Case Analysis / Legal Updates

Citing concerns that violations of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act may undermine exchange rate stability, the Korea Customs Service has designated "year-round standing intensive enforcement against illegal foreign exchange transactions" as a key task.

This case, handled by our final-appeal counsel, concerned whether a defendant subject to an electronic monitoring attachment order who returned home later than the curfew time committed a violation of the Electronic Monitoring Act. The Supreme Court reversed and remanded the lower judgment, which had entered an acquittal. (Supreme Court, Decision of December 24, 2025, 2024 Do 3387)

In a case concerning the Customs Act, the issue was how to interpret the meaning of ‘import,’ which serves as the reference point for applying customs duties, with respect to imported goods that are subject to a zero tariff during a specified period under the Korea-Australia FTA. The Supreme Court held that ‘import’ under the Customs Act must be determined as of the time when the import declaration is accepted, and that the imposition of the high tariff was therefore lawful. (Supreme Court, Decision of December 11, 2025, 2025 Du 34241)

This case concerned a violation of the Medical Service Act, fraud under the Act on Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (a Korean statute imposing aggravated punishment for economic crimes based on the amount involved, with no direct common-law equivalent), and a violation of the National Health Insurance Act, among other charges, raised together. The lower courts found the defendant guilty, but the Supreme Court held that further examination was required regarding additional circumstances suggesting that the medical corporation had been abused as a means of evading the law, and it reversed and remanded the guilty portion of the lower judgment. (Supreme Court, Decision of December 4, 2025, 2020 Do 949)

With the amendment to the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act approaching, a draft interpretive guideline has been placed under administrative pre-announcement, and businesses and workers now need to pay attention and prepare for changes in employer liability and the determination of labor disputes.

In a case in which the issue was whether the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service's disposition determining the disability grade as Grade 3 for a worker diagnosed with intracerebral hemorrhage as an occupational accident was lawful in the course of a claim for industrial accident compensation, the Supreme Court upheld the lower court's determination and found that the disposition was unlawful. (Supreme Court, Judgment of December 11, 2025, 2024 Du 50063)

From 2026 onward, ESG risk management is establishing itself as a core management variable that directly affects corporate decision-making and accountability structures as a whole, rather than a supplementary indicator.

From the perspective of an attorney experienced in environmental matters, this article analyzes greenwashing cases that arose in France, the United Kingdom, and Germany, and examines the direction of legal liability that may apply to Korean companies going forward, along with response strategies.

In a dispute concerning grave base rights, the Supreme Court held that even in the case of consent-based grave base rights, ground rent may be recognized where there are circumstances such as a breakdown of the relationship of trust, prolongation of the period of use, or a significant change in the value of the land, and it reversed and remanded the lower judgment (Supreme Court, Decision of December 11, 2025, 2023 Da 262848).

ESG risk refers to the risk that issues such as Fair Trade Commission sanctions and governance problems translate directly into a downgrade of a company's ESG rating and a decline in investor confidence. Companies need to manage ESG risk proactively.

In this illegal dispatch litigation, the Supreme Court upheld the lower court's determination on the establishment of a worker dispatch relationship and the arising of a direct employment obligation, while reversing and remanding part of the determination concerning the calculation of damages. (Supreme Court, Decision of December 11, 2025, 2021 Da 248053)

Regarding unfair intra-group support, the Supreme Court held that support provided to affiliates within a business group must be assessed comprehensively, considering the purpose, scale, and economic effects of the conduct. In particular, it recognized the full gratuitous guarantee of PF loans and the transfer of construction work as unfair intra-group support. (Supreme Court, Decision of November 20, 2025, 2025 Du 33607)