster? necessity of risk reduction.

It is important to consider a multi-hazard approach and not focus on How do you measure the resilience of the cities? only one disaster. Namely Korea faces the risks of cyclone, Q: earthquake, storm, fire hazard, flood, and landslide. Also, increase in ‘Urban-local indicators,’ a check list developed globally by many the sea level due to the climate change is dangerous to Korea, a international organizations outside of the UN, include various peninsular country with many ports. Then, there are technological indicators. The first stage is to self-grade a city or local government disasters, including gas, gas filter, pipeline, and oil-pipeline. Last but from 1 to 5. It is subjective, but the idea is that multi-stakeholder not least is the health, including air quality and epidemics. In 2015, we groups including community representatives, civil societies, and the suffered from the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome and the Avian private sector come together to get the baseline and to find Influenza. To sum up, we should take a multi-hazard approach, not weaknesses. There are almost 200 indicators, covering a wide range singling out just one disaster because then we would be prepared for from health, hardware buildings, environment, ecosystem, education, only one but not for others. Everything should be looked at awareness of the community, emergency response preparedness, fire systematically and comprehensively in one planning exercise. services, police agencies, coastguards, and so on. It even includes comprehensiveness and thoroughness of legislation. You’ve mentioned that you provide education to the Q: working-level groups. How do you provide the education? Is it a regular program or just a one-time event?

First, we provide face-to-face training upon request for Korea or the requesting countries. Second, we supervise online training, which is in English and Spanish. Third, we create outward partnerships with universities. In 2017, we will be having a degree course administered by one of the universities here. The trainings are practical, explaining how to use certain tools not only in lectures but also in workshop format. We make sure that they learn the skill, and also we take a commitment from the government that they will follow up to develop a plan for the implementation.

For disasters such as the huge earthquake in Nepal in Q: 2015, do non-governmental organizations and UN agencies work in coordination with each other to respond to such disasters? And is UNISDR also working to help that coordination?

The humanitarian assistance is UNOCHA (the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs)’s work. They are the coordinators for humanitarian assistance, practicing immediate response after disasters. Our role comes in a bit later during the reconstruction. After the disaster, every country should look at what happened, why it happened, what worked, and what did not work. For example, in Nepal after the earthquake, people engaged in better building practices with UN’s help. So, after UNOCHA takes the

Winter 2017 Vol.25 037

Recent Trends of Law & Regulation in Korea | Recent Events Recent Events

discuss ways to improve corporate governance. 01 2016 OECD-Asian Round Table on Corporate In his opening speech, Vice Minister of Justice Changjae Lee said, “The Governance Takes Place in Seoul establishment of a healthy corporate governance structure can boost confidence in businesses and lead to increased investment, which can The Ministry of Justice hosted the “OECD-Asian Round Table on serve as a stepping stone for economic growth. I hope this meeting will Corporate Governance” at the Seoul Grand Hyatt Hotel on October 24 be of great assistance to the exchange and cooperation among Asian and 25, 2016. countries as well as the betterment of corporate governance and The “OECD-Asian Round Table on Corporate Governance” is the Asian economic development in the region.” regional conference of the Corporate Governance Committee, which is The Ministry has made continuous efforts to ensure the corporate one of the 23 committees in the Organization for Economic Co-operation governance structure meets the global standards: it expanded the range and Development (OECD). This conference provides a venue to discuss of a director’s self-transactions subject to the board of directors’ pending issues of corporate governance and share best practices of approval, prohibited a director’s appropriation of the company’s corporate governance improvement. This Round Table is especially opportunities to enhance transparency of corporate management as it meaningful as it coincides with the 20th anniversary of Korea joining the revised the Commercial Act in 2011, and introduced compliance officers for OECD.* stronger internal control. The Ministry also listens to the voices of various stakeholders and all levels of society to enhance corporate governance. * Korea joined OECD as the 29th member state on December The Round Table proved constructive as it raised awareness of strides 1995 and has since made efforts to promote the prosperity and Korea has made in corporate governance and provided participants with stability of OECD’s member states and the international an opportunity to learn recent global trends in corporate governance by community as a whole. networking with one another. Furthermore, as it shows how advanced Korea’s corporate governance Deputy Secretary-General Rintaro Tamaki of the OECD, some 70 experts has become, it is expected to relieve ‘Korea Discount’ and facilitate from 20 countries including OECD member states, China, India and inbound foreign investments. Singapore and 150 Korean experts gathered at the Round Table to

