[SOUTH KOREA] Amendments to the Patent and Design Protection Acts Now Effective, Key Changes That…
Several amendments to the Patent Act (“PA”) and the Design Protection Act ("DPA"), which passed the National Assembly on March 2, 2017, went into effect on September 22, 2017. We highlight below the major changes:
[SOUTH KOREA] Lower Court Issues Favorable Decision for 27,000 KIA Motors Employees in an …
Lower Court Issues Favorable Decision for 27,000 KIA Motors Employees in an Ordinary Wage Case On August 31, 2017, the Seoul Central District Court held for around 27,000 employees of KIA Motors ("KIA") in their claim seeking payment of unpaid allowances. These allowances were not paid, because the defendant, KIA, had not included the employees' …
[SOUTH KOREA] New Administration’s Key Environmental Policies
To step forward as an environment-friendly government, the Moon Jae-in Administration has announced its key environmental policies, including improving safety in chemical substances and household chemical products, and reinforcing implementation measures of the Paris Agreement. Under the “sustainable development” paradigm, the new administration will continually promote new regulations to protect the environment and strengthen its …
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[SOUTH KOREA] Supreme Court Affirms Lower Decision, Finding Invalid the Regulations on Foreign …
Supreme Court Affirms Lower Court Decision, Finding Invalid the Regulations on Foreign Exchange Report on Incorporation of Offshore Subsidiary by an Offshore Company On June 15, 2017, the Korean Supreme Court affirmed an appellate court decision which ruled that a Korean company is not guilty of a violation of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act (the …
[SOUTH KOREA] MOE Moves to Further Stringently Regulate Hazardous Chemical Substances
The Amendment to the Chemicals Control Act (“CCA”), as proposed by the MOE and promulgated on December 27, 2016, is scheduled to take effect on December 28, 2017 (the “Amendment”).
[SOUTH KOREA] Supreme Court Rules that Distributor’s Sales Agents Are Distributor’s Employees …
Supreme Court Rules that Distributor's Sales Agents Are Distributor's Employees, Entitling Them to Severance Payment from the Distributor In a recent decision, the Supreme Court held that although a company (the "Distributor") executed service agreements with its sales agents (the "Sales Agents") who worked in the Distributor's retail space at a department store, the Sales …
[SOUTH KOREA] KFTC Announces Standard Distribution Agreement for F&B Businesses
On February 15, 2017, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (“KFTC”) announced the Standard Distribution Agreement for transactions between suppliers and distributors in the food & beverage (“F&B”) industry.
[SOUTH KOREA] Ministry of Environment (i) Strengthens Safety/Labeling Standards for …
Ministry of Environment (i) Strengthens Safety/Labeling Standards for Potentially Risky Products and (ii) Introduces Biocides Act Modeled After EU’s Similar Regulation On December 30, 2016, Korea’s Ministry of Environment (“MOE”) announced an amendment to the “Potentially Risky Product Designation & Safety/Labeling Standards” (“MOE’s Notice”), which strengthens the safety and labeling standards relating to potentially risky …
[SOUTH KOREA] KFTC Announces Its Enforcement Plan Detailing Its Focus Areas for 2017
On January 5, 2017, the Korea Fair Trade Commission ("KFTC") announced its enforcement plan for 2017 (the "Plan"), and set out detailed policies to: (i) monitor and remedy anti-competitive structure and behavior; (ii) establish a healthy business system among large conglomerates and small and medium-sized enterprises (“SMEs”); and (iii) build a consumer-friendly environment promoting consumers’ …
[SOUTH KOREA] Korean Supreme Court Issues Several Rulings on Whether a Foreign Company Doing …
Korean Supreme Court Issues Several Rulings on Whether a Foreign Company Doing Business in Korea May Be Found to Have a Permanent Establishment In 2016, the Korean Supreme Court issued several rulings shedding light on its approach when analyzing whether a foreign company conducting business in Korea may be found to have a permanent establishment …