The Korean Law Blog | Dowoo Hwasan

 International Transaction, Distribution & Franchise Legal Response to the Unjustly Shifting Burden of Sales Promotional Expenses  Types of sales promotional events  - Price discount sales events (regular discount, discount for a specific period, seasonal discount sales, etc.) - Events providing consumer benefits (credit card fee support event, interest-free installment event, gift certificate event, free delivery cost event, etc.)  - Advertisements for all events like above, additional events for promotion (TV, radio, flyers, etc.) Act on Fair Transactions in Large Retail Business Article 11 (Prohibition on Unjustly Shifting Burden of Sales Promotional Expenses) (1)Unless the burden of expenses incurred in a sales promotional event (hereafter in this Article referred to as "sales promotional expenses") is agreed upon with suppliers, etc. as prescribed by Presidential Decree before any sales promotional event is held, no large retail business entity shall impose such expe

International Taxation Corporate tax for foreign corporations—what is different from domestic corporations?    Who has the duty to pay corporate tax? Domestic (Korean) corporation  A corporation with its headquarters, main office, or place of effective business management in Korea Foreign corporation with domestic source income in Korea - Foreign corporation: (legal personality required) An organization with its headquarters or main office in a foreign country (applicable only when the place of effective business management is not in Korea) - Domestic source income: Income of which location of assets that can be the source of income, of conducting business activities, of use of rights, and of performing services is located in Korea (=a decisive factor in creating income shall occur or exist in Korea) Domestic corporation vs. Foreign corporation  Types of each corporation Domestic corporation vs. Foreign corporation Income subject to corporation taxation?  Domestic corporation vs. For

  Criteria for cardiocerebrovascular disease as an occupational accident:  Acute overwork/Short-term overwork/Chronic overwork Criteria and guidance for a cardiocerebrovascular disease to be recognized as an occupational accident  Article 34(3) [Attached Table 3]-1 of the Enforcement Decree of the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act prescribes the criteria for recognizing cerebrovascular or heart disease as an occupational accident, while the Ministry of Employment Notification (a type of administrative rules) stipulates necessary matters for determining cerebrovascular or heart disease as an occupational accident.  The crux of the criteria for overwork death as an occupational accident that the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service applies is centered on working hours. As such, overwork as occupational fatigue is evaluated under the three types: 1) acute overwork, 2) short-term overwork, and 3) chronic overwork.    ① Acute overwork When an overwork death case

In a tax investigation, a tax official examines the books, documents, and other objects for a national tax investigation. As such, the investigation subject is selected based on the corporate tax and aggregate income tax as reported by corporate and sole proprietorship taxpayers. The tax investigation selection for taxpayers includes periodic selection (suspicion of unfaithfulness/long-term non-investigation/random) and occasional selection (complement of the periodic selection method, report of tax evasion). However, the Framework Act on National Taxes restricts the expansion of tax period and scope in consideration of the fact that tax officials may abuse their investigation rights.     Limiting the tax investigation period?  To protect the rights of taxpayers!   Limitation on tax investigation period (Article 81-8 of the Framework Act on National Taxes) A tax official shall endeavor to minimize the tax investigation period. The investigation period shall be limited to 20 days for ta

The impact of COVID-19 today spread across to virtually all industries, including manufacturing, distribution, construction, pharmaceuticals, and tourism. As such, despite some differences amongst industries, the closing of cross-border M&A contracts is also being delayed. Even when a cross-border M&A contract has been executed, the price of the contract of the sale is often adjusted or the closing of the contract is being delayed frequently.  In relation to cross-border M&A transactions, COVID-19 is causing the parties thereof to ① adjust or revalue the value of the target company, and ② change the operation of the target company. Also, ③ the seller and buyer, who entered into a cross-border M&A contract before the COVID-19 pandemic, are arguing over the provision, “there shall be no material adverse change (MAC) occurred in relation to the target company,” which takes effect in relation to the method of distributing risks that occur after the execution of the contract

Being fired from a company you worked for without justifiable reasons, you will not only feel victimized but also suffer from worries for tomorrow. Unfair dismissal means the termination of the employment relationship by the employer’s unilateral expression regardless of the intention of the employee. However, employers shall not dismiss an employee or take disciplinary action such as leave of work, suspension of work, or reduction of salary without justifiable reason under Article 23 of the Labor Standards Act. Accordingly, an employee who suffered unfair dismissal can claim for relief to the Labor Relations Commission without 3 months from the date of the unfair dismissal under Article 28 of the Labor Standards Act.  Claim for Relief for Unfair Dismissal Report to the Local Labor Relations Committee When an employer unfairly dismisses an employee, the employee can claim for relief to the Labor Relations Committee within 3 months from the date of the unfair dismissal (Article 28 (1) a

Understanding Occupational accidents involving Death due to Overworking via Court Decisions You can still receive an occupational accident compensation despite having a chronic illness and without meeting the overwork criteria? We would like to introduce a precedent that gives hope to workers in relation to the unfortunate occupational accidents, cerebrovascular disease (hereinafter, “overwork death”). It is the latest case decided on May 28th (Supreme Court, 2020. 5. 28 Decision 2019 DU 62604).  On February 22, 2018, the worker was found collapsed in his dormitory toilet before starting his night shift. He was taken to the hospital while receiving CPR yet deceased. As such, the spouse (hereinafter, the “plaintiff”) filed a workers’ compensation claim—survivor’s benefits and funeral expense claim—to the Korea Worker's Compensation & Welfare Service (hereinafter, the “defendant”) on March 20, 2018. The defendant decided a disposition for non-payment (hereinafter, “disposition at

 How to protect taxpayers’ rights in duplicate tax investigations. More businesses and SMEs than expected are suffering from duplicate tax investigations. The difficulties arise due to the lack of clear investigation planning between the National Tax Service and local governments based on sharing and consultation in advance. Here, taxpayers have the right to legally challenge and correct wrongful tax investigation, while the agency with the authority to conduct tax investigation shall be objective and not abuse their powers. Any violation of the relevant rules means the tax investigation is illegal, which also makes the resulting taxation illegal.      Duplicate Tax Investigation If taxpayers’ property rights have been violated… Prohibition on a duplicate investigation  (Article 81-4(2) of the Framework Act on National Taxes) No tax officials shall re-investigate “the same item of taxes and for the same taxable period,” except for specified reasons under the Act.  -Prevention of abuse