Business Law in an International Context

Running head: Business Law & International context
Business Law & International context

Business Law & International context
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Executive Summary
The legal system of ‘the scenario country’ i.e. South Korea is a civil law system which is based
on the Constitution of Republic of Korea. Its law is subjective to European Civil Law System. It
does not recognize the federal legal system. However, with the growing influence of the overseas
countries, it had adopted some of the Anglo-American Law systems. Thus Korean Legal System
consists of both the European Civil Law System and Anglo-American Law System.
So, in this report, various laws pertaining to Contract, Tort, Intellectual Property and Agency and
Employment Relations would be analyzed, in the context of business transactions and compared
with the Australian Legal system.

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Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................... 3
South Korean Standard Contract Act..................................................................................... 3
The Statute of Limitations for Tort Claims (under South Korean Law)...........................................4
Intellectual Property Rights in the Republic of Korea................................................................5
Agency and Employment Law in South Korea.........................................................................6
Conclusion..................................................................................................................... 8
References..................................................................................................................... 9

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Introduction
The legal system of South Korea has transformed continuously in past times. A jury system was
adopted in criminal procedures which was not similar as U.S. jury system. It is based on
European system along with Anglo-American and Japanese legal systems.
There are various laws governing the carrying of business and trade in South Korea and
Australia. Some of them are the Contract Act comprises of South Korean Standard Contract Act
and the Australian Contract Act. The Intellectual Property Act comprises of acts such as Patent
Attorney Act, the Copyright Act etc. The law of Torts comprises of The Statute of Limitations
for Tort Claims (under Korean Law) and the Tort law in Australia .The agency and employment
act consists of Labor Standards Act and the Workplace Relations Act 1996. So, in this report, the
above mentioned Laws will be analyzed and assessed in the context of business transactions in
South Korea and compared with the Australian Legal system (Kim, 2015).
South Korean Standard Contract Act
South Korean Contract Act Australian Contract Act
The contract should be executed in good faith
and it is settled by mutual consent i.e. offer and
acceptance. There is no theory of
consideration.
It comprises of the legal enforcement of
contracts .The general principles assume that
all the contracts are valid, until it is proven
otherwise.
There are 14 types of contracts classified in the
Civil Code. Certain principles are applicable to
specific types of contracts as well as the same
are applicable to general contracts (Wishart,
Loke & Ong, 2016).
There are no subdivisions of the contract.
There are five important elements for a legally
binding contract. These are agreement,
capacity, intention, consideration and certainty.

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A material breach of a contract will allow the
non-breaching party to not to perform its
responsibilities and it has the right to sue for all
the damages caused. Also, a material breach of
a contract will allow the non-breaching party to
not to perform its responsibilities and it has the
right to sue for all the damages caused.
As per the Australian Contract Act a breach of
the contract of the party will enable the other
party to terminate the contract if the breach is a
repudiatory breach i.e. the parties have not
been excluded from the right to terminate upon
a breach.
Secondly, if the parties have specifically
provided that upon breach of the contract, the
innocent party has the right to dismiss the
contract.
The non-breaching parties have certain
remedies through South Korean Courts or
Arbitrators. Written agreements are considered
as the main arguments in the Courts. For such
agreements, the courts award liquidating
damages to the non-breaching parties (Dennis,
2014).
In the Australian Contract Act, the damages
and liquidated claims are the common
remedies for the breach of contracts. The
damages act as the substitute for the
performance.
Liquidated damages are available only if there
is clause in the contract between the parties to
pay a particular sum of money in case of a
breach of contract.
Moreover, Specific performance and
Injunction for contractual breaches are also
available as solutions for breaches in the
Australian Contract Act.
The Statute of Limitations for Tort Claims (under South Korean Law)
The Statute of Limitations for Tort Claims Tort law in Australia

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(under South Korean Law)
A tort is a civil wrong .The law of Torts is a
civil law and need not to be based on any
contract. Article 750 of the Korean Civil Code
defines tort as any person causing damages or
injuries to another person by an unlawful act,
deliberately or carelessly compensate for
damages.
Tort law in Australia comprises of both
common law and legislation. It is a civil wrong
and it may be sued by one individual against
other to rectify the wrong or form of conduct.
In South Korea, the statute of limitations in
civil law determines the deadlines for filing a
law suit .It is a right of the victim to file a law
suit and not an obligation.
In the Australian Tort Law, there are different
time limits prescribed for various torts. For
example, the time limit for filling a suit for
negligence is within three years of discovery of
the cause of action by the claimants or within
12 years from the date of act resulting in injury
(Australian Law Reform Commission, n.d.).
There are three types of tort claims in South
Korea. First is Tort claim which is based on
direct or active loss such as hospital bills. The
second is Tort claims based on indirect or
passive loss such as low wages. The third is
Tort claim based on psychological pain and
sufferings such as mental anguish or
experience. These three claims are treated as
different claims under Korean Law and they
can be filed separately or together as the case
may be. 298
The common type of claims in Australian law
are trespasses , occupation or possession of
land , misrepresentation , breach of duties
related to public and statutes, negligence ,
interference with employment and family
relations and intentional damage to economic
interests (Kotecha, 2014).