Recent Trends of Law & Regulation in Korea 038 Jong-heon of the Busan Metropolitan City Council and staff of the Crime 02 The 9th Korea Human Rights for Crime Victim Support Centers. Victims Conference held in Busan This year’s Conference was special as it was held in Busan, the second largest city in Korea and a maritime hub in East Asia, to draw public The 9th Korea Human Rights for Crime Victims Conference co-hosted by attention to and strengthen efforts to protect and support crime victims. the Ministry of Justice and the Korean Crime Victim Support Association At the conference held in Busan Cinema Center, participants enjoyed (KCVA) was held on November 25, 2016 at Busan Cinema Center under movies curated under the theme of criminal injury, learned the best the auspices of The Dong-a Ilbo and the Korean Association of practices of the Crime Victim Support Centers, shared the stories of Victimology. victims of how they overcame the harm done to them and had a chance The annual conference, which was launched in 2008, aims to raise to understand the pains the victims were going through. public awareness of crime victims and boost the morale and unite the The conference also recognized those who have devoted themselves for staff of the Crime Victim Support Centers.* helping victims. Seven people were awarded government prizes, and one of whom, Gwak Seong-ho, Chairman of the Board of the Daegu *The Crime Victim Support Centers are non-profit corporation Southern District Crime Victim Support Center won the Civil Merit aggregate established to protect and support crime victims. They Medal. Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Milyang Crime Victim make cooperation with local police and prosecution if necessary Support Center and 39 others were bestowed commendations from the to perform their work. The Centers protect and support victims, Minister of Justice. right after the occurrence of crime, and provide various assistance In his remarks, the then Vice Minister Lee said “I would express my in criminal procedures, recovery of loss, reintegration to society deepest gratitude to volunteers at the Crime Victim Support Centers for and psychological treatment. their sacrifice and services.” “I would like to ask you to remember the moment you decided to start this work to lend a warm hand to crime The event was attended by about 750 participants including the then victims,” he continued. Vice Minister Lee Changjae of the Ministry of Justice (incumbent Acting The Ministry of Justice will continuously work to create society where Minister of Justice), Chairman Kim Gap-sik of the KCVA, Speaker Baek citizens can lead happy lives by reaching out our people with sincerity.

Winter 2017 Vol.25 039

Recent Trends of Law & Regulation in Korea | Policies of the Ministry of Justice

MOJ, KNPA Join Hands to Efficiently Respond to Foreigner Crimes

verification during the investigation process of the foreign suspect. Also, the foreign suspect will be difficult to steal the personal information of others in order to hide his or her identity. Thanks to the system, the identity of the fingerprints or unnatural dead body that is assumed to be of a foreigner can be verified swiftly. The system will also be useful when securing the evidence of foreigner- related cases and solving unsolved cases. For the Sihwa torso murder in April 2015, the police was able to catch the murderer swiftly by identifying the victim was a Chinese national through the fingerprint information of the ministry. The sharing of foreigners’ fingerprint information is significant in that the MOJ and KNPA have stepped up cooperation to improve the efficiency in foreigner crime investigation in order to realize the core values of Government 3.0, openness, sharing, communication and cooperation. The two agencies will further strengthen their relations to enhance their capacities to respond to foreigner crime at a time when the public is gaining more interest in foreigner crime.

Major cases 1. Mr. Kim (a 47-year-old Chinese national) was arrested on April 8, 2015 for murdering his wife after quarrelling over purchasing a house in China with his wife at their house located in Jeongwang-dong, Siheung City, Gyeonggi Province around 11:00 AM on April 1, 2015. He is also accused of mutilating the body and abandoning it at the Sihwa Seawall. ▶ On‌ April 7, 2016, the police specified and arrested the suspect by confirming the personal information of Ms. Han (a 41-year-old Chinese national), a long-term foreign resident, by matching the fingerprints of the victim.

