Korea’s Experience with International Investment Agreements and Investor-State Dispute Settlement
In: The Journal of World Investment & TradeSearch for other papers by Hi-Taek Shin in
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Korea’s network of international investment agreements (IIAs), comprising 94 BITs and nine FTAs with investment chapters, demonstrates that attracting foreign investment to Korea and protecting Korean investors overseas has been an important policy aspect. However, little attention was paid to these agreements until 2006 when negotiations for the Korea-United States (KORUS) FTA began. These negotiations sparked public criticism and heated debates of investor-State dispute settlement. Whereas Korea had routinely accepted the IIA provisions presented by developed counter-parties and used them as a template when negotiating with developing economies in the past, Korean IIA practice changed substantially following the KORUS FTA. In the face of heightened public scrutiny, Korea began to critically review key features of its IIAs and developed its own position on some important issues. This article examines these developments, considering that Korea will play a key role in shaping international investment law in the future, particularly in Asia.
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4
As of May 2014, 84 out of 88 BITs and all of the FTAs that include investment chapters contain ISDS provisions. Among these 84 BITs, 83 BITs provide for arbitration as the ISDS method whereas Korea-Tunisia BIT (1975) provides for mediation (Article 8). These statistics were presented by Mr Sun Kyun Roh, Ministry of Justice, ‘Korea’s Policy on BIT/FTA – Trend & Statistics’ (International Conference on International Investment Law, Seoul, Korea, 23 May 2014).
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For example, in 2013, inbound foreign investment totaled USD 14.548 billion while outbound foreign investment totaled USD 29.477 billion. In 2012, inbound was USD16.286 billion whereas outbound was USD 28.045 billion. The statistics for inbound foreign investment are available at Korea Export Import Bank’s websites <http://keri.koreaexim.go.kr/> accessed 5 January 2015 and <http://211.171.208.92/ODISIS/ODISIS04.aspx> accessed 5 January 2015 while statistics for outbound foreign investment are available at Statistics Korea website, <http://www.index.go.kr/potal/main/EachDtlPageDetail.do?idx_cd=1140> accessed 5 January 2015. See also Beomsu Kim and others, ‘Investment Treaty Arbitration, Korean Chapter’ (2014) Getting the Deal Through 52.
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For 2013, the volume of Korea’s outbound investment to the United States amounted to USD 5,657 million, while inbound foreign investment from the United States amounted to USD 3,525 million. For statistics relating to inbound and outbound investment volume, see n 15.
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Korea-Rwanda BIT (adopted 29 May 2009, not yet in force) art 1(1); Korea-Uruguay BIT (adopted 1 October 2009, entered into force 8 December 2011) art 1 (1) <http://investmentpolicyhub.unctad.org/Download/TreatyFile/1845> accessed 7 May 2015; K-C-J TIA (n 12) art 1(1).
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Korean Model BIT (2001) art 8(1). Shin (n 9) 393, 413.
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Korean Model BIT (2001) art 8(3). Shin (n 9) 393, 413.
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Korean Model BIT (2001) art 8(3). See Shin (n 9) 393, 413.
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Korea’s Experience with International Investment Agreements and Investor-State Dispute Settlement
In: The Journal of World Investment & TradeSearch for other papers by Hi-Taek Shin in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Liz (Kyo-Hwa) Chung in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Korea’s network of international investment agreements (IIAs), comprising 94 BITs and nine FTAs with investment chapters, demonstrates that attracting foreign investment to Korea and protecting Korean investors overseas has been an important policy aspect. However, little attention was paid to these agreements until 2006 when negotiations for the Korea-United States (KORUS) FTA began. These negotiations sparked public criticism and heated debates of investor-State dispute settlement. Whereas Korea had routinely accepted the IIA provisions presented by developed counter-parties and used them as a template when negotiating with developing economies in the past, Korean IIA practice changed substantially following the KORUS FTA. In the face of heightened public scrutiny, Korea began to critically review key features of its IIAs and developed its own position on some important issues. This article examines these developments, considering that Korea will play a key role in shaping international investment law in the future, particularly in Asia.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 428 | 87 | 7 |
| Full Text Views | 261 | 2 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 61 | 5 | 0 |