Divorce in South Korea is governed by Korean Civil Code and it is divided into two types. The first one is uncontested divorces which are also known as a divorce by agreement. This type of divorce, as the name implies, requires agreement of the husband and wife that they wish to divorce. The second type of divorce is the contested divorce also called as judicial divorce. This type of divorce
Continue readingAuthor: Sean Hayes
Sean Hayes is the first non-Korean employed as a foreign attorney by the Korean Court System (Constitutional Court of Korea) and one of the first non-Koreans to be a full-time regular member of a Korean law faculty. He is rated a Top Attorney by numerous legal rating agencies and is known for his street-smart advice, candor and aggressive & non-conflicted advocacy. Sean has been quoted by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, CNN, Money Today, US Today, The Korea Times, The Korea Herald, France 24, Asia Legal Business and other leading news sources. IPG was, recently, rated a top Dispute Resolution Law Firm and Sean a Top 100 Lawyer for International Law.
Wrongful Termination in South Korea
South Korea is not an “at-will” employment country which means that employer may not dismiss an employee for any reason nor without warning or notice. And under the Labor Standard Act, an employer who has five or more employees may not dismiss or suspend from work any of its employee without justifiable cause. And even with the presence of justifiable cause for dismissal, the employer is still required to give
Continue readingWhat Do You Need To Know About Severance Pay in South Korea?
Severance pay (retirement pay) is the compensation that an employee is entitled to receive from his employer once the employment has ended. And under Employee Retirement Benefit Security Act, a regular full-time employee in South Korea shall receive a severance pay within 14 days from termination of employment. The amount of severance pay is equal to employee’s one month salary for every year of consecutive service. For similar articles, you
Continue readingWhistleblower Protections and Laws in South Korea
South Korea has various legislations that protect and give rewards to whistleblowers: Act on the Prevention of Corruption, Tax Whistleblower Reward Program, and Act on the Protection of Public Interest Whistleblowers. But for this article, we are going to focus on Act on the Protection of Public Interest Whistleblowers (“Act”) which took effect on September 30, 2011. The main purpose of this Act is to make sure that whistleblowers who
Continue readingSouth Korea to Impose Taxes on Cryptocurrency in 2022
The Ministry of Economy and Finance confirmed that on the 1st of January 2022, profit from cryptocurrencies shall be subject to a 20% tax. And gifts and inheritance in the form of cryptocurrencies shall be taxed by the same rate of 20%. Exempted from Cryptocurrency Tax Any profit, gift and/or inheritance worth 2.5 million won and below will be exempted from the cryptocurrency tax. And only the profit, gift or
Continue readingAdhesion Contract in South Korea: Regulating Unfair Terms and Conditions
Adhesion Contract is a contract drafted by a party with stronger bargaining power and signed by a party with lesser bargaining power. The party that has weaker bargaining power does not have the capacity to negotiate the terms and conditions of the contract and they just adhere completely to what the party with the upper hand has to offer. In South Korea, in order to avoid such unfair one-way contract
Continue readingTips for Start-up Success in Korea: Korean Business Basics
Despite the economic challenges presented by the COVID pandemic, there are still plenty of opportunities for start-up companies in South Korea. Many of the long-term foreign attorneys in Korea shall advise that South Korea remains a perfect testbed for foreign companies in the East Asian marketplace. Local and national governments remain committed to fostering long-term partnerships with foreign start-ups within Korea. The attorneys at IPG Legal have put together a
Continue readingChild Support Basics in South Korea
As we’ve mentioned in our previous post “Obtaining Child Support from a Deadbeat Korean Father (Mother)”, for the past few years we noticed a huge increase in children born out-of-wedlock from foreign national mothers and Korean fathers. And because of this incident Korean court also witnesses rising lawsuits seeking child support against Korean fathers. Under Act on Enforcing and Supporting Child Support Payment or Act No. 12532 as amended by
Continue readingKorea’s Class Action Law Proposed by Moon Administration
Class action lawsuits in South Korea are currently available in two types of civil cases: (1) under the Securities-Related Class Action Act of Korea (derivative/shareholder suits); and (2) in certain limited product liability matters under the Consumer Act of Korea. A bill that seeks to expand the scope of class actions into other areas, aside from the two instances above, has languished for years in the Korean National Assembly. However,
Continue readingJapan is Ordered to Pay Damages to former “Comfort Women”
In a historic ruling made by a South Korean court on January 8, 2021, it awarded 100 million won or around US$90,000 damages to each 12 plaintiffs. The plaintiffs are a group of former 12 Korean “comfort women” who were employed as sex workers in brothels during the Japanese occupation that spans from 1910 until 1945. The Seoul Central District Court also issued the compensation order accompanied by a provisional