The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) and the Korean National Police Agency 2. After impersonating an employee of the Financial Supervisory Service, (KNPA) agreed to utilize all the fingerprint information of foreigners Mr. Choi (a 28-year-old Chinese national) called Mr. Park (a 66-year-old obtained by the MOJ in order to swiftly respond to the crimes committed victim) around 10:50 am on July 11, 2016 to tell him that since his by foreigners. personal information has been leaked from a post office, it is vital to The two agencies established a foreigner identification verification withdraw his money and keep it at home. He also asked for the victim’s system, which went into operation on September 21, 2016, to jointly use password for the front door of his house in order to set up a new the fingerprint information of foreigners on a real-time basis. emergency bell. Later on the same day, the suspect was arrested for In the past, only the information about long-term foreign residents was breaking into the victim’s house in Cheonan City and stealing KRW 33 shared real-time. With the new system, however, real-time identification million in cash. verification of all foreigners, including short-term foreign visitors is now ▶ The‌ police collected the fingerprints of the suspect left on the front door possible. of the victim’s house and swiftly specified the identification information The sharing of foreigners’ fingerprint information ensures a scenes-of- of the suspect. The suspect was arrested at the Incheon International crime-officer to identify foreign suspects by real-time fingerprint Airport just before departing from Korea.

Recent Trends of Law & Regulation in Korea 040 ※The background and progress of the sharing of foreigners’ fingerprint information In the past, the MOJ managed all the identification information of foreign residents in Korea. Therefore, it was somewhat time consuming for the police to send an official document to the Ministry to request the verification of the identification or fingerprints of a foreign suspect. To resolve this problem, the MOJ and KNPA have been discussing ways to jointly utilize the fingerprint information of foreigners since 2012. In May 2014, the Ministry began to provide the fingerprint information of long-term foreign residents (exceeding 90 days) as their first achievement. In particular, the KNPA established the foreigner identification verification system on September 21, 2016 to check the fingerprint information of short- term foreign residents (less than 90 days) on a real-time basis through the MOJ’s database. With the system, the Ministry has, in fact, shared all of its fingerprint information of foreigners with the KNPA.

Winter 2017 Vol.25 041

Recent Trends of Law & Regulation in Korea | Ministry of Justice at a Glance

Caring, Law Compliance Campaign Engaging citizens in creating safe and happy communities

Vice Director Lee Sang-hoon Law and Order Advancement Division (Crime Prevention Policy Bureau) The Division conducts research and development of legal education policies, provides support for training Mr. Lee Sang-hoon is a prosecutor at the Law and education of personnel specialized in legal education, carries out law compliance campaigns, and is and Order Advancement Division within the responsible for appointment, dismissal and maintenance of law advocates (Beobsarang Uiwon). Crime Prevention Bureau of the Ministry of Justice. Previously, he served as a prosecutor at the Seoul Dongbu District Prosecutors' Office, the Ansan Branch of Suwon District The nation-wide civic participation initiative led by the Ministry of Justice, Caring, Law Prosecutors' Office and the Cheongju District Compliance Campaign is designed to encourage the public to care about their neighbors, Prosecutors' Office. He holds a Master’s comply with basic laws and keep our environment safe from crimes. Not a one-off degree in tax law from Seoul National project, this campaign brings the Ministry, local governments, the prosecution, University College of Law. government agencies, civil society, and local communities together under the cause of “healthy and happy neighborhoods.”

What is Caring, Law Compliance Campaign, the main project conducted by the Law Q: and Order Advancement Division, and what are the expected effects of the campaign?

The Republic of Korea is the world’s 13th largest economy and the country’s democracy has significantly been enhanced. Nevertheless, Korea ranks a mere 25th out of 34 OECD members in law-abiding consciousness as of 2015. If the country reaches an OECD average, an additional 1 percentage point of economic growth can be achieved, according to an analysis. In this regard, the Ministry of Justice initiated the Law Compliance Campaign in March 2014 to strengthen the

Recent Trends of Law & Regulation in Korea 042 national competitiveness by advancing the rule of law compliance and Through these various projects, we are striving to build a society where familiarizing the public with complying with law and order. We have the public can live free from all kinds of crimes by resolving conflicts renamed the campaign to Caring, Law Compliance Campaign in between individuals or groups through the spread of the culture of caring September 2015 to promote social integration and establish a law for others and creating social integration and law compliance culture. compliance culture through spreading the culture of caring for others.

