SOUTH KOREA Law and Practice Contributed by: John H. Choi, Changhun Lee, Hyunah Kim and Jae-Hyuk Choi, Shin & Kim
held by the KFTC through means such as a request for documents. In a damages lawsuit filed for cartels, the court, at the request of a party, may order the other party to submit material needed to prove dam - ages or calculate the amount of damages (leni - ency-related material is excluded). The party receiving this order cannot refuse to submit the material unless there is good cause. The MRFTA states that if the material is necessary for proof of damage or for calculating the amount of dam - ages, even if it is a trade secret, good cause will not be found. If the party receiving the order does not comply with the order without good cause, the court may find that the other party’s argument regarding the content in the material – ie, the other party’s argument that the material contains certain details – is true. In addition, if the party receiving the order does not comply with the order without good cause, and it is notably difficult for the party request - ing the order to argue specifically regarding the content in the material, and if it is difficult to prove the fact to be proved through the mate - rial with other evidence, the court may find the other party’s argument as to what the material contains is true. 6.5 Frequency of Completion of Litigation If a damages lawsuit is filed in connection with cartel conduct, the dispute usually comes to an end through the court’s decision. It is not com - mon for a dispute to be resolved based on set - tlement in the middle of the damages lawsuit. The time period until announcement of the first- instance court’s decision in the damages law - suit above is usually at least two years, although this may differ depending on the complexity of
the case; some cases can take many years. The main reason for a prolonged time period is related to the damages assessment process and related administrative lawsuit process. Dur - ing the lawsuit, a hearing will not be set for some time in order to wait for the result of assessment of the damages amount, which generally takes six months to one year. In addition, if the damages lawsuit is filed while the Seoul High Court’s administrative lawsuit is in progress, there is a possibility that the court handling the damages lawsuit will not set a hear - ing for a prolonged period of time after proceed - ing with basic procedures in order to observe the result of the administration lawsuit. However, it is also possible for the court handling the damages lawsuit to proceed independently without wait - ing for the outcome of the administrative lawsuit. 6.6 Attorneys’ Fees When announcing its decision, the court also announces the litigation cost burden (includ - ing attorneys’ fees). In general, the losing party is ordered to bear the litigation costs. If only a part of the plaintiff’s claims have been accepted by the court, it is common for the defendant to bear the costs according to the ratio of the plaintiff’s claims that have been accepted, and for the plaintiff to bear the rest. However, the attorneys’ fees included in the litigation costs above do not mean actual compensation paid to attorneys, but refer to the amount set by the Supreme Court’s rules in accordance with cer - tain standards. Therefore, in most cases, the prevailing party may receive an amount that is substantially less than the actual compensation amount paid to the attorneys. 6.7 Costs/Fees See 6.6 Attorneys’ Fees .
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