Court system
What is the structure of the civil court system?
The civil court system in South Korea has a three-tier structure.
At first instance, civil cases are generally heard by district courts, unless jurisdiction is governed by specialised courts
This is a repost of an article from over 10 years ago, but it has practical relevance today and motivated us to share it again.
Even foreigners living in Korea cannot help but notice how makgeolli has taken on a
On May 29, 2026, the Supreme Court of Korea issued a landmark decision regarding the division of unlisted shares in a divorce property-division case. The ruling is significant because the Court expressly addressed how courts should approach cases where a
With much uncertainty in requirements of data processors under the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA), the Supreme Court of Korea held that the use of another person’s lawfully collected name and address in a civil complaint filed against that same
The Constitutional Court of Korea ruled a provision of the Korean Income Tax Act defining the scope of benefits included in “earned income” as constitutional. The Court determined that the provision of the Income Tax Act, which defines earned income
Recent amendments to the Korean Labor Standards Act introduce two important changes to the statutory framework governing working hours, rest periods, and annual paid leave. The amendments address long-standing practical issues arising from the rigid application of break-time rules and
The Seoul High Court ruled that even if an arbitration award contains ambiguities in its order, Korean courts should enforce it if the award’s details, including the judgment amount, can be determined from its reasoning.
Facts
The Supreme Court of Korea ruled that a person who obtains personal information through fraudulent or deceptive means and uses it for business purposes is also a “personal information processor” under Korea’s Data Protection Law. In April of 2026, the
The Korean Supreme Court, in an en banc ruling, held that tattooing performed by non-medical professionals is not an unlicensed medical practice. The Court overturned prior Supreme Court precedents that deemed tattooing an unlicensed medical practice. The Supreme Court of
The past year has been unusually active for dispute resolution in Korea. The most important developments concern attorney-client privilege, constitutional review of final court judgments, arbitration rules, and corporate-governance reforms that are likely to generate more shareholder and board-level disputes.