We are carrying out various projects as part of the campaign. What is the CPTED project and how is it different from the Firstly, we have a) created and distributed a logo, Caring is the law of Q: traditional approach to prevent crimes? mind, b) promoted the value of caring and abiding by law and order via SNS such as Facebook and c) aired public service advertisements. The CPTED project is to prevent crimes by improving the physical environment. It is a crime prevention method to create an environment Secondly, we have been engaging in the Crime Prevention Through where potential criminals cannot easily commit crimes or design an Environmental Design (CPTED) project since 2014. We select crime- environment (physical, non-physical) where criminal actions can be ridden areas in need of environmental improvement to develop the easily exposed. Some of the examples include brightening the street physical environment of such areas and prevent crimes by providing lights in dark and remote areas and installing closed-circuit televisions legal education programs for the residents so that the public can be free or reflectors in dark areas of poor visibility and emergency bells in from concerns about crimes. restrooms for emergency cases. Last September, a man in his sixties tried to sexually assault a woman with a deadly weapon in a women’s Lastly, we have implemented the Caring, Clean Sports Project. We have restroom at a university but was caught on the spot thanks to the cooperated with organizations of popular sports, including basketball emergency alarm. Recently, in addition to improving the physical and baseball to spread a culture of clean sports and establish a law- environment, our Ministry introduced a law education program for abiding culture. reinforcing capabilities of residential community to enable residents to organize a community, help one another to manage CPTED facilities and

Winter 2017 Vol.25 043 thereby prevent local crimes. The program has taken a step forward in a while since we initiated the CPTED project. Therefore, there is a limit to the CPTED project. analyze how effective the project is. However, we have conducted a survey in 2014, answered by a total of 1,611 residents who have The existing crime prevention policies focused on ex post punishment for experienced the CPTED project, to determine the effectiveness of the already committed crimes, such as crackdown and severe punishment on project. According to the survey, 73.16 percent responded that they felt crimes. In contrast, CPTED eliminates causes of crimes in the first place safer from crimes, a 16.67 percent increase from 56.49 percent. We will and thereby prevents potential criminals from attempting to commit a continue to observe and analyze the efficiency of the project in the future. crime. Thus, CPTED aims at preventing crimes in advance and deterring first offenses. Why did you begin Caring, Clean Sports Campaign along Q: with the sports organizations and what are its expected What are the current status and effects of the CPTED effects? Q: project and its the future plans? Scandalous incidents, including match fixing and illegal sports betting Our Ministry has promoted the CPTED project as part of the Law have frequently occurred recently in the popular sports world, causing Compliance Campaign from 2014. In 2014, we have cooperated with the much disappointment to the public. Therefore, we are working together private sector, local governments and district public prosecutors’ offices with organizations of popular sports such as basketball and baseball by to carry out the CPTED project in 13 regions across the country. In 2015, signing memorandums of understanding with them to promote the 12 regions were selected for the project through a public contest. We establishment of a law abiding culture through the spread of clean sports have encouraged local governments to cover part of the budget for the culture. We also provide law education for players, coaches and umpires project in the same year. to prevent corruption and irregularities in games such as match fixing, play public service advertisements in stadiums to promote law The effects of CPTED appear over a long period of time and it’s only been compliance and carry out social contribution programs of sports

Recent Trends of Law & Regulation in Korea 044 organizations and players. The Korean Basketball League built a basketball arena at the Juvenile Protection Education Institution in Seoul and a famous player teaches basketball to the kids for free.

I believe the nature of sportsmanship where players follow the set of rules and care for other players is the same as that of law compliance where people have to abide by the set of orders and care for others. Therefore, we hope Caring, Clean Sports Campaign will not only root out illegal acts in sports but also establish a law compliance culture where the people abide by the basic law and order and care for others.

In what ways should the Caring, Law Compliance Q: Campaign develop in the future?