Continue readingFiling for a Patent in Korea: Basics of Korean Patent Law
Over the next couple of months, lawyers here at IPG Legal shall provide detailed insight and analysis of the Patent Laws of Korea. The following post details the basics of filing for a patent in South Korea. Individuals or companies can register for patents through the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO). The application and registration of patents is governed by the Korean Patent Act (“the Act”). In most cases, patents
Continue readingCan Foreigners buy Real Property in Korea? Korean Real Estate Law for Non-Korean Residents and Non-Residents
Unlike some Asian countries that do not allow or strictly limit foreign ownership of real properties, South Korea has a buoyant market that permits foreigners to purchase real estate and even land in Korea. The major restrictions on ownership of real estate for non-Koreans was lifted during the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis based on the advice of the IMF. The lifting of these restrictions, led, in part, to a commercial
Continue readingCalculation of Korean Hourly Wage Rate under the Minimum Wage Act of Korea
Korea’s minimum wage as per the Korean Minimum Wage Act in 2019 is determined by the Minister of Employment & Labor as KRW 8,350 per hour. The latest decisions of the Supreme Court developed a calculation standard/method for determining an hourly wage rate that is not in line with the opinion of the Ministry of Employment & Labor. In many such cases, a Ministry, simply, pushes to amend the law.
Continue readingKorean Intestate Succession Law: Inheriting Property from your Korean-National Parents
We assist numerous clients concerning intestate succession issues in Korea. Many of these clients are foreigners who are children of a Korean decedent who passed away without a will. Typically, the clients are in need of an asset scrub and assistance in the transfer of the assets to the name of the client and forwarding of the funds overseas. Please note this present article deals, solely, with Interstate Succession under
Continue readingFinding a Korean Lawyer/Law Firm for your Business in Korea
We obtain numerous emails and calls from potential clients in search of a great Korean lawyer for companies doing business in Korea. The majority of these intakes come from referrals from present clients, referrals from other lawyers and a couple trickle in via this blog. From our contacts, we believe that many businesses in Korea are having a difficult finding attorneys in Korea that have business savvy, the ability to
Continue readingKorea Due Diligence for Joint Ventures, Licensing, OEMs and Buying a Korean Company
Intending to execute a joint venture agreement with a Korean company? Buying a Korean company? Licensing technology to a Korean company? OEM with a Korean supplier? Selling to a Korean company?Before going to bed with a Korean company (or individual) do a little due diligence. The motivation for this article is an article by my friends over at the China Law Blog. Due diligence in Korea is not much different
Continue readingStarting a Manufacturing Business in South Korea: Top 14 Things to Know Before you Start a Business in Korea
Korea, in most cases, is a much better choice for the manufacturing of chemical, petroleum, construction equipment, complex crafted metals, specialty steel, automotive parts, semi-conductor, medical and pharmaceutical equipment and goods than China and most nations in Asia, because of Korea’s skilled work force, government incentives and increasingly transparent business practices. In many cases, manufacturing in Korea will not, in the end, be more costly than manufacturing in China, because
Continue readingEEOC Complaints in Korea at Yongsan Army Garrison, Camp Humpreys and Area I: EEO Korea Complaints
This law firm’s U.S. lawyers handle EEOC Korean complaints from our office in Korea; Merit System Protection Board (MSPB) appeals from Korea; grievances under the Negotiated Grievance Procedure from Korea; complaints to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC); lawsuits in U.S. federal court for federal employees working at Yongsan, Camp Humphreys, Area I and throughout the Korean peninsula. We, also, on occasion handle matters stateside and throughout other parts of Asia.
Continue readingHow Foreign Importers Entering Korea May Prosper from the Korean Middle Class in Korea being Screwed by Inflation: Screwflation
This is an older article we posted nearly eight years ago. However, we fear the same is occurring today. Inflation may be a serious issue for Korea in the next couple of years. The Korea Times has reported that stagnant wages and food inflation is leading to “Screwflation” in Korea. This phenomenon is a potential opportunity for importers with an eagerness to directly access the market. The term Screwflation was
Continue readingMergers & Acquisition Arbitration Matters under Korean Law at the KCAB
Mergers & Acquisitions (M&As) lead to disputes around the world, many of which are complex and involve money that may change substantially the future of a company, shareholders, employees and other stakeholders. Korea is no different in this respect. Korea witnessed the number of its cross-border transaction disputes explode during the 1997 IMF crisis and continue to steadily increase ever since. Many of these issues ended in arbitration and many
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