As we begin the new year, we have taken a look back on issues and trends observed in 2023 and prepared this newsletter to provide an overview of key issues which are expected to arise in the coming year in the investigations environment in Korea. With respect to investigations conducted by law enforcement agencies, we continue to see further developments in the dynamic between the police and Prosecutors’ Office (the “PO”) in criminal investigations.

In January 2024, the Copernicus Climate Change Service, which is the European Union’s (“EU”) climate change monitoring organization, published the Global Climate Highlights 2023 report. According to the report, 2023 was recorded to be the hottest year in the past 100,000 years.

On January 25, 2024, the Korean National Assembly passed significant amendments to the Patent Act (the “Amended Patent Act”) and the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act (the “Amended UCPA,” and

As we have done in years past, we are hosting a webinar introducing important updates in the labor and employment field in Korea. In this year’s webinar, titled “What you need to know for 2024,” we covered some key issues that we think you should know about, including the Korean government’s labor policies for 2024, a new Supreme Court case that provides clarification on the criminal liability relating to the overtime rules, the Serious Accidents Punishment Act or SAPA for short, as well a trend we are seeing in Korea related to workplace harassment claims and how companies are dealing with that.