When you think of the Law Compliance Campaign, many people tend to only regard the campaign as a movement to abide by the existing laws. Some among the younger generation even feel skeptical about the campaign, armed with distrust towards law, insisting that the campaign is just encouraging people to follow laws that are favorable only to the privileged. I believe the Caring, Law Compliance Campaign will provide opportunities for the future generations to gain more interest in law and society by contemplating what the meaning of law in our society is, why we need laws, and how the Korean laws should be.

Winter 2017 Vol.25 045

Recent Trends of Law & Regulation in Korea | Law in Your Daily Life

How to Ride a Bicycle in Korea

Eco-friendly and convenient, bicycles are widely used as an alternative for traffic of bicycles and pedestrians; (3) bicycle-only roadway, which is a transportation means. However, bicycles are categorized as ‘motor portion of a roadway that is distinguished from cars; and (4) bicycle vehicles’ under Korea’s Road Traffic Act and cyclists are subject to priority lane, a lane demarcated by a road surface marking to ensure safe regulations thereunder. This article explores several rules useful for safe traffic of both bicycles and cars. and convenient bicycle rides. However, there are cases where none of the four exists, leaving cyclists no choice but to take an alternate road. Even in such cases, riders are not allowed to take roads exclusively for motor vehicles but to drive along Traffic regulations on bicycles roads in accordance with the Road Traffic Act. First, where no bicycle lane is in existence, each rider must pass along close to the right side of Cyclists must comply with traffic regulations for smooth traffic flow and the road and unless safety markers prohibit entry of bicycles, riders may protection of pedestrians. Bike riders are obliged, among others, to pass along a roadside. On a road where a sidewalk and a roadway are observe signals, maintain an enough distance with other motor vehicles, not divided, bikes must take the roadway. The sidewalk may be taken by yield routes, protect pedestrians, and refrain from conducts that bike only when the rider is a child, senior citizen or a physically undermine traffic safety. challenged person, when the road is blocked due to destruction, road improvement or other reasons. When a bicycle rider intends to cross at Bicycle lanes the crosswalk, he or she must get off from the bicycle and walk with it, and when passing through a railroad crossing, the bicycle must come to a Functions of bicycle lanes differ by type and require cyclists’ attention. stop in front of the crossing and pass through it after making sure it is There are four types of bicycle lanes: (1) bicycle-only lane; (2) dual lane safe to cross.

Recent Trends of Law & Regulation in Korea 046 Carrying a bicycle to public transportation Parking and stop

There are several things that bicycle riders must beware when taking When riding, you sometimes need to park or stop a bike. However, except public transportation with their bikes. Folding bikes are allowed in mass for instances where the driver of a motor vehicle temporarily stops to transit anytime around the year, and regular bikes are permissible comply with the Road Traffic Act, any order issued in accordance to the depending on subway or railway lines. As for subway, riders may carry Act, or instructions given by police officers, and to prevent danger, the bicycles with them for all days on Gyeongchun Line and Gyeonggi driver is prohibited from stopping or parking a motor vehicle in any of the Jungang Line, but for Saturday, Sunday, and public holidays only on Lines following places. 1 through 8, Bundang Line, Airport Railroad, Incheon Subway, and Suin As bicycle parking lots are zoned in facilities or locations such as subway Line. Carrying bicycles is not allowed at all on Line 9, Shinbundang Line, stations, schools, public offices and shopping malls which are frequented and Yongin Everline. In express buses and intercity buses where overhead by bicycle users, except where parking and stopping motor vehicles are compartments are available, bicycles may be stowed there. Bicycles, prohibited, a bicycle must be parked in designated areas. Current status however, may be refused in intra-city buses where it is prohibited to carry of bicycle parking lots in Seoul can be seen from Seoul city’s bicycle items that may cause harm to other passengers or block passage or website (http://bike.seoul.go.kr). boarding doors. Also, no one shall abandon a bicycle without permission on a road, bicycle rack or at any other public place, in a manner that causes interruption to traffic. If there is a bicycle abandoned in a public place for Measures to take when accidents take place more than 10 days interrupting the traffic, it will be towed and kept by the local government. A local government notifies the type, shape, Since a bicycle is also a motor vehicle under the Road Traffic Act, anyone receipt, manufacturing company, the place of abandonment, and the date who fails to take necessary measures when a traffic accident occurs is of movement and storage on its notice board and website for 14 days punishable by imprisonment for not more than 5 years or by a fine not from the day the bike started to be stored. When the notification period exceeding KRW 15 million. Therefore, when a cyclist hurt or killed someone (14 days) elapsed and the owner does not claim the bicycle, it will be or harmed any goods while riding a bike, the cyclist must bring the bike to a disposed of by sale or donation. stop immediately and take necessary measures. If he or she has to report the accident, the cyclist shall report without any delay to the police officer present on the scene or, otherwise, to the nearest police station (such as a patrol division, police substation or police detachment) the place where the accident occurred, the number of casualties and the extent of injury, items damaged and the extent of the damage, and measures taken.

