U.S. Legal Insights for Korean Businesses

Insights & Updates for Korean Companies Doing Business in the United States

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Latest from U.S. Legal Insights for Korean Businesses

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CFIUS 최초의 행정명령으로 본 바이든의 국가 안보 우선순위

U.S. President Biden signed the first-ever Executive Order (E.O.) on CFIUS – the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States – on September 15, 2022. While the E.O. does not substantively change CFIUS’s jurisdiction or the legal process, the Biden Administration provides some explicit guidance on certain national security priorities and factors for CFIUS to consider when evaluating transactions – focusing in on protecting U.S. technological advantage, supply chain resiliency, and sensitive data from U.S. adversaries. No doubt, the E.O. will impact certain cross-border transactions and investments as CFIUS develops strategies…
Continue Reading First-Ever Executive Order on CFIUS Highlights Biden’s National Security Priorities

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USMCA는 그 의미에 충실한가? 핵심 자동차 부품 원산지 규정에 대한 분쟁패널 회담

In recent weeks we saw Canada, Mexico and the United States present their respective positions and legal arguments, often in sharply worded exchanges, about how the Auto Core Parts rules of origin under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) should be interpreted. It is a high-stakes issue because assembly operations for vehicles and their “Core Parts” (engine, transmission, etc.) inevitably involve lengthy bills of materials with components from many countries, and what is being disputed is whether Core Parts once found to meet the USMCA requirements to be “originating” can…
Continue Reading Does the USMCA Mean What It Says? The Disputes Panel Hearing on the Auto Core Parts Rules of Origin

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On August 16, 2022, United States President Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the Act), a sweeping bill with significant tax, energy and healthcare implications.[1] This alert focuses on two key corporate tax aspects of the Act:…
Continue Reading Key Corporate Tax Aspects of the New Inflation Reduction Act

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The next evolution of the internet is quickly taking the world by storm. Web3.0 technologies, including NFTs and metaverses, will see increasing adoption by businesses, governments, and all types of users, including those in South Korea. For companies or other entities becoming involved in the space, it is important to understand the array of legal issues that can arise. This article provides an overview of some of the many legal issues associated with NFTs and metaverses, including platform governance, IP protection and enforcement, regulatory issues, and much more.

For more on the metaverse, listen to…
Continue Reading Are You Ready for Web3.0 and the Legal Issues it Will Bring?

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In several recent decisions, district courts have held that liability under the Defend Trade Secrets Act can extend to extraterritorial defendants.  As set forth by Sheppard Mullin’s Tyler Baker in a prior blog post, the extraterritorial reach of the DTSA is rapidly expanding.  Non-U.S. Companies and the DTSA: Parameters of a Developing Reality | Trade Secrets Law Blog (citing vPersonalize Inc. v. Magnetize Consultants Ltd., 437 F. Supp. 3d 860, 878 (W.D. Wash. 2020); Micron Tech. Inc. v. United Microelectronics Corp., No. 17-cv-06932-MMC, 2019 WL 1959487 (N.D. Ca. May 2, 2019); Motorola Solutions Inc. v. Hytera Commc’ns Corp.,…
Continue Reading The DTSA as a Tool for Foreign Entities’ Enforcement of Trade Secrets: A New Legal Frontier

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On October 15, 2020, CFIUS will officially tie mandatory filings to U.S. export control regimes, including the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR).  While that change may draw a clearer line of what constitutes a mandatory filing, it also pulls your CFIUS review into the complex (and somewhat nerdy) world of export regulations.
Continue Reading Lend Me Your EARs: CFIUS Makes Export Controls a Trigger for Mandatory Filings

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Presidential Proclamation
On June 22, 2020, the White House announced an extension and expansion of Proclamation 10014, which was originally announced on April 22, 2020 and restricted the issuance of and entry on immigrant visas.  The new visa ban expands the restrictions to certain non-immigrant categories.
Continue Reading How the New Presidential Proclamation Regarding Non-Immigrant Visas Affects Your Company

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With the growing concern about Coronavirus Disease 2019 (“COVID-19” or “coronavirus”) some foreign nationals who live outside the U.S. have decided to fly to the U.S. and wait out the crisis.  This article discusses the related visa and immigration issues, and what U.S. Customs and Border Protection requires to admit someone into the U.S.
Continue Reading Coming to America…to Wait Out the Coronavirus — Visa & Immigration Considerations

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With round after round of tariffs on Chinese goods, announcements, removals, exclusions, delays, increases and, of course, tweets regarding all of the above, it can be easy to get lost on where, exactly, things stand with respect to Tariffs implemented under Section 301 of the Trade Act. Below we provide a brief overview and reference chart, complete with links to the relevant notices. We will update the chart as the U.S. government adds, removes, or changes the tariffs.

