Proposed Amendments to the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Law: Extending Merger Notification Exemptions and Adding a Voluntary Commitment System. The Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act (MRFTA) is being revised, and the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) has released an advance notice of these proposed changes, which include, among other things, (i) expanding merger notification exemptions; and (ii) introducing commitment processes for merger control. (the “Proposed Revisions”). The KFTC will solicit and compile feedback on the Proposed Revisions during
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Mergers & 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 others lead to criminal charges and into the Korean courts.
Continue readingAntitrust/Competition Consent Orders in Korea
in 2011, the Korean National Assembly passed, along with the Korea-U.S. FTA and related bills, a law that allows the Fair Trade Commission of Korea (KFTC) to accept consent orders. A consent order is similar, in many respects, to a nolo contendere plea. The consent order process has allowed the KFTC to punish without the admission of guilt to the company. This has lead to a decrease, in recent years, of a burden on the KFTC, more efficient enforcement proceedings,
Continue readingAbuse of Market Dominance in Korea: Competition Law in Korea
The Seoul Central District Court ruled earlier this year that Namyang Dairy Products Co. (“Namyang”) was in violation of the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act of Korea by abusing its market dominance and “unfairly taking advantage” of retailers. For more Antitrust/Competition Law articles please click on the labels noted Antitrust Law on the right. Namyang, a major Korean dairy company, was accused by retailers of, among other things, forcing retailers to purchase expired or soon to expire products and
Continue readingStatutory Severance Obligations in Korea after Acquisition of Company in Korea
Korean employers have, attempted, in many cases unsuccessfully, through mergers, to reduce the statutory severance obligations of a Company through a company acquiring a Company with a workforce with large outstanding severance obligations. The acquired company, in most cases, is strapped with debt and an inefficient workforce. The acquiring company, inter alia, often alleges that as a separate legal entity it owes no duties to the employees of the acquired company. The acquiring company, thus, alleges that the employees of
Continue readingEnglish-speaking Korean lawyers and International Lawyers at International Law Firm in Korea discussing issues of Korean Law
IPG Legal is a leading client-focused international law firm with offices in Korea that is, often, selected over the ubiquitous Korean Law Firms when success is essential and success depends on nuanced street-smart advice, proactive and unconflicted representation. Our attorneys are, intentionally. different from the crowd. From our retired judge partners to our junior associates, we are all trained with an intense focus on client success, lawyer proactivity, and to understand the nexus between your commercial and legal needs. Our attorneys
Continue readingKorean Distributor Sales Territory or Customer Restrictions in Korea: Korean Distributor law Agreements in Korea
Korea’s Distribution Law is governed, primarily, by the Commercial Code of Korea, Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Law of Korea (FTL) and the, newly enacted, Fairness in Distributor Transactions Act of Korea. These laws comprise a substantial body of law that is consistently evolving. The main regulatory body enforcing the FTL of Korea is the Fair Trade Commission of Korea (“FTC”). The Fair Trade Laws of Korea, in most cases, creates the most significant risk for suppliers and manufacturers doing business
Continue readingFiscal Transparency in International Business: International Business Structures
The September 2015 edition of International Bar Associations “Business Law International” has an interesting article entitled: “Fiscal Transparency – International Business Structures and Issues” The article is useful for, also, those doing business in Korea. The articles does not, specifically, address in any detail issues in Korea, the article does a great job in explaining issues relevant to those forming partnerships/joint ventures with UK, U.S. and developed European economies. The article notes, in part, that: “The continued globalization of business
Continue readingRegulating the Korean Government Way: Consumer vs. Small Retailers
The Korean government, increasingly, is looking for ways to project small enterprises, often, with disregard for consumers. A recent regulation on book sales is a key example. A new regulation allows booksellers to, only discount from the cover price by up to15% with 5% of the discount via a bookstore membership scheme. The new regulation does not distinquish between recently released books and older books. The law has led to some stores to discount books by as much as
Continue readingWeekly Korean Legal News From International Law Firm – IPG Legal for the Week of July 28, 2014
Weekly Korean Legal News From International Law Firm – IPG Legal for the Week of July 28, 2014Korean Legal News Reported by the Media on the Week of July 28, 2014 IMC may blacklist Korean builders over collusion Prosecutors continue probe into ferry owner’s driver Foreign workers upset by severance pay formula Restructuring urgent for big Korean companies Relocation of USFK Headquarters to Go Ahead Most Recent Posts from the Korean Law Blog This slot is reserved for the new
Continue readingKorea Companies Defendants in Anti-Dumping Lawsuits Second to Only China: Check the Veracity of Data Produced by Korean Companies
According to statistics from the World Bank, Korea is second to only China in the number of anti-dumping lawsuits filed against Korean companies (Chinese companies accounted for 28.7%; Korea 10.7%; U.S. 3.5%; and Japan 3%). It is advisable for clients engaged in anti-dumping cases to confirm the veracity of the data presented to the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC). The ITC have few resources to confirm the data. We were retained, last year, for an anti-dumping case against a Korean
Continue readingKorea’s Samsung One of the Top 10 Most Innovative Companies: Booz & Co.
