Overview of Civil Litigation in Korea - Chapter 2 - Arbitration Law of Korea: Practice and Procedure

Bae, Kim & Lee's International Arbitration and Litigation Group has earned worldwide respect for its forceful and uncompromising representation of clients. In a field where experience counts, BKL boasts Korea's first dedicated international arbitration practice group. Having been at the forefront of the field in Korea for the past 10 years, the team is now composed of 16 attorneys from several jurisdictions plus paralegals and staff, and includes a former Counsel of the ICC Secretariat and several members listed in leading publications including Who's Who Legal, Chambers, and Asia-Pacific Legal 500. This year, reflecting the team's progress and current international standing, BKL received the Arbitration Win of the Year award from Global Arbitration Review (GAR) and had the honor of being the first and only Korean firm ever listed in the "GAR 30," awarded to the 30 top arbitration practices worldwide.

General Editors:

Kap-You (Kevin) Kim is Head of the International Arbitration and Litigation Practice Group and Partner of Bae, Kim & Lee LLC. Mr. Kim has the distinct honor of being a Court Member of the ICC Court of Arbitration and the London Court of International Arbitration, listed ICSID arbitrator, Senior Advisor to the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board, Vice Chair of the IBA Arbitration Committee and a Board Member of the American Arbitration Association.

John P. Bang is Partner (foreign legal adviser) and co-founder of Bae, Kim & Lee's International Arbitration and Litigation Practice Group. Mr. Bang has acted as counsel in over 75 commercial arbitral proceedings in Asia, Europe and the US under the rules of all major international arbitral institutions including, among others, the ICC, ICSID, LCIA, SIAC, JCAA, and KCAB (Korean Commercial Arbitration Board) and numerous litigation proceedings in various foreign jurisdictions. He was named in the Global Arbitration Review’s "45 under 45" for 2011, which lists the leading figures of the international arbitration bar under the age of 45

Contributing Authors:

Seungwoo (Sean) Cho

Matthew J. Christensen

Kyongwha Chung

Seung Il Hong

Woochul Hwang

Eun Ah Jeung

Byoung Pil Kim

Hong-Joong Kim

Junu Kim

Sue Hyun Lim

David W. MacArthur

James Morrison

JongKwon Ryoo

Yunsoo Shin

Sung Woo Yang

Seokchun Yun

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Originally from Arbitration Law of Korea: Practice and Procedure

OVERVIEW OF CIVIL LITIGATION IN KOREA

2.1 INTRODUCTION

Most civil and commercial disputes in Korea are handled by the courts, which follow a civil law system originally modeled on the German Civil Procedure Code of 1877. The court largely guides the course of the proceedings.1 Trials are heard by judges only, in panels of three for bigger cases and by a sole judge in smaller cases,2 without any juries.3 Therefore factual as well as legal findings are made by judges. Trials involve a series of intermittent hearings, ordinarily at intervals of three to four weeks. There are separate courts for patent,4 family law and administrative litigation. However, there are no separate courts for other civil matters (such as maritime or labor) or for criminal litigation.5

2.2 STRUCTURE OF KOREAN COURTS

The Supreme Court is the highest court of appeal in Korea and is responsible for reviewing decisions of the intermediate appellate courts. The Supreme Court is composed of the Chief Justice and thirteen associate justices, all of whom are appointed by the President subject to the approval of the National Assembly.6 Cases are heard by panels of three judges, or by thirteen judges en banc.7 The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction only in a few types of matters including electoral disputes. Appeals to the Supreme Court must be based on a constitutional defect or other legal error.8 The Supreme Court does not, in other words, have jurisdiction to hear appeals concerning alleged errors in fact-finding by lower courts.

Immediately below the Supreme Court are five High Courts, which serve as intermediate appellate courts.9 Each of the High Courts is composed of a Chief Judge and a varying number of associate judges determined in accordance with that court’s current caseload.10 The High Courts have jurisdiction to hear appeals in civil and criminal cases on issues of law and fact and are not bound by the lower court’s findings of fact but are generally permitted to conduct fact-finding on a de novo basis.

Table of Contents:

Chapter 2 Overview of Civil Litigation in Korea

2.1 Introduction

2.2 Structure of Korean Courts

2.3 Necessary Documents for Litigation

2.4 Fees, Costs and Security Deposit

2.5 Confidentiality

2.6 Pre-trial Procedures and Discovery

2.6.1 Timing
2.6.2 Early Disposition
2.6.3 Document Production

2.7 Trial Procedure

2.7.1 Timing
2.7.2 Timely Submissions
2.7.3 Presentation of Evidence and Examination of Witnesses
2.7.4 Proving the Case

2.8 Judgments

2.9 Appeals

2.9.1 Duration

2.10 Enforcement

2.10.1 Enforceable Judgments
2.10.2 General Enforcement Procedure
2.10.3 Disclosure of Assets
2.10.4 Enforcement of Foreign Judgments

2.11 Interim Relief

2.12 Recovery of Litigation Expenses