** This is an update to our August 19, 2019 post. **

Almost two years into…
Continue Reading UPDATED: China Trade War Scorecard: Keeping Track of Tariffs

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The New York State Department of Financial Services (“DFS”) is proposing a new regulation that would allow banks to share confidential supervisory information with their attorneys or an independent auditor without gaining prior approval from the department.

Banks currently need written approval from DFS each time they want to share confidential supervisory information with their advisors. The proposed new regulation would streamline operations by making it easier for banks to share relevant information with their advisors.
Continue Reading New York DFS Plans to Streamline Supervisory Information Sharing

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Trade secrets frequently drive the success of a business both in South Korea and the United States.

Overview for Korean Businesses

Trade secret protection is more important than ever given increased workforce mobility and industrial espionage, as well as the advent of technology that makes misappropriation easier than it used to be. The loss of a trade secret can undermine a business’ competitive advantage.

South Korea’s Patent Act and the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act (“UCPA”) proscribes trade secret misappropriation. It is comparable to U.S. trade secret law although there are some…
Continue Reading Don’t Wait Until There Is A Problem To Protect Your Trade Secrets

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Fearing the burdens of U.S. court litigation, many foreign companies doing business with American counter-parties insist on forum selection clauses that call for resolution of disputes outside of U.S. courts, either in foreign courts or international arbitration. High on the list of objectives may be avoiding U.S.-style discovery, which can justifiably strike fear into the hearts of non-U.S. companies. However, before congratulating themselves too heartily, such companies should consider the often overlooked provisions of a U.S. statute that authorizes U.S. courts to order discovery for use in certain foreign legal proceedings.
Continue Reading US Law Allows Discovery for Foreign Proceedings

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The United States government has a powerful new tool to gain access to data stored overseas – the CLOUD Act, which was enacted this spring. If you are a company based overseas, particularly if you use a cloud service provider with a significant U.S. presence, it just got a lot easier for the U.S. government to get your data, and the data you hold for your customers.[1]

Background to the CLOUD Act

Since 1986, U.S. law enforcement’s access to electronic data held by private third parties has been regulated by the Electronic Communications Privacy…
Continue Reading Foreign Companies: Does the U.S. Government Now Have Access to Your Overseas Data?

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In late June, there were reports that the Trump Administration would use emergency powers to restrict Chinese investment in the United States. On Wednesday, the White House backed away from that position after the House of Representatives passed a bill on Tuesday expanding and increasing the powers of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). The bill is called the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA).
Continue Reading On FIRRMA Ground: Congress to Restrict Foreign Investment and Expand Export Controls

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KEPCO is at the heart of an inquiry into the alleged repeated import of North Korean coal into the Republic of Korea. Reportedly, 8 other Korean companies and 2 other banks may also be involved and may also be under investigation.

The story may have come as a shock to some, who saw President Trump’s visit with the North Korean leader Kim Jung Un as a sign of a coming détente. However, that meeting resulted in very little substantive change by the DPRK or the United States, and UN and U.S. sanctions remain in place.
Continue Reading Coal Hard Facts: North Korea Sanctions Remain in Place and Remain a Risk

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A recent California case may force companies doing business with foreign entities to reconsider—and maybe rewrite—their contracts. In Rockefeller Tech. Invs. (Asia) VII v. Changzhou Sinotype Tech. Co., No. B272170, 2018 WL 2455092 (Cal. App. June 1, 2018), the California Court of Appeal held that parties may not contract around the formal service requirements of the Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents, commonly referred to as the Hague Service Convention. The decision could have profound implications for international business.
Continue Reading Contracts with Foreign Companies May Require a Rewrite

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