Originally from Arbitration Law of Korea: Practice and Procedure

INTRODUCTION

1.1 KOREA'S EMERGENCE AS AN ARBITRATION POWER

Much has been written about democratization and rapid economic development in the Republic of Korea ("Korea"), and about the accelerated pace of globalization in Korea from the 1990s onward.1 Far less attention has been given to two important consequences of these broader processes: the rise in Korea of arbitration as the dispute resolution mechanism of choice for international commercial disputes, and Seoul's emergence as a competitive regional arbitration center.

Over the past two decades, the Korean business and legal communities have embraced international commercial arbitration with great enthusiasm. While this phenomenon has become familiar to observers outside Korea only recently, its roots may be traced to the birth of a modern Korean arbitration regime in the 1960s. After enacting the first indigenous Korean arbitration law in 1966, establishing an independent Korean arbitral institution in 1970, and becoming a signatory to the 1958 Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards ("New York Convention") in 1973, Korea experienced a gradual increase in the use of arbitration as a mechanism for settling commercial disputes over the following two decades.

In the 1990s, the use of international commercial arbitration began to expand more rapidly as Korean companies were by this time deeply involved in international commercial transactions. The advent of the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997 and ensuing boom in cross-border mergers and acquisitions ("M&A") provided a sharp spur to this growth. In 1999, Korea became the first jurisdiction in East Asia to adopt the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration 1985 ("UNCITRAL Model Law 1985"), thereby bringing its arbitration law into harmony with international standards.

Korean enterprises are now very active users of commercial arbitration, particularly for international commercial disputes. Yet the story does not end there. Owing to a confluence of arbitration-friendly attributes including a reliable and effective arbitration law, strong and supportive courts, an experienced community of arbitrators and arbitration practitioners, state-of-the-art communications and transportation infrastructure, high-quality hotels and conference facilities, and a convenient location at the cross-roads of Northeast Asia, Seoul has emerged as an attractive alternative to some of the more traditional arbitration centers in Asia.