Globalization and Korean Corporations: Issues of note in International Litigation

Abstract

Globalization and Korean Corporations: Issues of note in International Litigation (United States and Korean Perspective)Chan Woo Sung, J.D. This paper proposes that before Korean companies adopt principles of U.S. corporate and commercial laws and management principles as part of globalization, they should understand how the legal system in the US works, so that they may fully understand the ramifications of globalization. U.S. litigation is known across the world for being a long, costly process. In particular, the broad scope of discovery permitted under U.S. civil procedure can be very burdensome, and can force disclosure of many more documents you would not have to disclose in domestic Korean litigation. While a Korean company finding itself in the midst of U.S. litigation should obtain the assistance of good U.S. counsel as soon as possible, a Korean company doing business in the U.S., at a minimum, should become familiar with the basic differences between U.S. and Korean litigation. The significant difference between litigation in the two nations is the concept of discovery. While Korea has practically no "discover" in the U.S. sense, the U.S. has a broad scope concept, where documents related to the claim or defenses, or which may lead to admissible evidence are subject to disclosure, even between litigants. Failing to comply with discovery could lead to serious sanctions in the U.S. Once a Korean company becomes familiar with discovery, including document production and oral depositions, then it should familiarize itself with the exceptions to discovery, such as documents or materials covered by attorney client privilege and work product immunity. It should also be aware that these exceptions to discovery may be waived even inadvertently, if it fails to maintain the confidentiality of the document and material.