• Journal of Arbitration Studies
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.141-163
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• 2012

In Korea, although nearly all maritime arbitration cases are dealt with by the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board (KCAB), the total number of cases that are referred to the KCAB is relatively small compared with the total number of maritime cases that occur in Korea. There may be reasons why maritime arbitration is not utilized more in Korea. However, of the above reasons, the superseding one may be that there is still a lack of confidence in the credibility and foreseeability of maritime arbitration in Korea. To expand the use of maritime arbitration in Korea, it is essential that the base surrounding maritime arbitration be expanded. In addition, it is also necessary that specialists receivetraining in maritime law. In this context, it is strongly recommended that maritime and admiralty law be taught in law schools and be included as a regular subject on the Korean bar exam. Additionally, to promote maritime arbitration, a rule should be introduced allowing for shortened arbitration proceedings in Korea. Although Chapter 8 of the KCAB Arbitration Rules provide for "Expedited Procedure," this process alone is not because the rules for Expedited Procedure generally apply in arbitration cases where both parties have agreed in a separate agreement to follow the procedures provided or in any domestic arbitration valued atless than 100,000,000 Korean won. Therefore, the KCAB Arbitration Rules for Expedited Procedure must be reformed to encompass international arbitrations. Additionally, experts who are experienced in the maritime sector should be elected as arbitrators. Given the factthat a fair number of arbitration cases can be characterized as international, it is important that businesspersons who are very fluent in English be appointed as arbitrators in order to increase the reliability of maritime arbitration in Korea and save costs. Meanwhile, because lawyers and scholars constitute a considerable portion of KCAB arbitrators, commercial persons from relevant industries should be enlisted as arbitrators. Even though there are arguments for the establishment of an independent maritime arbitration board in Korea, establishment of a separate maritime arbitration board will not directly guarantee the prosperity of maritime arbitration in Korea. Instead of instituting a new maritime arbitration board, it is better that a reorganized KCAB modify existing arbitration proceedings to make them faster and more economical if maritime arbitration is to prosper. In this regard, ad-hoc arbitration would be an option for speedy and thrifty maritime arbitration. Finally, to gain the confidence of domestic and foreign parties, we cannot ignore the importance of advertising the specialties and qualifications of the KCAB and its personnel among business entities.

• Journal of Arbitration Studies
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.3-22
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• 2012

The Korean Commercial Arbitration Board ("KCAB") recently amended its 'International Arbitration Rules' and the 'Arbitration Rules', which became effective on September 1, 2011. Under the amendment, the 'Arbitration Rules' will be referred to as the 'Domestic Arbitration Rules' and in principle apply only to domestic arbitration cases. Accordingly, the amendment removed all of the provisions relating to international arbitration cases. In addition, under the amendment, the 'International Arbitration Rules' will automatically apply to all international arbitration cases unless the parties agree otherwise. The amended 'International Arbitration Rules' establish new expedited procedures for the international arbitration cases before the KCAB. The KCAB has also instituted additional changes related to international arbitration cases including reduction in the filing and administrative fees and appointment of prominent international foreign arbitrators on its panel. The remuneration for arbitrators has also increased to bring them more in line with the fees provided by other leading international arbitration institutions. While several problems remain, these most recent revisions must be seen as a step in the right direction for the KCAB.

• THE INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE & LAW REVIEW
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• v.32
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• pp.59-91
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• 2006

The Arbitration Act of Korea was promulgated in 1966. Since the promulgation of Arbitration Act of Korea, consecutive amendments took place in 1973, 1993, 1997, 1999, 2001 and 2002. Among the various set of amendments, those of 1999 were designed to accommodate the UNCITRAL Model Law on international Commercial Arbitration of 1985. Korea has acceded to special international conventions on dispute settlement such as the New York Convention of 1958 and the Washington Convention of 1965. The Korean Commercial Arbitration Board(KCAB) administers the arbitration proceedings in accordance with its Arbitration Rules approved by the Korean Supreme Court. Since the establishment of the first Arbitration Rules in 1966. consecutive amendments took place in 1973, 1981, 1989, 1993, 1996, 2000 and 2004. The KCAB plans to enact the International Arbitration Rules, which will be available to disputing parties in addition to the KCAB Arbitration Rules. In 2005, arbitration applications received at KCAB recorded a historic high at 213 cases, an increase of 22% from 175 cases in 2000. But in 2005, the total amount involved in the arbitration cases decreases to US$ 129 million, a decline of 63% from US$ 346 million in 2000. The KCAB should take the following measures for activating the commercial arbitration system: the globalization of KCAB, the advertisement of arbitration system, the security of qualified arbitrators, and the enhancement of the secretariat service. In conclusion, the KCAB should make efforts for the development of the arbitration system and for the upgrade of customer satisfaction. Moreover the KCAB should make further efforts to grow into a global arbitration institution as well as strengthening relations with international arbitration institutions.

