‘Preventing a Second Elliott Incident’: Government Publishes ISDS Booklet and Holds Seminar

Held on the 21st, 28th, and 11th of next month starting today

Controversy has arisen over the "Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS)" procedure, in which foreign private equity funds such as Lone Star and Elliott have claimed astronomical damages against the Korean government. In response, the Ministry of Justice has published a booklet and will hold seminars on the 21st, 28th of this month, and the 11th of next month. The first seminar was held today (the 13th) for employees of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency.

On the 13th, the Ministry of Justice published the booklet titled "Checklist for Diagnosing and Preventing International Investment Disputes" (ISDS Checklist). It contains cases of international investment disputes, response experiences, and overseas rulings from the past 12 years. The upcoming seminars, targeting the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Financial Services Commission, Korea Electric Power Corporation, and others, will include participation from Ministry of Justice experts who have handled actual ISDS cases and lawyers from government-appointed law firms.

Earlier, in August of last year, the government established a separate organization within the Ministry of Justice called the "International Legal Support Division," dedicated to diagnosing and preventing international investment disputes for the government and public enterprises. A Ministry of Justice official stated, "We will operate an effective prevention program to diagnose and mitigate international dispute risks early, and prepare various legal support measures to protect the rights and interests of our government and companies amid rapidly changing overseas regulations and legal disputes."