Sweeping Changes to the Korean Criminal Procedures Starting in the New Year
A series of legislations affecting the criminal law landscape in Korea have been enacted since the end of 2019 e.g., ‘Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials Act’, ‘Prosecutor’s Office Act’ and ‘Criminal Procedure Act’, followed by the establishment of subsidiary laws and regulations. In addition, with the passage of the amendment bill of ‘High-Ranking Official’s …
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The KFTC rules that the Practice of Tying Patented LNG Technology with Engineering Assistance Services is Illegal
On November 25, 2020, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (the “KFTC”) imposed a fine of USD 11 million on Gaztransport & Technigaz (“GTT”), a multinational engineering company headquartered in France, for abusing its market dominance in liquefied natural gas (LNG) container tank technologies (the “LNG Technology”). Although GTT argued that the tying of its patented …
Bill to Amend the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act Passed by the National Assembly
In August 2018, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (the KFTC) drafted a bill to substantially amend the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act (the MRFTA) and submitted the amendment bill to the National Assembly in November 2018. However, only certain portions of the amendment bill which dealt with procedural regulations were passed by the National …
Korea introduces new law strengthening protection against intentional infringement of IP rights
Following the July 2019 amendment to the Patent Act introducing punitive damages for patent infringement, the Korean National Assembly has since passed additional legislation to strengthen the protection of IP rights. The new legislation includes amendments to the Trademark Act, the Design Protection Act and the UCPA (Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act), …
KFTC Announces the Proposal for the “Fair Intermediation Transactions on Online Platform Act”
One of the most significant changes brought upon by COVID-19 is the increase in contact-free transactions, which triggered rapid increases in the market concentration of the online platform industry. In response to such changes, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (the KFTC) proposed the “Fair Intermediation Transactions on Online Platform Act” (the Online Platform Act) to …
Proposed Pharmaceutical Affairs Act Amendment Regarding Patent-Approval Linkage System
On August 20, 2020, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (“MFDS”) announced a proposed amendment to the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act (“PPA”) aimed to address certain deficiencies in the Patent-Approval Linkage System that went into effect in 2015. Key features of the proposed amendment may be summarized as follows.
Key Tax Law Amendments in the Draft 2020 Tax Revision Bill
On July 22, 2020, the Ministry of Economy and Finance publicly released the 2020 draft Tax Revision Bill (the ‘Draft Bill’).
Amendments to the Personal Information Protection Act and Credit Information Use and Protection Act
Amendments to the Personal Information Protection Act (‘PIPA’) and Credit Information Use and Protection Act (‘Credit Information Act’) that were promulgated on February 4, 2020 took effect on August 5, 2020, along with their respective implementing regulations that were also amended to reflect the changes in the two laws. By balancing the need for the protection …
Key Tax Law Amendments in the Draft 2020 Tax Revision Bill
On July 22, 2020, the Ministry of Economy and Finance publicly released the 2020 draft Tax Revision Bill (the ‘Draft Bill’). Amidst the increasing risk of a global recession caused by the COVID 19 pandemic, the Draft Bill aims to: (i) promote investment and spending; (ii) enhance tax benefits to low-income earners and mid-sized and …
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Important Upcoming Changes to the Korean Electricity Business Act regarding Solar Farm Developments
There have been recent amendments to the Electricity Business Act (‘EB Act’) (the main Act governing the granting of permits required to develop and operate renewable energy projects in Korea) that are likely to affect a large majority of potential investors in Korean solar farm projects. As is discussed below, the legislative amendments are due …