South Korean legal services opening up under £500m free trade agreement
The gradual liberalisation of the Korean legal services market under the EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement is boosting potential investment. South Korean corporations are increasingly expanding abroad.
Today, there are some 200 Korean companies in the UK - including 15 listed on the London Stock Exchange - using English and Welsh law for business contracts. Now is a good time for English and Welsh firms to be thinking about South Korea.
To capitalise on this momentum for solicitors and further promote the use of English and Welsh law in Korea, the Law Society of England and Wales has teamed up with the British Embassy, UKTI and the Korean Bar Association to organise a presidential legal market visit to Seoul, from Monday 26 to Thursday 29 January.
Law Society of England and Wales president Andrew Caplen explains: “The UK is already South Korea’s second largest European trading partner. Well over half of South Korea’s investment in the EU is in the UK and further growth is expected. That is why I am here with colleagues promoting our members and the law of England and Wales.
"The Free Trade Agreement is estimated to be worth over £500 million to UK business each year and South Korea is a designated high growth market for UK exports. UK goods exports to Korea have increased year on year since 2009. Taken together there are many opportunities for solicitors to service this growing trade relationship with South Korea.”
The four-day visit includes high-level meetings with the Korean Minister for Justice, the Korean Opposition party floor leader and the British Ambassador to South Korea, as well as Supreme Court judges and the President of the Korean Bar Association. Andrew Caplen will speak to important stakeholders on behalf of the English and Welsh solicitor profession, and stress the importance of further legal market liberalisation.
For members, the Law Society is holding an international networking reception at the British Embassy and roundtable events with Korean in-house counsel, bringing together English and South Korean law firms and businesses. English Law Day at the Korean Bar Association will promote both the understanding of the English and Welsh solicitor profession and the use of English and Welsh law among the domestic South Korean legal profession.
