Kwon, Youngjoon --- "Litigating in Korea: A General Overview of Korean Civil Procedure" [2010] ELECD 251; in Cho, Kuk (ed), "Litigation in Korea" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2010)

Book Title: Litigation in Korea

Editor(s): Cho, Kuk

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781848443396

Section: Chapter 1

Section Title: Litigating in Korea: A General Overview of Korean Civil Procedure

Author(s): Kwon, Youngjoon

Number of pages: 30

Extract:

1. Litigating in Korea: a general
overview of Korean civil procedure
Youngjoon Kwon

I. INTRODUCTION
In the aftermath of the Korean War that literally devastated the whole nation a
half century ago, the Republic of Korea miraculously grew up from one of the
poorest nations into the 13th economy in GDP as of 2007. Along with an estab-
lished industrial economy, Korea has also changed dramatically during the last
few decades in the political environment, broadening and deepening its
democracy. These political and economic infrastructures laid a solid corner-
stone for the rule of law. Drawing on the experiences of other nations and
creatively adapting these lessons in its own context, the Korean legal system
has also been developing into a firm and sound one. Consequently, the Korean
judiciary is gradually increasing its scope of influence in response to the
enhanced demand of the people calling for a more reasonable and fair society.
With regard to dispute resolution, the rule of law seems to play an even
more significant role. In the past, based on the Confucian heritage,1 a great
number of disputes were settled by de facto, informal mediators like elder
members of the community or family without making their way to the court.2
Yet, with western cultures and thoughts gradually gaining ground in Korean
society and a modern legal system standing firm as a central mechanism of
dispute resolution, more and more disputes are resolved by law, instead of
informal reconciliation. Individuals are showing more willingness ...