Asia Arbitration Guide
KOREA
9.1 Which law(s) apply to arbitration in the Republic of Korea?
The Arbitration Act, the Arbitration Rules and the KCAB International Arbitration Rules apply to arbitration in the Republic of Korea. The Arbitration Act is a general law concerning arbitration in Korea. The Arbitration Rules are especially made for domestic arbitration procedures while the KCAB International Arbitration Rules aim for international arbitrations. The parties are free to choose the rules which shall be applicable to their arbitration procedure. Therefore in a purely domestic arbitration the parties may agree that the KCAB International Arbitration Rules shall apply while in an international arbitration the parties may agree that the Arbitration Rules shall apply – yet the latter is not advisable since the Arbitration Rules are merely a lighter version of the international rules which are based on the UNCITRAL model law since the revision in 1999.