SOUTH KOREA Law and Practice Contributed by: John H Choi, Han Soon Choi, Changhun Lee and Seungjun Woo, Shin & Kim
Antitrust Damage Lawsuit There is no time limit for the victim to comply with, other than the statute of limitations in accordance with the characteristics of the victim’s right to claim dam - ages. The victim’s right to claim damages for a viola - tion of the MRFTA corresponds to the right to claim damages resulting from tort in the Civil Act. Under the Civil Act, the statute of limitations for claiming damages resulting from tort is three years from the date on which the victim (or their legal representative) became aware of the damage and the perpetrator, or ten years from the day the perpetrator committed the tort. The statute of limitations is complete when one of the above two periods lapses. Victims of MRFTA vio - lations must, in principle, file a lawsuit with the court within the above period, unless a ground for suspen - sion of the statute of limitations provided by the Civil Act is recognised. Under the Civil Act, reasons for suspension of the stat - ute of limitations include demand by way of judicial proceedings, provisional attachment or disposition, etc. The KFTC’s decision, however, is not included among the reasons. 3.2 Typical Length of Private Antitrust Litigation Administrative Lawsuit Against the KFTC In general, it takes about six months for the first hear - ing to be held after a complaint is filed, but the time it takes for the court to announce its judgment after the first hearing varies from case to case. At the Seoul High Court level, it usually ends within two years, but at the Supreme Court level, it can take as little as four months and as long as several years. An Administrative Lawsuit Against the KFTC is only possible after the KFTC’s investigation has been com - pleted and measures have been imposed, so it is not possible for the court proceeding to be suspended or postponed according to the KFTC’s investigation. Antitrust Damage Lawsuit An Antitrust Damage Lawsuit basically proceeds irrespective of the investigation by the KFTC but, in practice, a victim often waits for the result of the KFTC’s investigation and files the lawsuit according to its results. Even if the victim files a lawsuit before
the KFTC’s investigation results are released, the court may postpone or suspend the court proceed - ing until the KFTC’s investigation results are available. If an Administrative Lawsuit Against the KFTC is filed regarding a violation of the MRFTA, whether there was a violation of the MRFTA is a preliminary question in the damages lawsuit, so in many cases, the court in charge of the damages lawsuit proceeds at full pace with the case after the results of the administrative lawsuit have been confirmed. The parties may ask the court to postpone or suspend the court proceeding until the results of the KFTC’s investigation or related administrative lawsuit are available. However, a legal right to proceed as above is not recognised, and the court may decide whether to proceed with the court proceeding regardless of the views of the parties. Accordingly, in the case of an Antitrust Damage Law - suit, much time is spent waiting for the result of the related administrative lawsuit. In order to calculate the amount of damages, an additional six months to one year is required during the appraisal process. 4. Class and Collective Actions 4.1 Statutory Basis There is no system that allows class or collective actions in antitrust litigation in South Korea. However, in the case of an Antitrust Damage Lawsuit, victims can file a lawsuit as joint plaintiffs. While the result of the damages lawsuit filed by some of the vic - tims is not legally binding on the rest of the victims, it does have an impact on them. Thus, the victims who have not filed a lawsuit can proceed more easily by filing a separate damages lawsuit based on the result of the initial lawsuit. 4.2 Opting In or Out There is no system in South Korea that allows class/ collective action in antitrust litigation. See 4.1 Statu - tory Basis .
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