Shipping 2026

SOUTH KOREA Law and Practice Contributed by: Woorin Sung and Hee Kyung Jeong, D&A LLC

basis of unpaid bunker charges. In practice, bunker suppliers rarely hold direct security interests, such as ship mortgages, over the relevant vessel. In cases of unpaid bunker charges, bunker suppliers therefore typically resort to provisional attachment as the means of effecting ship arrest. In such cases, the key requirements are whether the supplier holds a direct monetary claim against the obligor and whether the obligor is the owner of the vessel subject to arrest. In bunker transactions, it is common for the contrac - tual supplier and the physical supplier to be separate entities. However, the courts do not recognise stand - ing to apply for provisional attachment merely on the basis that a party is the physical supplier; only a party holding a direct claim against the obligor is entitled to apply for provisional attachment over the vessel. In addition, where the obligor is merely a charterer and not the owner of the vessel, the vessel does not form part of the obligor’s property, and provisional attach - ment over the vessel is therefore not permitted. This applies regardless of whether the bunkers were used by the relevant vessel. 5.5 Arresting a Vessel To effect a ship arrest, a power of attorney and sup - porting materials must be submitted to the court. Spe - cifically, the supporting materials include documents evidencing the preserved rights, namely documents establishing the basis of the claim (eg, contracts, bills of lading and charterparties) and documents demon - strating the necessity for preservative measures, such as materials relating to the obligor’s financial status. In practice, it is generally sufficient to submit copies of such materials that have been notarised and apos - tilled or authenticated by consular legalisation. As a general rule, documents filed with the courts should be accompanied by Korean translations. However, where the matter is urgent, it is permissible to submit translations of only part of the materials on an interim basis. 5.6 Arresting Bunkers and Freight In South Korea, bunkers on board a vessel are deemed to constitute independent movable property separate from the vessel and are therefore subject to provisional attachment. Moreover, freight constitutes

a monetary claim and is likewise subject to provisional attachment. 5.7 Sister-Ship Arrest In South Korea, ship arrest is permitted only where there is a direct nexus between the claim and the ves - sel. As a general rule, sister-ship arrest, under which another vessel is arrested, is not permitted. 5.8 Other Ways of Obtaining Attachment Orders In South Korea, in addition to ship arrest, creditors may apply for various preservative measures under the Civil Execution Act for the purpose of preserving their claims, including the following: • provisional attachment over property owned by the obligor, such as real estate and movable property registered in the obligor’s name; • provisional attachment over claims, including claims, deposit claims, freight claims and charter hire claims held by the obligor against third parties; and • provisional disposition, which, in cases involving non-monetary claims prohibits the disposal of spe - cific property or the transfer or creation of rights. 5.9 Releasing an Arrested Vessel Options available in South Korea to interested par - ties for the release of an arrested vessel include the following: • repayment of the underlying debt on the merits; • cancellation of the provisional attachment by the provision of collateral; and • filing an objection to the provisional attachment order. Under the Civil Execution Act of South Korea, the court recognises the release of provisional attachment only through the deposit of “marketable securities recognised by the court”. Since a letter of undertak - ing (LOU) issued by a P&I club does not constitute such court-recognised marketable securities, it is not accepted by South Korean courts as collateral for the release of a vessel.

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