Arbitration Agreement Survives Franchise Law Challenge
The Supreme Court recently issued a judgment upholding the validity of an arbitration agreement in an international franchise agreement,(1) notwithstanding the franchisee’s objection that the arbitration agreement violated mandatory provisions of Korean law intended to protect franchisees.
Tax Alert – the Korean Ministry of Economy and Finance Announces 2022 Tax Amendment Proposals
On July 26, 2021, the Ministry of Economy and Finance announced the government’s tax amendment proposals for 2022 (the Proposals). The Proposals are intended to (i) encourage economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, facilitate job creation and drive the growth of industry sectors that will boom in the post-COVID era; (ii) reduce the economic inequality …
PIPC Sanctions Facebook and Netflix for Privacy Violations
On August 25, 2021, the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) announced that it had imposed various administrative sanctions (i.e., administrative penalty surcharges totaling KRW 6.66 billion, administrative fines totaling KRW 29 million, corrective orders, improvement recommendations, and publications) on Facebook[1]and Netflix for violations of the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA). Google was also investigated but …
Continue reading “PIPC Sanctions Facebook and Netflix for Privacy Violations”
Digital Finance: Current Issues and Laws – Guidelines for AI issued for financial sector
We introduce the key points and implications of the newly issued Financial Sector Artificial Intelligence Guidelines as below.
Pharmaceutical Affairs Act Amended to Limit ‘Joint Use of Bioequivalence Test’
The amendment to the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act (PAA) passed the National Assembly on June 29, 2021, and is expected to be promulgated sometime in July.
Changes to CISO Designation Rules and Public Disclosure Requirement for Information Security
Certain amendments to the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection (“Network Act”) and the Act on the Promotion of Information Security Industry (“Information Security Industry Act”) were promulgated on June 8, 2021 and are scheduled to go into effect on December 9, 2021. These amendments contain several major changes …
Amendment to the Design Protection Act seeking to protect GI designs is approved by the National Assembly
On March 24, 2021, amendment to the Design Protection Act seeking to protect graphic image (GI) designs (the Amendment) was passed during a plenary session of the National Assembly of Korea, meaning that the Amendment will go into effect six months after promulgation. The Amendment is expected to offer strengthened protection for emerging technologies such as projections, holographs, …
Successful Conclusion of Adequacy Talks between the Republic of Korea and the European Union
On March 30, 2021, the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) and the European Commission jointly announced the successful conclusion of adequacy talks between the Republic of Korea (Korea) and the European Union (EU).
Korean Supreme Court Details Standard for Establishing Doctrine of Equivalents Infringement
In Korea, as in the United States and Japan, the recognition of patent infringement claims under the Doctrine of Equivalents (“DoE”) has been established by several key precedents. Recently, the Korean Supreme Court provided key guidance through detailed ruling standards for two of the three factors to establish DoE infringement, namely (1) the “Substantially Identical …
Recent Decision Involving Business Profits vs. Royalties Characterization under the US-Korea Tax Tree
Lee & Ko Tax Group is pleased to distribute this Tax Alert Newsletter to our clients and friends of an important tax case recently decided by the Seoul Administrative Court (2019Guhap70643, February 5, 2021) involving certain payment for the purchase of software by a Korean subsidiary to its US parent. This case appears to disagree …