Location

• An intersection, crosswalk, road crossing, or the sidewalk of a road divided into a sidewalk and a roadway • A space within five meters from the edge of an intersection or the corner of a road • A space within ten meters from any side of a safety zone on a road marked with a safety zone Stopping and • A space within ten meters from where any pillar, board, or line indicating a bus stop is placed parking prohibited • A space within ten meters from the edge of a road crossing or crosswalk • A space designated by the commissioner of a district police agency as being necessary to prevent danger and ensure the safety and the smooth flow of traffic on the road

• The inside of a tunnel and space on a bridge • A space within three meters from a fire alarm • A space within five meters from fire-fighting machinery and appliances Parking prohibited • A space within five meters from a fire-extinguishing water tank • A space within five meters from a hole to which a fire hydrant or an absorption tube or absorption muzzle of a fire-extinguishing tank is hooked up • A space within five meters from both edges of a construction site

Winter 2017 Vol.25 047

Recent Trends of Law & Regulation in Korea | Living in Korea

Winter in Korea

Winter Festivals 2. Daegwallyeong Snow Festival The Daegwallyeong Snow Festival is one of the most popular winter Various festivals are held across the country. Each region capitalizes on its local festivals in Korea. It was selected as one of the 12 cultural festivals in products or natural scenery to host such festivals in different seasons of the Korea in the first half of 2000. Began in 1993, the year 2017 will mark year. Participating in one of these festivals will be a great opportunity to learn the 25th anniversary of the festival. The Daegwallyeong Snow Festival about the indigenous culture of Korea. offers activities for an entire family from a half-nude marathon, hunting Korea’s three biggest winter festivals include the Ganghwa Icefish Festival, game on Hwangbyeongsan Mountain, hiking competition, art and Daegwallyeong Snow Festival and Seongsan Sunrise Festival. literature events to snow rafting and other winter sports on the snow- covered landscape. Participants can also visit other nearby tourist 1. Ganghwa Icefish Festival attractions and savor the local food of Gangwon Province. The Ganghwa Icefish Festival is held every winter at the Hwangcheong Reservoir fishing grounds in Ganghwa County in Incheon City. Apart 3. Seongsan Sunrise Festival from ice fishing trout and smelt, participants can also enjoy sleighing Many Koreans try to find perfect places to watch the sunrise on New and other winter activities. It will be a great opportunity to try tasty Year’s Day. Traditionally, Koreans used to make wishes for the coming winter street foods. The festival dates are subject to change depending year while watching the sunrise. Among the many spectacular places on ice conditions and safety of facilities. for sunrise in Korea, Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak is by far the best place Other ice fishing festivals take place in Icheon City, Pyeongchang to enjoy the fascinating sunrise. Also known as Seongsan Sunrise Peak, County, Yangpyeong County, Cheongpyeong County and Hwacheon Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak is designated as a UNESCO World Natural County. Heritage site and its impressive view is recorded in the Tripitaka Koreana of the Goryeo Dynasty. Apart from watching the sunrise, other exciting events include tracking along the geological trail, fireworks and sheaf burning.

Recent Trends of Law & Regulation in Korea 048

Dongji: Winter Solstice

Dongji, or winter solstice, is celebrated on the day of the year with the shortest daylight hours and the longest night, usually on or around December 22nd of the solar calendar. It is called aedongji when dongji falls in the first ten days of the eleventh lunar month, jungdongji in the middle ten days and nodongji in the last ten days of the eleventh lunar month. Such interactions of the solar and lunar calendars were a major characteristic of Korean seasonal customs.

