• Korea Trade Review
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.39-60
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• 2021

Despite the fast growth and rising importance of digital trade, there still exists no multilateral agreement governing digital trade. Significant differences in policy directions regarding key digital trade issues among the U.S., EU and China are the main stumbling blocks for reaching agreement on the multilateral front. To overcome this deficiency in digital trade rules, there has been active movement among mainly countries in the Asia-Pacific region for rule-making on digital trade. Starting with the CPTPP chapter on E-Commerce in 2018, there has been a series of digital trade rules agreed in bilateral or plurilateral formats, such as the USMCA, USJDTA, DEPA, DEA and RCEP. Korea is currently only member of RCEP, which contains an e-commerce chapter with lower levels of commitment as compared to other digital trade agreements. This paper provides a broad analysis of the recently concluded digital trade agreements, comparing the different coverage of rules, levels of commitment, and rules templates. The analysis aims to provide implications for the desirable direction of rule-making on digital trade and Korea's digital trade strategy.

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.285-301
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• 2023

The growing impact of cross-border movement of information is increasing interest in information policy through digital trade agreements in major trading countries. Major trading partners are calling for the inclusion of their digital policies in trade agreements to strengthen market dominance and protect personal information. This study analyzes the meaning and disputed settlement cases of the WTO's public policy objectives and examines the tendency of stakeholders to standardize legitimate exceptions to public policy objectives in digital trade. The study also examines the desirable direction of digital trade standardization suitable for the changing international trade environment. There is still debate about the specific objectives that should be included and the extent to which they should be allowed to restrict trade, however this study finds that there is a growing consensus on the need for legitimate public policy objectives to be included in digital trade agreements. The study concludes that the desirable direction of digital trade standardization is to strike a balance between the need to protect legitimate public policy objectives and the need to liberalize digital trade. This balance will need to be adjusted as the international trade environment continues to change.

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.47 no.5
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• pp.273-288
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• 2022

This study first classifies and organizes provisions on institutional arrangements (or IAs) and dispute settlement mechanism(or DSM) in a digital trade agreement. Then it conducts a case study on seven major digital trade agreements: the CPTPP, the USJDTA, the USMCA, the ASDEA, the RCEP, the KSDPA, and the DEPA. And it finally derives implications for Korea to improve implementation of DTAs by communicating better and resolving disputes efficiently with the help of IAs and DSM-related provisions. IAs of a digital trade agreement can be defined as a set of agreements on the division of the respective responsibilities of agencies involved in implementing and enforcing the agreement, including committees, working groups, or contact points. DSM of a digital trade agreement includes consultation, mediation, arbitration, and establishment of a panel. Comparing six FTAs with an e-commerce chapter, the CPTPP, the USMCA, and the RCEP contain the most advanced type of IA provisions while the CPTPP, the USMCA, the RCEP, and the KSDPA have that of DSM provisions. Korea is its initial stage as it has only signed the KSDPA with Singapore as well as it is about to launch a new digital trade negotiation for the DEPA, the CPTPP, and even the IPEF, it is necessary to engage in negotiations with a clearer position on behalf of Korean digital companies. As provisions on IAs and DSM are important policy tools that can reflect industry concerns and convey proposals in inter-governmental dialogue, a Korean draft of the IAs and DSM-related provision should be prepared in advance.

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.99-117
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• 2021

Korea's FTA e-commerce regulations are evolving into a standardized norm. However, "location of computing facilities", which was not covered by Korea's existing FTA, was newly established in Korea's first Mega FTA, RCEP. China, a member of RCEP, restricts data movement and requires data localization through its Cybersecurity law. These facts have led to start this study with interest in data-related regulations. It examined country-specific and regulatory characteristics in the process of forming digital trade norms, using the TAPED established by Burri et al. (2020). It also analyzed the current status of introducing norms related to 'data flow', 'data localization' and 'data protection' of the EU, USA and China, which are leading the formation of e-commerce trade norms. Finally, the legal review was conducted to compare the exact meaning of the wording expressed in each agreement for the six recently enacted Mega FTAs and Digital Economic Agreements. These findings are meaningful in that they provided implications for the effectiveness of RCEP and the direction of negotiations on Korea's digital trade norms.

• Electronics and Telecommunications Trends
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.1-10
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• 2022

Digital trade rules are crucial in supporting the digital economy as the rules effectively reduce unnecessary trade barriers. This study introduces various approaches that major countries take regarding digital trade policies and rules. Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership has introduced comprehensive rules on e-commerce, including binding articles on the free flow of information, location of computing facilities, and source code. More recent e-commerce provisions or digital trade agreements cover wider range of issues, from cyber security, artificial intelligence, and data innovation to electronic invoicing and payments. Multilateral negotiations on digital trade rules, including the World Trade Organization E-commerce Joint Statement Initiatives and Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, are in progress. Thus, countries involved are expected to respond to new digital trade issues with long-term strategies considering domestic policy objectives.

