SOUTH KOREA Law and Practice Contributed by: Woorin Sung and Hee Kyung Jeong, D&A LLC
The primary authorities responsible for the enforce - ment and supervision of the IMO 2020 sulphur content limits in South Korea are the MOF and the Korea Coast Guard. In practice, compliance is regularly monitored through PSC inspections, which include fuel oil sam - pling, verification of bunker delivery notes (BDNs) and review of fuel changeover records. Under the relevant laws and regulations, the use of fuel oil exceeding the applicable sulphur content limits or the submission of false or inaccurate records may result in not only administrative sanctions but also criminal penalties. 9.3 Trade Sanctions South Korea has incorporated and implemented United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions agreed upon by the international community, togeth - er with the resulting trade and economic sanctions, within its domestic legal framework. However, South Korea does not currently have a single, comprehen - sive general law governing the overall implementation of UNSC resolutions and sanctions. Instead, depend - ing on the nature and scope of the sanctions, the rel - evant authorities have given domestic effect to such measures through the enactment and enforcement of administrative rules, including public notices and directives. In this regard, there have been ongoing calls for the enactment of a general law that would explicitly gov - ern the domestic implementation of UNSC resolutions and sanctions, and related bills have been under dis - cussion in the National Assembly since 2021. How - ever, at present, it remains uncertain whether such a general law will ultimately be enacted. Meanwhile, the implementation of individual sanctions continues to be carried out primarily pursuant to existing sector- specific laws, such as the Foreign Trade Act and the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, as well as admin - istrative measures adopted thereunder. In response to the Russia–Ukraine war, South Korea has aligned itself with the international sanctions framework and introduced trade and economic sanc - tions against Russia, including financial sanctions. In particular, measures have been implemented to
restrict or suspend financial transactions with major Russian financial institutions, which have had a mate - rial impact on foreign exchange transactions and cross-border payments in practice. Notably, as with other sanctions regimes in South Korea, these meas - ures are implemented not on the basis of a compre - hensive general statute, but primarily through govern - ment policy decisions and administrative measures adopted by the relevant authorities. 9.4 International Conflict South Korea incorporates and implements trade and economic sanctions agreed upon by the international community within its domestic legal framework. Sanc - tions adopted pursuant to resolutions of the UNSC are implemented directly in South Korea through the Constitution of the Republic of Korea and the Act on Implementation of UNSC resolutions. Such sanctions are given effect through measures including foreign exchange controls, export and import restrictions, asset freezes and limitations on financial transactions. In addition, South Korea tends to align its policies with international sanctions regimes led by major countries and regions, such as the United States and the Euro - pean Union, and accordingly operates transaction- specific regulatory and licensing regimes pursuant to relevant domestic laws, including the Foreign Trade Act and the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act. To ensure the effectiveness of international trade sanctions, administrative authorities and the judici - ary in South Korea co-operate through regulatory enforcement and sanctions. In addition, South Korean law provides institutional mechanisms under which transactions that would otherwise be subject to sanc - tions may be exceptionally permitted through prior authorisation or exemption approvals. 10. Additional Maritime or Shipping Issues 10.1 Other Jurisdiction-Specific Shipping and Maritime Issues No response has been provided in this jurisdiction.
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