Booz & Co. yearly ranking of the 10 most innovative companies places Apple in the top spot with Samsung closely behind. What do you think? What do you think about Samsung’s spending on R & D compared to Apple? Toyota is the only company on the list that outspends Samsung on R & D and is the 6th largest company in terms of R & D spending. Courtesy of Flick, Dennis Goedegebuure. Interesting that Amazon makes the list. What is
Continue readingFinding a Korean Distributor: Top 10 Things to Know Before you Jump into Bed with an Agent in Korea
Too often we deal with clients looking to collect on unpaid invoices to distributors/customers in Korea and resolve IP and other disputes between these distributors/customers because of clients rushing into relationships without vetting out the anticipated distributor or having a very poorly drafted distribution agreement. Many distributors in Korea are fantastic, while, others are nothing more than order processors -they, simply can’t or don’t want to sell. Additionally, in these tough economic times, too many companies, in Korea, are struggling
Continue readingApple vs. Samsung: “Koreans are furious at China for copying our products. But when Korea does the same, Koreans defend the action. That is a highly distorted form of patriotism. When a company takes the wrong path, it is the public’s job to correct it.”
Long ago, trade economists noted the best guarantee a developing economy to start playing by international rules is when it starts creating its own intellectual property worth defending. Korea is in many ways, has long ago passed that point. And yet, in some ways, it has not yet reached that development milestone. As I have repeatedly pointed out, Korea has yet to develop a market-defining product. It has produced hundreds of thousands of very good to excellent products, many of
Continue readingCEO/Chairman of Chaebols Serving Time in Jail in Korea?
Things may be changing in Korea. The Chairman of Hanwha Group was sentenced by the Seoul Western District Court, today, to a KRW 4 billion fine and four years in jail for misappropriating/embezzling Hanwha Group funds. Hanwha’s Chairman Seung-youn Kim, a few years back, was convicted of beating a young man with a pipe and threatening the life of other individuals. The Korean Court System sentenced Kim to no time in jail for that offense and the president, eventually, pardoned
Continue readingPhilips Fined by Korea Fair Trade Commission for Price Fixing
The Fair Trade Commission of Korea has fined Philips, a Dutch company, for price fixing. The Fair Trade Commission fined Philips KRW 1.5billion (USD 1.3 million) for, inter alia, prohibiting online retailers from offering discounts and certain products to potential buyers. Philips, according to the Korea’s Fair Trade Commission is the top small appliance company in Korea with a 57% share of the electric toothbrush market, 61% share of the electric shaver market; 45% share of the iron market; and
Continue readingKorea Fair Trade Commission To Investigate European Car Makers
The Korea Times has reported that the Korea Fair Trade Commission is considering investigating BMW, Mercedes Benz, Audi, and Volkswagen for price fixing. The Korea FTC has aggressively investigated both foreign and domestic companies for allegations of price fixing and other unfair trade practices. The Korea Times article, in part, notes that: After monitoring the prices of BMW, Mercedes Benz, Audi and Volkswagen vehicles, the country’s most popular imported auto brands in that order, officials at the Fair Trade
Continue readingNonghyup Sues Korea Fair Trade Commission at Seoul High Court
The National Agricultural Cooperative Federation has filed suit against the Korea Fair Trade Commission at the Seoul High Court. Nonghyup is claiming that the monopoly prevention measures, imposed by the KFTC and Korean law, should not be applied to an organization with a main function of supporting struggling farmers. What do you think? The Korea Times reports, in part, that: The National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, otherwise known as Nonghyup, said Thursday it had filed a suit against the Fair
Continue readingKorea Fair Trade Commission to Investigate Korean Chaebols
The Korea Times has report that Chairman Dong-Soo KIM of the the Fair Trade Commission of Korea will strengthen its monitoring of Korea’s main conglomerates. We suspect that increased monitoring of major foreign-capital invested enterprises will, also, be the target of the increased monitoring. We strongly advise to have an attorney conduct a complete compliance audit immediately. The Korea Times reported, in part, that: Kim Dong-soo, chairman of the Fair Trade Commission (FTC), said Wednesday that the FTC will disclose
Continue readingKorea Merger Remedies by Korea Fair Trade Commission
Earlier this year, Korea’s Fair Trade Commission has announced the amendment of its rules on merger remedies through the Notice on Merger Remedies. The amendment revises the prior Merger Remedies Guidelines. The most relevant changes are listed below. The KFTC will, only, utilize behavioral changes when structural changes are impracticable or may be ineffective. Structural changes, include, prohibition of a merger, divestiture and the transfer of intellectual property rights. The Fair Trade Commission has noted that the preferred choice will
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