• Journal of Arbitration Studies
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.145-167
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• 2007

Digital goods are defined as intangible and non-physical goods, composed of a combination of digital signals, electronically represented as 0 and 1. They are also called as digital products, electronic transmissions, information goods, digital contents, computer information, etc. Digital goods are now traded both domestically and internationally as well as on-line and off-line. Korean government revised the Basic Law on Foreign Trade to include digital goods and services as the scope of foreign trade in 2001. Trade volume of digital goods are increasing in Korea. The supply chains of digital goods from producing the components to selling globally to consumers are different from conventional physical goods. Mostly, digital goods are traded on the license basis rather than ownership contract. End User License Agreements(EULAs), such as shrink-wrap, click- wrap, or browser-wrap licenses are very popular in online transactions. Unlike conventional physical goods. the breach of license contract is closely linked with the infringement of intellectual property rights. Digitalized intellectual property is easy to copy and transmit in the cyber space. In cases of legal disputes from the breach of license contract, commercial arbitration or on-line alternative dispute resolutions(ADRs) are regarded as better approach to solve them rather than court sues. For promoting more secure and reliable international trade of digital goods. arbitration clauses should be included in most of license contracts.

• Electronics and Telecommunications Trends
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.1-11
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• 2023

Trade rules in service and digital sectors mainly focus on reducing regulatory uncertainties by improving transparency and minimizing unnecessary requirements. Recognizing the importance of digital trade rules and trade in information and communication technology (ICT) sectors, governments worldwide have rapidly adopted and expanded rules on free flow of data, personal data protection, electronic authentication, and cybersecurity. On the other hand, advances in technology have led governments to face multiple threats related to cybersecurity, intellectual property (including that related to source code and algorithms), and unauthorized access to proprietary information of their suppliers. This study presents digital trade rules related to digital security emphasizing cybersecurity, source code, and ICT products that use cryptography in different trade agreements. Additionally, it introduces various approaches that major countries are taking to both address digital security issues and seek balance between security enhancement and trade liberalization.

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.239-255
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• 2021

To review the theoretical background of regulatory approaches to cross-border transfer of personal data, this paper divides major digital trade participating countries into four types according to the OECD - non-regulatory, post-intervention, pre-supervision, and national control. It then analyzes the US, Japan, the EU, and China respectively that belong to each type. South Korea, which is currently about to pass the amendment by the National Assembly, has identified that it is in the middle of post-intervention and pre-supervision, and needs to evolve into pre-supervision norms like the EU while it has to participate more actively in the process of establishing international digital trade rules. Korea first needs to sign digital trade agreements and promote mutual certification projects more actively from the standpoint of a medium-sized open country with growing digital companies and digitally-open consumers. Second, the government should fully consider the interests of not only companies but also various trade stakeholders including domestic consumers, when drafting and implementing trade policies. To this end, 'a single window approach' is needed not only at the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy, but also at the level of the entire government which require an integrated form of digital trade policy governance.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
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• 2022.05a
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• pp.627-628
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• 2022

There is no internationally accepted codified definition of digital trade because of the wide variety and scope of related industries and transactions(product + service + data) in general. Recently, innovative changes are taking place in digital trade due to the development of technologies such as IT due to the 4th industrial revolution, and advanced countries such as the US, EU, and Japan are including digital trade issues such as data movement liberalization in the negotiation agenda of the digital trade agreement. The issue with the liberalization of cross-border data movement is that freedom of data movement is necessary to vitalize digital trade, but it also increases the risk of information security and privacy violations. Looking at the directions of advanced countries, the US favors minimization of regulations, Europe favors regional single marketization, but passively opens up to the outside world, and China promotes independent markets through regulations. Therefore, measures to strengthen restrictions on cross-border data movement are an issue that has recently been implemented by each country or an international aggrement is scheduled to be reached soon, and Korea also needs a close response.

• Journal of Arbitration Studies
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.3-24
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• 2022

Today's society appears to be entering a hyper-connected society due to mental notions and information communication technologies being converged for advanced development. Trade between countries around the world is increasing amidst the digital economy and fourth industrial revolution, which is being accompanied by a growing number of trade disputes. Appropriately resolving disputes is crucial for corporate growth, and ADR is drawing attention as a more reasonable solution between interested parties compared to lawsuits. This also applies to international trade as there is growing movements to resolve disputes between parties more efficiently and feasibly through mediation. The adaptation of an international convention for implementation in a third country for settlement agreements drawn up through such international mediation is a new and unprecedented attempt. In other words, the Singapore Convention on Mediation looks to resolve international commercial disputes by granting executive force on the outcomes of mediations. However, a system to solve various legal issues must be put into place to execute the outcomes in the respective country or third country, and a variety of tools for this are necessary.