People used to commonly call dongji a small New Year’s Day. Since winter solstice marks the rebirth of the sun, our ancestors celebrated dongji as a small New Year’s Day before the actual Lunar New Year. This still persists today as sayings, including “eat patjuk (red bean porridge) and you eat a year” or “you only become a year older when you eat dongji patjuk” are passed down. Some superstitions related to dongji include posting a dongji amulet with Chinese character for snake (蛇) upside down on the wall to ward off evil spirits and eating patjuk (red bean porridge) on the day of dongji to prevent from aging and minor illnesses.

Dongji patjuk is made from dried azuki beans (pat in Korean) with chewy rice cake balls made from glutinous rice flour. The porridge is creamy, nutty, and a little sweet. In the past, patjuk was first bestowed to the ancestral shrine to offer to the spirits. Then, it was placed in various places in the house, such as bedrooms, the kitchen and barn to cool it before the family sat down to eat. Thanks to its red color, which symbolizes yang, or positive energy, patjuk was believed to drive evil spirits away and prevent diseases.

Dongji has its own future to tell. If the weather is unseasonably warm on Dongji, it is said that the coming year will bring disease and misfortune. If the weather is cold and snowy, then the New Year will bring a good harvest and good luck.

Winter 2017 Vol.25 049

Recent Trends of Law & Regulation in Korea | List of Useful Organizations

Government Departments

Anti-Corruption & Civil Rights Commission Korea Law Service Center Ministry of Foreign Affairs http://www.acrc.go.kr/eng/index.do http://law.go.kr/LSW/main.html http://www.mofa.go.kr/ENG/main/index.jsp 82-2-2012-9110 82-2-2100-2520 (Ministry of Government 82-2-2100-2114 [email protected] Legislation)/82-2-2100-2600 (Legislative Research [email protected] Services) Constitutional Court of Korea [email protected] Ministry of Gender Equality and Family http://english.ccourt.go.kr/ http://english.mogef.go.kr/index.jsp 82-2-708-3460 Korea Meteorological Administration 82-2-2100-6000 [email protected] http://web.kma.go.kr/eng/index.jsp [email protected] 82-2-2181-0900 Fair Trade Commission [email protected] Ministry of Government Legislation http://eng.ftc.go.kr http://www.moleg.go.kr/english 82-44-200-4318 Korean Bar Association 82-44-200-6900 [email protected] http://www.koreanbar.or.kr/eng/ 82-2-3476-4008 Ministry of Health and Welfare Financial Services Commission http://english.mw.go.kr/front_eng/index.jsp http://www.fsc.go.kr/eng/index.jsp Korean Library Information System Network 82-44-202-2001~3 82-2-2156-8000 (Korean Library Information System) [email protected] http://www.nl.go.kr/kolisnet/index.php Ministry of Justice 82-2-535-4142 (National Library of Korea) http://www.moj.go.kr/HP/ENG/index.do Global Legal Information Network 82-2-2110-3000 http://www.nanet.go.kr/glin/index.jsp Korean National Police Agency [email protected] 82-2-788-4211 (National Assembly Library) http://www.police.go.kr/eng/index.jsp [email protected] 82-182 Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport http://english.molit.go.kr/intro.do Judicial Research & Training Institute Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (Day) 82-44-1599-0001, (Night) 82-44-201-4672 http://jrti.scourt.go.kr/ http://english.mifaff.go.kr/main.jsp 82-31-920-3114 110 (from Korea) / 82-2-6196-9110 (from overseas) Ministry of National Defense http://www.mnd.go.kr/mbshome/mbs/mnd_eng/ Korea Communications Commission Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism 82-2-748-1111 http://eng.kcc.go.kr/user/ehpMain.do http://www.mcst.go.kr/english/index.jsp [email protected] 82-2-2110-2114 82-44-203-2000 [email protected] [email protected] Ministry of Security and Public Administration http://www.mospa.go.kr/eng/a01/engMain.do Korea Consumer Agency Ministry of Education 82-2-2100-3399 http://english.kca.go.kr/index.do http://english.moe.go.kr/enMain.do [email protected] 82-43-880-5500 82-2-6222-6060 [email protected] Ministry of Strategy and Finance Korea Customs Service http://english.mosf.go.kr http://english.customs.go.kr/ Ministry of Employment and Labor 82-44-215-2114 82-1577-8577 http://www.moel.go.kr/english/main.jsp [email protected] 82-52-702-5089 (National Labor Consultation Ministry of Food and Drug Safety Center) Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy http://www.mfds.go.kr/eng/index.do 82-44-202-7137 (International Cooperation Bureau) http://www.motie.go.kr/language/eng/index.jsp 82-43-719-1564/ 82-1577-1255 82-44-202-7156 (Foreign Workforce Division) 82-2-1577-0900 / 82-44-203-4000 [email protected] (International Cooperation Korean Intellectual Property Office Bureau) Ministry of Unification http://www.kipo.go.kr/kpo/user.tdf?a=user.english. http://eng.unikorea.go.kr/main.do main.BoardApp&c=1001 Ministry of Environment 82-2-2100-5722 82-42-481-5073 http://eng.me.go.kr/ [email protected] 82-44-201-6568 / 82-1577-8866 National Assembly Library [email protected] http://www.nanet.go.kr/english/ 82-2-788-4211 [email protected]

