INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION 1/3LY
IN CONVERSATION WITH SUNGBAE JI 31
IN CONVERSATION WITH SUNGBAE JI PRESIDENT OF THE KOREAN COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION BOARD (KCAB) June Yeum, Partner at Clyde & Co, in conversation with Sungbae Ji, President of the KCAB
JUNE You mentioned 1966 as the founding year. This means that the KCAB would be celebrating its 50th anniversary next year! Many of our readers may not realise that it has been around for a relatively long time. Looking forward, what are the plans for KCAB’s future? SUNGBAE JI Recently, there has been greater demand on service improvement in international arbitration, as parties and legal professionals have experienced the quality of services in arbitration institutions abroad and have become highly interested in international arbitration. Accordingly, we plan to revise our international arbitration rules to meet the demands for service improvement and to reflect international standards so that we are able to compete with other international arbitration institutions. The upcoming amendments to the rules would include provisions for emergency arbitrators, consolidation in arbitration procedure and an improvement in the confirmation of arbitrator appointment. With these, I hope that the KCAB will become a competitive and advanced international arbitration institution. With the 50th anniversary of the KCAB coming in 2016, every member of the institution is making a concerted effort to drive the KCAB into a leading international arbitration institution. JUNE With regards to rule changes, there have only been two versions of the KCAB International Arbitration Rules; one in 2007 and the current one updated in 2011. Does the KCAB have plans to revise those rules soon? SUNGBAE JI Since the ICC amended the ICC arbitration rules in 2012, many arbitration institutions have followed such suit to amend their rules as well. To meet client demands, we are also in the midst of amending the 2011 arbitration rules, with the hope of implementing the new rules by 2016 in time for KCAB’s 50th birthday.
THE KCAB: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE
JUNE Congratulations on your recent appointment as President of the KCAB. Could you share with our readers the history and mission of the KCAB? SUNGBAE JI The KCAB was founded in 1966 with the objective of assisting parties to prevent and resolve disputes arising from business transactions. Beyond arbitration, we also help to resolve disputes through other alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms such as mediation, conciliation and consultation. I’m happy to say that the KCAB does not limit itself to dispute resolution alone. It is also involved in research, publication and data collection on arbitration. We value international cooperation and work with other arbitration institutions to promote the use of arbitration across the region. JUNE Yes, it appears that the KCAB plays a multi-faceted role. What has been its impact on the Korean legal landscape? SUNGBAE JI Since its establishment in 1966, the KCAB, as a specialised institution for dispute resolution, has played a significant role in the settlement, development and spread of ADR mechanisms in Korea. In its early years, the KCAB saw many disputes concerning international trade. Over time, more people recognised that ADR was becoming a useful tool in dispute resolution. We began to witness more cases in various other sectors. For instance, construction arbitration has been gaining much ground and we now have a KCAB task force that exclusively deals with it.
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