The centre, which is funded by the Korean Bar Association and Seoul’s municipal government, is looking to attract work from North Asia .It is also targeting Korean companies and can host arbitrations under the rules of a number of international organisations such as the International Chamber of Commerce and  the Singapore and Hong Kong  international arbitration Centres.

Court fears

One of the problems facing the new centre, however, is concerns over the Korean courts. Already one ruling has caused alarm where a Seoul court did not enforce an arbitration award against a state-owned company. Furthermore, unlike Hong Kong and Singapore, which use English, Korean courts use the local language to hear cases – making it less user friendly for an international clientele.