Originially from: World Arbitration and Mediation Review (WAMR)

KOREA ADOPTS MORE LIBERAL VIEW
OF ENFORCEMENT OF FOREIGN AWARDS
By Tae Hee Lee, Lee & Ko, Seoul
Although Korea is a member of the New York Convention, the question of
Korean enforcement of a foreign arbitration award was never addressed by the
Supreme Court until a decision issued in April of last year. In light of that
decision, the position taken by Korean courts with regard to enforcement of
foreign awards is now more liberal than it was in the past.
In that case, the Court adopted a narrow interpretation of the public-policy
exception, upholding an award rendered in London against a Korean company
that failed to appear in the arbitration. The Court rejected the company's argument
that it had not received adequate notice of the proceedings and upheld the validity
of fine-print arbitration agreements. (GKN International Trading Ltd. v. Kukje
Corp., No. 89 TA-Ka 20252, April 10, 1990)
Before discussing the decision itself, some background about enforcement of
foreign awards and judgments in Korea may prove helpful.
Foreign Judgments and Awards
Foreign arbitral awards in Korea are subject to different rules of enforcement
than foreign court judgments. Under Article 203 of the Korean Code of Civil
Procedure, a foreign court judgment, in order to be recognized, must have been
rendered by a court that would reciprocally recognize a similar judgment from
Korea. Under this standard, for example, a Nevada divorce judgment and a money
judgment from Australia were not recognized in Korea. On the other hand, court
judgments from Japan and a New York divorce judgment have been recognized.
In order to enforce a foreign court judgment in Korea one must also prove that
the defendant was properly notified and that enforcement would not violate
Korean public policy. It is the need to prove reciprocity in each case, however,
that generally makes it difficult to enforce foreign court judgments.
Enforcement of foreign arbitral awards is considerably less difficult. Because
Korea is a member of the New York Convention, a party that has obtained a
foreign award can enforce it by submitting documents in accordance with Article
IV of the Convention, provided that the defendant cannot successfully resist under
Article V. Korea's adherence to the New York Convention contains the two
familiar reservations: 1) reciprocity (the state where the award was rendered must