Amendment of the Arbitration Act

Other details
Under the prior Arbitration Act, an agreement to arbitrate was valid only if it was included in documents signed by the parties to the arbitration and/or in documents exchanged via letters, telegrams, faxes or other media. In contrast, the amended Arbitration Act eases the requirements for written arbitration agreements, bringing the requirements in line with the 2006 Amendment to the Uncitral Model Law. This recognises the validity of an arbitration agreement when the “content of the arbitration agreement is recorded, whether it has been made verbally or through acts or other methods” and it expressly includes “electronic expressions of intention” (amended Act, Article 8). In addition, the amended Act strengthens the arbitration tribunal’s ability to receive cooperation of the courts when attempting to investigate evidence. It allows courts to directly order a witness to appear before the arbitral tribunal or to submit necessary documents when the arbitration tribunal requests the court’s cooperation in that regard (amended Act, Article 28). The amended Act also expressly permits the tribunal to make decisions regarding the sharing of arbitration costs and to order parties to pay interest on late payments (amended Act, Articles 34-2 & 34-3).

Impact of the amendment of the Arbitration Act
These amendments to the Arbitration Act are likely to improve the rapid and effective handling of arbitrations from initial filing of the claim, ordering of interim measures, proceeding to a decision and to execution of an arbitral award. Collectively these changes will help lay the foundation for Korea to become a world renowned international arbitration centre. Parties using the Korean arbitration system will benefit from these changes. Additionally, the amended Act will remove a delay in the execution process for arbitral awards and vitalise the use of interim measures. These interim measures are likely to be employed more frequently, particularly since the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board established an Emergency Arbitrator position and has been employing Emergency Arbitrators since June 1, 2016.

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