KCAB International’s new chairman has laid out an ambitious strategy to power up South Korea as a global arbitration hub to rival big hitters in the region such as Hong Kong and Singapore.
Seung Wha Chang told Asia Business Law Journal, ahead of the 10th Seoul ADR Festival on 28 October at Trade Tower in Seoul, that his strategy would centre on promoting to civil law jurisdictions, where the sector was not as well developed as with their common law counterparts.
Jurisdictions based either purely or predominantly on civil law in Asia include mainland China, Taiwan, Japan, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia, among others.
KCAB International was established in 2018 as a global arbitration institution and independent arm of the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board, which was created in 1966.
“The main goal of KCAB International for the coming years is to develop it as one of the representative arbitral institutions based in Asia, in particular representing the civil law jurisdictions,” he said. “So, in that regard, we will try to make KCAB International distinguishable not only from the KCAB as it used to be, but also from other Asian arbitral institutions.”
Chang, who is also a former judge and a professor at Seoul National University (SNU) School of Law, said there had been a consistent call for an international arbitration model tailored for companies from countries in Asia with a civil law system, like South Korea, as both Singapore and Hong Kong ? traditionally considered the strongholds of international arbitration in the region ? operated under common law systems.
“In civil law jurisdictions, the arbitral institutions have not been developing enough,” said Chang. “So, I would like to develop KCAB International as a leading arbitral institution representing the civil law jurisdictions in Asia.
“That is the basic target, or the goal. And in conjunction with that target, Seoul ADR Festival is trying to promote some arbitral activities or arbitration-related services in civil law jurisdictions, as well as for all the Asian regions.”
Inaugurated in 2015, the Seoul ADR Festival is an event where law firms and lawyers from around the world participate to explore the development of alternative dispute resolution systems, including international arbitration. This festival begins on 28 October and ends on 1 November.
“Ever since I took the leadership [in April], we set a very ambitious goal for the future of KCAB International as an arbitral institution … but we also deal with mediation cases as well,” said Chang. “KCAB International is one of very few arbitral institutions which provide services for both arbitration and mediation as well.
“In light of my vast experience as an expert in international dispute settlement, I wanted to make some contribution to make KCAB International one of the leading arbitral institutions in Asia, especially a leading arbitral institution in a civil law jurisdiction.”
Steve Kim, the secretary-general of KCAB International, said this year’s conference was expected to draw more than 300 people for the welcome reception alone, and more than 200 registrations for the ADR conference.
When asked about highlights of this year’s event, Kim said: “Under the new guidance and leadership of chairman Chang, we are going to be focusing more on the Asia ADR perspective, meaning that we are going to be looking at the ADR market from an Asian perspective, as well as looking into Asia from a global ADR perspective.
“From that, I think people are going to be expecting a lot of discussions and a lot of ideas to be generated on how best to improve and enhance our standing.”
KCAB’s popularity as a hub for international arbitration is steadily increasing. According to its official data, the total amount in dispute for international arbitration cases received last year was KRW81 billion (USD58.7 million), representing a 9.8% increase compared to the previous year. The number of cases received was 54, representing a 42.1% increase compared to the previous year.