• Journal of Arbitration Studies
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.67-93
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• 2005

To realize the spirit of South-North Joint Declaration of June 15, 2000, the authorities concerned of South and North Korea have reached agreements to settle commercial disputes as well as to set up a South-North arbitration rule which is becoming a problem of vital importance between South and North Korea. The purpose of this paper is to analyzed and review carefully the drafting of Commercial Arbitration Rule of the commercial Arbitration Committee of the South-North Korea so The South-North Korea Commercial Rule is an institutional organization for resolution of commercial disputes arising form trade and investment between south and north Korea. Under the situation, it is becoming a problem of vital importance how to manage and control the Arbitration Rule for prompt and effective resolution of South-North Korea of commercial disputes It is probable that the drafting of Commercial Arbitration Rule of the Commercial Arbitration Committee in South Korea should be written by the Commercial Arbitration Committee of South Korean arbitral body after these organizations are established and appointed. it's not recommendable that we the South-North Korea write the only enc South Korean draft of the Commercial Arbitration Committee of the South-Nonh Korea. The Korean Commercial Arbitration Board(KCAB) should be designated as the arbitration institution of South Korea because the KCAB is the only authorized institution in South Korea, statutorily empowered to settle any kind of commercial disputes at home and abroad.

• Journal of Arbitration Studies
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.177-200
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• 2013

Recently, many international arbitration institutions have responded to the business requirements of their users and have revised their rules to enhance the time and cost efficiency. Korean Commercial Arbitration Board (KCAB) revised the international arbitration rule in 2011, introducing new arbitration mechanisms like the expedited procedure. Also other Asian arbitration institutions introduced the expedited procedure in their international arbitration rules. Now expedited procedures are regarded as a very attractive system in the field of international arbitration. Accordingly, this paper reviewed the expedited procedures of four Asian countries, including China(CIETAC), Hong Kong (HKIAC), Singapore(SIAC) and Korea(KCAB). The purpose of this study is to find out meaningful implications to improve the Korean system. Based on this review, some recommendations are suggested as follows. First, the scope of the expedited procedure has to be adjusted upward than the current 200 million won. Second, there should be a fee schedule only for the expedited procedure. Third, in case of small amount international disputes, written examination should be more used in the expedited procedure. Finally, KCAB should make strong efforts to improve the awareness and usage of the expedited procedure in Korea.

• Journal of Arbitration Studies
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.26-46
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• 2000

International arbitration has been recognized as an effective dispute resolution method. Among the arbitration institutions, the ICC(International Chamber of Commerce) international court of arbitration is one of the most well-known and frequently chosen organizations to which international claimants have resorted, when they were confronted with international disputes. In this paper, costs in the ICC arbitration are compared with those in the KCAB(Korean Commercial Arbitration Board) arbitration. seeking efficient ways to reduce the costs while maximizing the quality of arbitral awards. Three main points about costs in the ICC arbitration and the KCAB arbitration are discussed and analysed, First, the cost structures are analysed and decomposed into manageable units. Second, the cost allocation is discussed to clarify its proportional responsibility among the arbitration parties. Third, how advances in arbitration costs are conducted is examined to explore a well established procedure of arbitration. In conclusion, the KCAB arbitration procedure has been found faster and cheaper than the ICC arbitration procedure in terms of time and costs, respectively. However, it can be cautiously suggested that the quality of arbitral awards made by the KCAB is not necessarily higher than that made by the ICC.

• Journal of Arbitration Studies
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.47-69
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• 2010

From the review of Korean arbitration systems with the comparison of those of other countries, we can summarize some issues to be tackled as follows: First, Korean arbitration system started with the purpose of export promotion. This may be the main reason that various domestic disputes have not been resolved by arbitration. Second, the Korean Arbitration Law applies to private disputes. The Law's arbitration scope is wider than that of China and France, but narrower than that of the U.S.A. that encompasses a variety of disputes in the filed of consumer, labor, medical services, patents, etc. Third, active judges or public officials in Korea can not be arbitrator and there is no arbitration court. However, if chief judge allows the necessity, court's judges in the UK can be arbitrator with the mutual agreement of the parties and also arbitration system is operated in the court. Fourth, the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board(KCAB), the only representative institution for arbitration in Korea, is under the Ministry of Knowledge Economy(MKE). This makes it difficult for the KCAB to handle other disputes related to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the Ministry of Employment and Labor, etc. Fifth, as mentioned, the KCAB is the unique institution for arbitration by the Law in Korea, while other countries allow have a diversity of arbitration agencies such as maritime arbitration organization, consumer arbitration institution, arbitration court, etc. Therefore, we suggest some ideas to expand the arbitration's area of coverage in Korea as follows: First, there should be more active policies that promote various domestic disputes to be settled by the arbitration system. Second, it is quite needed to expand the scope of arbitration to cover many disputes in the fields of consumer, labor, medical service, advertising, fair trade, etc. Third, there should be discussions to allow court judges as arbitrator and to introduce the arbitration court. Fourth, the KCAB should strengthen its status and roles as general arbitration organization to overcome the limited scope of commercial disputes. For this, there should be the strong support and coordination among the MKE and other government agencies. Fifth, to reduce the burden of the court's complicated and expensive procedures, more efficient disputes resolution systems should be established on the basis of the parties' free will. Each central government agency should streamline the legal barriers to allow industrial organizations under its control to establish their own or joint arbitration system with the KCAB.

