The Supreme Court of Korea ruled that Hanwha Ocean (formerly Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering)’s performance-based bonuses should not be considered wages for the calculation of severance payments under Korean Law. For additional articles on Korean Employment & Labor Law, see: IPG Legal’s Labor & Employment Law Archive On March 12, 2026, the Korean Supreme Court (2025da210219) upheld a lower court’s ruling in favor of the defendants in a lawsuit filed by 972 current and former Hanwha Ocean employees seeking severance pay based not only on salary
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Korean Supreme Court Clarifies Statute of Limitations in Criminal Cases in Korea
In a recent decision by the Korean Supreme Court, the Court clarified how a statute of limitations tolls in Korea in criminal cases. The Supreme Court of Korea held that when prosecutors amend an indictment to add related charges, the statute of limitations should be determined based on the date of the original indictment rather than the date of the amendment of the indictment. On January 15, 2026, the Second Criminal Division of the Korean Supreme Court (Chief Justice Kwon Young-jun) overturned an appellate court decision that
Continue readingAttorney-Client Privilege in Korea Clarified and Strengthened by Korean Supreme Court Holding
Cancellation of Seizure of Legal Opinion & Evidence in Korean Criminal Prosecution (2024Mo730) On February 20, 2025, the First Division of the Supreme Court of Korea (Chief Justice Shin Sook-hee) issued a significant ruling in 2024Mo730, canceling the Korean prosecution’s seizure of approximately 120,000 emails and related materials that included legal opinions exchanged between criminal defendants and their Koraen defense counsel. IPG Legal advises proactivity and demanding that your lawyers in Korea share all sensitive data via a secure cloud drive. For additional articles in Korean Criminal Law
Continue readingProcedural Legality and the Right to Counsel in Korean School Violence & Other School Committee Disciplinary Proceedings in Korea
Recent reports concerning the restriction on Korean attorneys’ participation in School Violence Countermeasures Review Committee (SSCRB) proceedings raise issues in Korean administrative law and constitutional law: whether limiting an attorney’s presence and participation in quasi-adjudicative disciplinary proceedings violates the right to representation and/or constitutes a procedurally unlawful administrative action. Reported variations in committee practice – ranging from full Korean attorney participation in some schools to preclusion or speech restrictions in others – demonstrate the absence of unified procedural standards and processes. The Korean Bar Association has noted
Continue readingStatutory Damages in Korea Under PIPA for Personal Information Data Breaches
A recent Korean Supreme Court decision has fundamentally reshaped litigation risk analysis under the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA), particularly regarding statutory damages under Article 39-2(1) of PIPA. The following post is essential reading for CISOs and those entrusted with company data. Contrary to widespread assumptions in the compliance community in Korea, the Korean Supreme Court confirmed that: A personal information processor may avoid statutory damages by proving that the data subject suffered no compensable mental damage — even where a data breach occurred. This ruling is
Continue readingInternal Data Sharing Between Departments in Korean Companies under PIPA: Korean Personal Information Protection Act Basics
In many Korean companies, internal data sharing between departments is mistakenly viewed as a simple operational matter rather than a regulated activity that may lead to criminal sanctions, fines, and reputational damage. Intra-company data movement in Korea is generally not classified as a third-party disclosure; it is nevertheless subject to strict statutory principles, including purpose limitation, data minimization, accountability, and mandatory safeguards. From a regulatory perspective, the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) has increasingly focused not only on external breaches but also on governance failures involving internal
Continue readingKorean Prison Sentence for Gross Negligence in Care of a Dangerous Dog
A dog owner whose dog led to the serious injury to a 60-year-old man was found guilty of gross negligence resulting in death and sentenced to a 4-year prison sentence. Facts Korean Court Judgment The court of first, in short held that the minimum requirements of an owner of a dog that knows that his or her dog has bitten a prior person is to have a dog on a lease, in a cage or in a fenced in area and warning the public through signage noting
Continue readingKorean Bar Association on Criminal Success Fees: Contigency Fees in Criminal Cases in Korea
Local Korean vernaculars are reporting that the president of the Korean Bar Association welcomed the Seoul Central District Court’s recent decision recognizing the validity of contingency fee agreements in criminal cases. The Korean Bar Association notes in a statement that “acquittal or reduced sentences in criminal cases are not a fluke that is automatically achieved, but the result of blood, sweat, and effort that lawyers shed day and night, reviewing records and working diligently . . .with the invalidation of success fee agreements, lawyers have had no
Continue readingSK Hynix Injunction Against Employee Rejected by Seoul Central District Court
SK Hynix lost an injunction case seeking to enjoin a former employee from transferring jobs to Samsung Electronics (2025KaHap21284). SK Hynix did not appeal the decision, and the decision was finalized on January 20, 2026. For an article on the Korean Supreme Court precedent on the enforceability of Non-Compete Clauses, please see: Non-Compete Clauses in Korea Facts SK Hynix Restrictive Covenant Enforcement Case at the Seoul Central District Court Holding On January 9, 2026, a Seoul Central District Court dismissed SK Hynix’s application for an injunction enjoining a
Continue readingLitigation Financing in Korea
Burford Capital is actively entering the Korean market. Burford Capital is one of the leaders in litigation finance worldwide. The firm just announced the appointment of a Korean representative for its presence in Korea. Burford noted to a local vernacular that it plans to focus on international disputes involving Korean companies, including international arbitration, cross-border disputes, and intellectual property disputes. It, also, shall focus on “non-core pre-monetization” model and “portfolio-based financing.” The non-core pre-monetization model allows companies to secure capital liquidity by monetizing non-core assets such as
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