Recent Trends of Law & Regulation in Korea 050 National Intelligence Service The National Digital Library http://eng.nis.go.kr/svc/index.do http://www.nl.go.kr/english/ 82-111 82-2-535-4142

National Research Foundation of Korea VOD Service for Conferences http://www.nrf.re.kr/nrf_eng_cms/ http://na6500.assembly.go.kr/ 82-2-3460-5500 / 82-42-869-6114 82-2-788-2298 [email protected] National Tax Service http://www.nts.go.kr/eng/ 82-2-397-1200 / 82-1588-0560

Network of Committed Social Workers http://www.welfare.or.kr/ 82-2-822-2643

Public Procurement Service http://www.pps.go.kr/eng/index.do 82-70-4056-7524

Small & Medium Business Administration http://www.smba.go.kr/eng/index.do 82-42-481-4499

Statistics Korea http://kostat.go.kr/portal/english/index.action 82-2-2012-9114

Supreme Court Library of Korea https://library.scourt.go.kr/Eng/main.jsp 82-2-3480-1551~2 [email protected]

Supreme Prosecutors’ Office http://www.spo.go.kr/eng/index.jsp 82-2-3480-2337 [email protected]

The Board of Audit and Inspection of Korea http://english.bai.go.kr 82-2-2011-2114 [email protected]

The Supreme Court of Korea http://eng.scourt.go.kr/eng/main/Main.work 82-2-3480-1100 [email protected]

The National Assembly of the Republic of Korea http://korea.assembly.go.kr/index.jsp 82-2-788-3656 [email protected]

Winter 2017 Vol.25 051

Recent Trends of Law & Regulation in Korea 052 Dear Readers, We sincerely appreciate your continued interest and support for Recent Trends of Law & Regulation in Korea. The journal introduces in English the latest legal amendments, court rulings, and government policies in the areas of investment, economy, and trade as well as useful immigration policies for foreigners through sections ranging from “Law and Regulation,” “Introduction of the Policies of the Ministry of Justice,” and “Immigration Information of Korea for Investors.” In order to better reflect your concerns and interests in the magazine, here we carry out a brief survey. You are cordially asked to complete the following survey and return it via email ([email protected]) or fax (02-2110-0327).

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International Legal Affairs Division, 02-2110-3661 Ministry of Justice, Government Complex Gwacheon, 02-2110-0327 47 Gwanmoonro, Gwacheon-si, Gyeonggi-do, 427-720, Republic of Korea [email protected] Recent Trends of Law & Regulation in Korea Recent Trends The Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Korea is the leading state authority which promotes liberty, democracy, equality, justice and respect for humanity

through fair and transparent enforcement of law. Ministry of Justice, Republic of Korea Vol.25 Winter 2017 Recent Trends of Law & Regulation in Korea

Ministry of Justice, Government Complex Gwacheon, 47 Gwanmoonro, Gwacheon-si, Gyeonggi-do, 427-720, Republic of Korea TEL: 82-2-2110-3661, FAX: 82-2-2110-0327 / [email protected], www.moj.go.kr