Newsletter A Quarterly Update of Legal Developments in Korea
	October 2016, Issue 3
UPDATES TAX Korea’s Strategy and Finance Ministry Proposes Tax Law Changes for 2017 On July 28, 2016, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance (“MOSF”) announced the proposed tax law amendments for 2017. MOSF has submitted the draft tax law amendment to the National Assembly. The proposed amendment is expected to effect for the fiscal year commencing on or after January 1, 2017. Read more INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY The Patent Court Publishes Guidelines for Appeals of IP Infringement Cases On March 16, 2016, the Patent Court published its “Guidelines Regarding Appeals of IP Infringement Actions” (“Guidelines”). Since January 1, 2016, the Patent Court has had jurisdiction over most appellate IP infringement cases in Korea, in addition to invalidity cases, which it already heard. As a result, the Guidelines essentially articulate specific procedures to be followed in most appellate IP cases in Korea going forward. Read more ENVIRONMENT Korea’s Environment Ministry Preparing Tougher and More Expansive Regulations for Chemical Substances & Products Korean public interest in chemical safety has been higher than ever. The public has been hearing news reports that continue to raise health and safety risks of certain household and industrial products. Meanwhile, South Korea’s environment authority, the Ministry of Environment (“MOE”), has been taking active consumer protection measures, such as product recalls. Read more ENVIRONMENT MOE Has Begun Disclosing Results from the 2015 Statistical Survey of Chemical Substances REAL ESTATE To Redevelop Aging Urban Logistics Facilities, Korea Introduces New System for Developing Urban High-tech Logistics Complexes CORPORATE Supreme Court’s Exceptional Decision on Performance Guarantee Deposit Despite Contractual Language LITIGATION Korean Supreme Court Announces New Civil Procedure Rules on Page Limit and Other Administrative Requirements for Briefs ANTITRUST & COMPETITION Korea’s Antitrust Watchdog Proposes Amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act SECURITIES Korea’s Top Financial Regulator Announces Proposed Amendments to the Presidential Decree of the FSCMA on Qualified Professional Investors Regulatory Reform: FSC’s New Supervisory Measures Relating to Corporate Governance Regulations of Financial Institutions Now in Effect Regulatory Reform: FSC Eases Various Licensing and Eligibility Requirements for Asset Management Companies INSURANCE FSC Announces the Proposed Partial Amendments on the “Deregulation of the Insurance Business Act including the investment of [A]ssets” BANKING FSC to Enhance Financial Consumer Protection, including Greater Regulatory Power of the FSS New Enforcement and Supervisory Regulation for Enhanced Corporate Governance Take Effect INTERNATIONAL TRADE & CUSTOMS Key Takeaways of the “Brexit” Vote TECHNOLOGY, MEDIA & TELECOMMUNICATIONS Korean Legislature Passes the Amendments on the Voluntary Rating System to the Game Industry Promotion Act Korean Government Issues New Guidelines on the Right to Request Revocation of Access to One’s Internet Postings LABOR & EMPLOYMENT Seoul Central District Court Answers the Question of What Constitutes a Breach of the Representative Bargaining Union's Duty of Fair Representation? Korea’s Employment Ministry Announces New "Smart Labor Audits" and Stronger Enforcement of Maternity Protection Laws Recent Lower Court Ruling Regarding Discriminatory Treatment against Non-Fixed-Term Employees		NEWS SELECTED REPRESENTATIONS CJ CGV Expands Its Global Business by Acquiring Turkey’s Largest Movie Theater Chain Operator, Mars Entertainment Group Doosan Infracore Sells Its Machine Tools Business to MBK, Korea’s Largest Private Equity Fund Global Cement Company, LafargeHolcim Group, Sells Lafarge Halla Cement Corporation to a Consortium of PEFs After Winning Hotly Contested Takeover Battle, KB Financial Acquires Hyundai Securities for KRW 1.25 Trillion Doosan Group and Other Financial Investors Sell Doosan Group’s High-tech Weapons Manufacturing Unit, Doosan DST, to Hanhwa Techwin KFTC Closes 4-year Investigation on CD Rate-Rigging Allegations of 6 Commercial Banks KFTC Closes 3-year Investigation into the Alleged LIBOR Rate-Rigging A Foreign Private Qualified Investor Fund Acquires Jongno Tower in Seoul Korean Institutional Investors Acquire Equity Stake in a Luxembourg Company for a Multi-Use Building Investment in the Netherlands Taxpayers’ Procedural Rights Protected: Taxes Assessed without Pre-Assessment Notice Ruled Invalid Important Precedent Set for Future Business Restructurings in Korea – Clarifications on Tax-Qualified Spin-off Requirements Who is the Beneficial Owner of the Dividend Income? Kim & Chang Successfully Defends French Multinational Parent Company at Korea’s Highest Court Kim & Chang Enables China Everbright Bank to Obtain Final Approval to Open Its First Seoul Branch in a Record Amount of Time China’s Top Online Mobile Ticketing Service and China’s Leading IT Company Acquire Shares of YG Enertainment, One of Korea’s Largest Entertainment Companies Seoul High Court Case Clarifies the New "Catch-All" Provision of the UCPA In Favor of the French Luxury Goods Maker, Hermès Supreme Court Provides Important Guidelines on How Clinical Drugs Imported by Pharmaceutical Companies Should Be Valued for Customs-related Duties Kim & Chang Wins a Turnkey Construction Case, Helping to Set Precedent on Requests for Project Time Extensions Offshore RMB (Panda) Bond Offering by the Republic of Korea AWARDS & RANKINGS Kim & Chang Ranks First Among Korean Laws Firms by Revenue and Headcount in The Lawyer’s “Global 200” (June 2016) Only Korean Firm Named by Acritas’ Asia Pacific Law Firm Brand Index 2016, Ranking 4th Overall Kim & Chang Receives Top Tier Ranking in the IFLR1000 Energy & Infrastructure (2016) Korea Law Firm of the Year - IFLR Asia Awards 2016 FIRM NEWS 7th Edition of Tax Practice Research Published Kim & Chang Establishes International Law Institute Kim & Chang Presents at the Finance & Tax Forum Seminar Kim & Chang Participates at the IBA Asia Pacific Arbitration Group Training Day Kim & Chang’s Top Tax Practitioners Present at the Asia-Pacific Regional Tax Conference 2016
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