INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION 1/3LY
IN CONVERSATION WITH SUNGBAE JI 31
IN CONVERS AT ION WI TH SUNGBAE J I PRES IDENT OF THE KORE AN COMMER CI AL ARBI TRAT ION BOARD (KC AB) June Yeum, Partner at Clyde & Co, in conversation with Sungbae Ji, President of the KCAB
JUNE Youmentioned 1966 as the founding year. This means that the KCABwould be celebrating its 50th anniversary next year! Many of our readersmay not realise that it has been around for a relatively long time. Looking forward, what are the plans for KCAB’s future? SUNGBAE J I 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 tomeet 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 KCABwill become a competitive and advanced international arbitration institution. With the 50th anniversary of the KCAB coming in 2016, every member of the institution ismaking 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 J I Since the ICC amended the ICC arbitration rules in 2012, many arbitration institutions have followed such suit to amend their rules as well. Tomeet client demands, we are also in themidst of amending the 2011 arbitration rules, with the hope of implementing the new rules by 2016 in time for KCAB’s 50th birthday.
T HE KC A B : PA S T, PRE SEN T A ND F U T URE
JUNE Congratulations on your recent appointment as President of the KCAB. Could you share with our readers the history andmission of the KCAB? SUNGBAE J I The KCABwas founded in 1966with the objective of assisting parties to prevent and resolve disputes arising frombusiness transactions. Beyond arbitration, we also help to resolve disputes through other alternative dispute resolution (ADR)mechanisms such asmediation, conciliation and consultation. I’mhappy 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 andwork with other arbitration institutions to promote the use of arbitration across the region. JUNE Yes, it appears that the KCAB plays amulti-faceted role. What has been its impact on the Korean legal landscape? SUNGBAE J I 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 ADRmechanisms in Korea. In its early years, the KCAB sawmany disputes concerning international trade. Over time, more people recognised that ADRwas becoming a useful tool in dispute resolution. We began to witnessmore cases in various other sectors. For instance, construction arbitration has been gainingmuch ground andwe nowhave a KCAB task force that exclusively deals with it.
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