SOUTH KOREA Law and Practice Contributed by: Choon Won Lee and Dahee Kim, Jipyong LLC
breach of contract or for liability in tort. This one- year time bar can be extended by the parties’ agreement. 4. Maritime Liens and Ship Arrests 4.1 Ship Arrests International Conventions and Domestic Laws South Korea is not a member state of the Inter - national Convention for the Unification of Cer - tain Rules relating to Arrest of Sea-going Ships (Brussels, 1952) or the International Convention on Arrest of Ships (Geneva, 1999). Ship arrests are generally dealt with and stipu - lated in the Civil Enforcement Act, along with attachment of and enforcement over other prop - erties, such as real estate. Types of Ship Arrests in South Korea Generally speaking, there are three types of ship arrest that are available under South Korean law (under South Korean law, three types of attach - ment of property are available, and this also applies to attachment of ships). (1) Pre-judgment attachment of a vessel: It is required for this type of ship arrest that: • the applicant/creditor have a pecuniary claim against the debtor; • the debtor/respondent be the owner of the ship to be arrested; and • the applicant/creditor obtain security for its claim by pre-judgment attachment of the ship. The applicant/creditor’s claim against the debt - or/respondent need not be a maritime claim or
related to the ship, in so far as the aforemen - tioned requirements are satisfied. (2) A judicial auction sale of a ship based on a security right, such as a mortgage or maritime lien: It is required for this type of ship arrest that the applicant/creditor have a claim that is secured by a mortgage or maritime lien estab - lished over the vessel. For claims that establish a maritime lien over a vessel, see 4.2 Maritime Liens . (3) A judicial auction sale of a ship for enforce- ment of a claim that has been confirmed and is enforceable by the court’s judgment or the arbi- tration award: It is required for this type of ship arrest that the debtor/respondent be the owner of the ship to be arrested. 4.2 Maritime Liens Under the Commercial Act of Korea (Article 777 (1)), the following claims constitute maritime liens over the pertinent vessel: • the cost of litigation for common interests of creditors, taxes imposed on the ship con - cerning the voyage, pilotage dues, towing fees, maintenance charges and inspection charges of the ship and its appurtenances after final entry into a port; • a claim arising out of an employment contract for a crewperson or any other employee of the ship; • a salvage charge due to rescue operations at sea and a claim concerning a share in general average; and • claims for damages for any loss and damage incurred due to collision of the ship and other navigation accidents, loss of or damage to navigation facilities, port facilities and routes, and personal injury of a crewperson or a pas - senger.
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