Dispute resolution

Dispute resolution (분쟁해결/紛爭解決) is conducted either by litigation or alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in Korea.

Though an increasing number of disputes are resolved by dipute mediation, arbitration or out-of-court settlement, most of civil disputes are settled by litigation.

Key words
dispute, civil action, letigation, alternative dispute resolution (ADR), mediation, arbitration, WTO, FTA

Civil Action
See Lawsuit. The conduct of a lawsuit is called litigation.

Arbitration
See ADR.

Dispute Mediation
See ADR.

WTO Dispute
A dispute arises when one member country adopts a trade policy measure or takes some action that one or more fellow members considers to a breach of WTO agreements or to be a failure to live up to obligations. By joining the WTO, member countries have agreed that if they believe fellow members are in violation of trade rules, they will use the multilateral system of settling disputes instead of taking action unilaterally — this entails abiding by agreed procedures (Dispute Settlement Understanding) and respecting judgments, primarily of the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB), the WTO organ responsible for adjudication of disputes.

ISD
Traditionally, dispute settlement under international law has involved disputes between nation states. Under customary international law, a foreign investor is required to seek the resolution of such a dispute in the tribunals and/or courts of the country concerned. Over 2000 Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) currently exist and they provide foreign investors with a direct means for redress against states for breaches of such treaties.

Korea has adopted the Investor State Dispute (ISD, 투자자‧국가 소송/投資者‧國家訴訟) settlement when negotiating and executing the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with European Union and the United State. The ISD clause was again at issue when the opposition parties and NGOs vowed to nullify the KorUS FTA because of its poisonous clauses during the general election campaign in Spring 2012.

In 2012, it was reported that Lone Star intends to file an ISD suit againt the Korean government claiming that the Korean financial authorities interfered with its sale of the Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) to Hana Financial Group in January 2012. The U.S. equity fund is also asking the National Tax Service to return the taxes it paid after selling KEB. The upcoming case would mark the first time for Korea to become a concerned party since it joined the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID, 국제투자분쟁해결센터) in 1967.