Newsletter A Quarterly Update of Legal Developments in Korea
	April 2017, Issue 1
UPDATES ANTITRUST & COMPETITION KFTC Announces Its Enforcement Plan Detailing Its Focus Areas for 2017 On January 5, 2017, the Korea Fair Trade Commission announced its enforcement plan for 2017, 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; and (iii) build a consumer-friendly environment promoting consumers’ rights. Read more ENVIRONMENT 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 announced an amendment to the “Potentially Risky Product Designation & Safety/Labeling Standards”, which strengthens the safety and labeling standards relating to potentially risky products, as well as the “Act on the Safe Control of Household Chemical Products & Biocides” modeled after the EU BPR (Biocidal Products Regulation) to regulate active substances and biocidal products. Read more TAX 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. Read more TAX Lawmakers Pass Tax Law Changes for 2017 CORPORATE External Audit Act Amended to Cover Limited Liability Companies BANKING Korean Lawmakers Pass the Liberalized Foreign Exchange Transactions Law to Permit Non-Financial Institutions to Conduct Foreign Exchange Business SECURITIES Korea’s Top Financial Regulator Expands the Scope of Investors Eligible to Invest in Offshore Funds To Attract Growing High-Tech Companies, the FSC Reforms the Korea Stock Exchange KOSDAQ Listing and Public Offering Rules INSURANCE Korea’s Top Financial Regulator Reports Its 2017 Work Plan to the Acting President of South Korea REAL ESTATE Asset Management Companies of REITs Now Allowed to Engage in Collective Investment Business LABOR & EMPLOYMENT Key 2017 Changes in Employment and Labor Law Favor Employees Former Fixed-Term Employees May Challenge Their Former Employers’ Discriminatory Practices Before the Labor Relations Commission INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY Income Tax Law Amended, Setting Clear Non-Tax Limits for Employee-Inventor Remuneration Korean Supreme Court Reverses a 12-year Precedent: Technology Described as Background or in a Claim Preamble is Not Necessarily Prior Art TECHNOLOGY, MEDIA & TELECOMMUNICATIONS Korea’s Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning Amends the Telecommunications Business Act Regarding Value-Added Telecom Service Provider Registration Requirements NEWS AWARDS & RANKINGS Kim & Chang Again Wins Top Rankings for All 7 Practice Categories, and 26 Leading Individuals Are Recognized in Chambers Global 2017 Kim & Chang Receives Highest Ranking Among South Korean Law Firms in the 2017 Edition of Chambers Asia-Pacific Kim & Chang Wins “National Law Firm of the Year: Korea” for the 15th Consecutive Year at the IFLR Asia Awards 2017 Kim & Chang Awarded “Compliance/Investigations Firm of the Year” at the Asia Legal Awards 2017 “Korea Firm of the Year 2016” in 19 Practice Areas Surveyed - Asian-MENA Counsel Magazine Kim & Chang Named No. 1 M&A Advisor in Korea - Bloomberg Asia Pacific Legal Advisory M&A Rankings 2016 Kim & Chang Recognized as the No. 1 M&A Advisor in Korea - Mergermarket M&A League Tables of Legal Advisors 2016		NEWS SELECTED REPRESENTATIONS Two SPCs Acquire Hyundai Capital Through the ABS Structure from GE VIG Partners Purchases 84% in Joeun Life, Allowing It to Take Top Position in the Industry Hahn & Company Sells 100% Stake in Korean Online Marketing Consulting Firm and Former Naver Subsidiary, N Search Marketing Courts Rule in Favor of Banks Seeking Payment under K-SURE Export Insurance Policies in the Moneual Case KFTC Dismisses Charges in Restriction of Distributor’s Business Territory Case Seoul High Court Reverses KFTC’s Decision Against Golfzon on the Alleged Unfair Trade Behaviors Including Tying Arrangements Kim & Chang Obtains Favorable Judgments in Price Fixing Cases for Several Insurance Companies in Their Appeal of the KFTC's Decision Korea’s Top Financial Watchdog Grants Final Approval for Korea’s First Internet-Only Bank South Korean Rising Star Biotech Firm, SillaJen, Lists Shares on the KOSDAQ Chinese Insurance Group Anbang Acquires Allianz Life Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty SE Secures a Preliminary License as a Non-Life Insurer Bringing a Shift in a Decade-Long Regulatory Policy to Open the Insurance Market Global Alternative Asset Manager, Brookfield, Acquires Owner Corporations of Yeouido’s IFC from AIG in Korea’s Largest Real Estate Transaction in 2016 Blackstone, One of the World’s Leading Investment Firms Acquires Seoul’s Capital Tower from Korean Life Insurance Company Kim & Chang Successfully Defends Client in ICC Emergency Arbitration US Government Initiates Anti-Dumping and Countervailing Investigation on Korean Steel Products SEMINARS & ANNOUNCEMENTS Seminar on Outcome and Improvement Plan for Special Act on the Corporate Revitalization Kim & Chang Senior Attorneys Present on Cross-Border M&A, Risk Management, and Outbound Investments at the Thomson Reuters Annual Brief 2016 Kim & Chang Senior Attorney Provides Instruction on Anti-Graft Law at the Korean Fair Competition Federation’s Workshop on Certified Compliance Professionals Kim & Chang Senior Attorney Debates Legal & Policy Issues Relating to Self-Driving Cars at the National Assembly Advanced Mobility Forum
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