• Journal of Arbitration Studies
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.271-321
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• 2002

Every year, many million of business transactions take place. Ocassionally, disagreements develop over these business transactions. Many of these disputes are resolved by mediation, arbitration and out-of-court settlement options. The American Arbitration Association(AAA) helps resolve a wide range of disputes through mediation, arbitration, elections and other out-of-court settlement procedures. The AAA offers a broad range of dispute resolution services to business executives, attorneys, individuals, trade associations, unions, management, consumers, families, communities, and all level of governments. The 198,491 cases composed of the 194,303 arbitration cases and the 4,188 mediation cases, were filed with the AAA in 2000. These case filings represent a full range of matters, including commercial finance, construction, labor and employment, environmental, health care, insurance, real state, securities, and technology disputes. The Korean Commercial Arbitration Board (KCAB) does more than render arbitration services. It helps facilitate settlements and guarantee implementation thereof between trading partners at home and abroad involving disputes related to such areas as the sale of commodities, construction, joint venture agreements, technical assistance, agency agreements, and maritime transport. The 643 cases composed of the the 197 arbitration cases and the 446 mediation cases, were filed with the KCAB in 2001. There are some differences between the AAA and the KCAB regarding the number and the area of mediation and arbitration case filings, the breath of service offerings, the scope of alternative dispute resolution, and the education and training. In order to apply to the proceedings of the commercial mediation and arbitration, the AAA has the Commercial Mediation Rules, the Commercial Arbitration Rules, the Expedited Procedures, the Optional Procedures for Large, Complex Commerical Dispute, and the Optional Rules for Emergency Measures of Protection as amended and effective on September 1, 2000. In order to apply to the proceedings of commercial arbitration, the KCAB has the Arbitration Rules as amended by the Supreme Court on April 27, 2000, which have been changed to incorporate the revisions of the Arbitration Act that went into effect on December 31, 1999. There are some differences between the AAA's commercial Arbitration Rules and the KCAB's Arbitration Rules regarding the clauses of jurisdiction and administrative conference, number of arbitrators, communication with arbitrator, vacancies, preliminary hearing, exchange of information, oaths, evidence by affidavit and posthearing filing of documents or others, interim measures, serving of notice, form of award, scope of award, delivery of award to parties, modification of award, release of liability, administrative fees, neutral arbitrator's compensation, and expedited procedures. In conclusion, for the vitalization of KCAB and its ADR system, the following measures should be taken : the effective case management, the development of on0-line ADR, the establishment of ADR system of electronic commerce disputes, and the variety of dispute resolution rules in each expert field.

• Journal of Arbitration Studies
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.159-176
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• 2012

The Korean Commercial Arbitration Board (KCAB) recently revised its International Arbitration Rules in a way that reflects its efforts to advance its procedures, leading directly to improved competitiveness as an arbitration institute. Apart from certain limitations, the KCAB's international arbitration rule revision introduced several new arbitration mechanisms, including fast-track arbitration and an empowered administrative office. The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) released a revised set of arbitration rules (ICC Arbitration Rules), which have been said to be probably the most consulted-on arbitration rules ever. Even though the changes codify existing ICC court practice and add to the 1998 rules only provisions felt necessary in light of input from the users of arbitration, some of the changes will have huge implications for future aspects of arbitration mechanisms, especially those of KCAB. Although it remains to be seen what impact the ICC Arbitration Rules will have in practice, the new rules have been well received by the arbitration community and represent a modern set of provisions consistent with the current needs of the users of international arbitration. That is why, here in the Korean arbitration environment, further research is needed on the possibilities of introducing several elements of the revised ICC Arbitration Rules to improve the speed and cost efficiency of international arbitration.

• THE INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE & LAW REVIEW
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• v.35
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• pp.125-144
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• 2007

The objective of this study is to find out whether Korean companies which are doing a lot of commercial transactions with Indian companies can consider appointing ICA as a trustworthy institution and using ICA arbitration rules as a governing arbitration rule, when a dispute between Korean companies and Indian companies occurs. Up to now, in the case of dispute with Indian companies, Korean companies are hesitant to utilize ICA as well as ICA arbitration rules as a alternative dispute resolution, owing to lack of understanding on its rules. But, it is obvious that Korean companies which come to have better knowledge on ICA and its rules may consider more positively using ICA as well as ICA arbitration rules as a dispute resolution rather than using other arbitration institutions like ICC and KCAB etc. in the case of disputes with Indian companies because ICA arbitration rules are very objective and similar to other arbitration rules like ICC rules as well as KCAB(Korean Commercial Arbitration Board) international arbitration rules which are frequently being used by Korean companies and also have other several advantages like cheaper cost of arbitration and fast track arbitration procedures. In conclusion, ICA and its rules can also be recommended as a public-trustworthy arbitration option if Korean companies want to resolve some dispute cases with Indian companies.