The Legal 500

Legal Developments in South Korea

• Proposed Regulations on Delegation of Information Processing and IT Facilities of Financial Companie

  On April 16, 2013, the Financial Services Commission ("FSC") proposed draft Regulations on the Delegation of Information Processing and IT Facilities of Financial Companies (the "Regulations"). Currently, the delegation of information processing and use of offshore IT facilities are permitted on a very limited basis pursuant to the Regulations on Delegation of Businesses of Financial Institutions.
  - Shin & Kim

• The Supreme Court Rules that the Korea Fair Trade Commission’s Notice of Non-confirmation of Lenie

  For the first time in Korea, Shin & Kim’s Antitrust Practice Group obtained a landmark decision from the Supreme Court, which held that a notice of non-confirmation of leniency status issued by the Korea Fair Trade Commission (the “KFTC”) to a leniency applicant involved in unfair collusion (i.e., cartel) would constitute an administrative disposition, and thus, the leniency applicant would be able to immediately appeal such ecision of the KFTC through an administrative proceeding.
  - Shin & Kim

• National Assembly Passes FISCMA Revision Bill

  On March 5, 2013, the Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly passed a bill (the “Bill”) proposing changes to the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act (“FISCMA”). The Bill introduces a clearing system for financial investment agreements and amends relevant provisions of the FISCMA to set out certain exceptions with respect to listed companies in accordance with the amendments to the Commercial Code which took effect in April, 2012. The proposed changes aim to establish sound market order while keeping pace with the needs of the rapidly changing financial industry.
  - Shin & Kim

• South Korea: Strengthened Regulations on the Use of Personal Information by IT Service Providers

  The draft amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Network Act (the "Amendment") was recently announced, which sets forth details of the new obligations and scope of the amended Act on Promotion of Information and Telecommunications Network Utilization and Information Protection (the "Network Act") that focuses on reinforcement of privacy and data protection and is scheduled to take effect on August 18, 2012.
  - Kim & Chang

• Implementation of the New Act on Security over Movable Property and Receivables

  The new Act on security over Movable Property and Receivables (“The New Act”), which became effective June 11, 2012, was enacted to address the public’s need for an improved mechanism to allow non-real estate assets to be provided as collateral.
  - Yulchon

• Owner and Transferee Strict Liability for Soil Contamination Damages Ruled Unconstitutional

  In cases involving soil contamination, it is usually difficult to find liable parties when soil contamination damages are discovered, primarily because of the long-term nature of soil contamination.
  - Yulchon

• South Korea: Enforcement of Asbestos Safety Management Act

  The Asbestos Safety Management Act (the "Asbestos Act"), which is designed to ensure safe and effective management of asbestos became effective as of April 29, 2012. In the face of growing public concerns over escalating risk associated with asbestos, the Asbestos Act was promulgated last year to effectively control and manage asbestos-containing products, potential asbestos-containing materials and asbestos construction materials. The main features of the Asbestos Act are as follows.
  - Kim & Chang

• 2013 Proposed Tax Amendments

  On August 8, 2012 and August 9, 2012, the Korean Ministry of Strategy and Finance has announced the government’s proposed tax law amendments (“Proposal”) for 2013. Set forth below is an overview of the major items of the Proposal that may affect foreign-invested companies or foreign corporations conducting business in Korea. Please note that this is not an exhaustive list of the Proposal that may affect your organization.
  - Yulchon

• Revised Korean Privacy Law Effective August 18, 2012

  1) The Korean government plans to apply these changes to information & communications service providers first through this Revised Act (defined below), and then subsequently expand the application to the offline sectors through updating each relevant law such as the Personal Information Protection Act.
  - Yulchon

• South Korea: Establishment of Rules on Management of and Procedures for the Consent Decree System

  In connection with the consent decree system adopted on December 2, 2011, the KFTC introduced the Rules on Management of and Procedures for the Consent Decree System (the "Rules") on March 28, 2012.
  - Kim & Chang