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News & Analysis

South Korea: Supreme Court Ruled in Favor of Franchisor in Franchisees’ Lawsuit Seeking Restitution for Unjust Enrichment Over Increased Supply Prices of Raw and Ancillary Materials

05 February 2026 by Kim & Chang - South Korea

In a lawsuit filed by Company M’s franchisees (the “Plaintiffs”) against the franchisor (the “Defendant”) seeking restitution for unjust enrichment, Kim & Chang represented the Defendant from the initial trial to the final appeal to the Supreme Court. Our firm identified critical flaws in the Plaintiffs’ arguments and defended the client through an in-depth review of the franchise agreement and relevant legal principles. We prevailed across all levels of the judiciary.

News & Analysis

South Korea: Prevailed in a Trademark Rights Dispute on Behalf of the Global Grain Brand KAMUT in South Korea

26 December 2025 by Kim & Chang - South Korea

On behalf of KAMUT Enterprises of Europe (BV, “KEE”), the owner of the trademark for the global premium grain brand “KAMUT,” Kim & Chang prevailed in the lawsuit on the merits, the preliminary injunction action, and the IPTAB trials in Korea. “KAMUT” is a brand for Khorasan wheat products that has been used and managed globally by KEE since its trademark was registered in the US in 1990. It was first imported into Korea in 2015 and has since gained high recognition in the health food market.
News & Analysis

South Korea: Kim & Chang’s Representation of Entertainment Agency in Preliminary Injunction to Preserve Management Agency Status and Confirm Validity of Exclusive Agreement

06 November 2025 by Kim & Chang - South Korea

When the members of a K-pop idol group affiliated with a Korean entertainment agency (the “Agency”) unilaterally claimed the termination of their exclusive agreement, the Agency filed a lawsuit against the group members, seeking (i) to confirm the validity of the exclusive agreement, and (ii) a preliminary injunction to prohibit the members from engaging in independent commercial activities and preserve the Agency’s status as their representative. Kim & Chang represented the Agency and obtained favorable court decisions on both claims.
News & Analysis

South Korea: Naver Shopping Prevails in Supreme Court Appeal Regarding Alleged Search Algorithm Self-Preferencing

23 October 2025 by Kim & Chang - South Korea

In January 2021, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (the “KFTC”) imposed a corrective order and administrative fine of KRW 26.6 billion on Naver (the “Corrective Order”) after finding that from approximately February 2012 to August 2020, Naver altered its algorithm for ranking product search results (the “search algorithm”) in Naver Shopping, a comparison shopping service, to favor sellers who are listed on Naver Smart Store, an open market platform service. Specifically, the KFTC found that Naver’s act of altering the search algorithm constituted (i) an abuse of its market-dominant position and unfair trade practices through discriminatory treatment under the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act (the “MRFTA”), and (ii) unfair trade practices in the form of unfair customer solicitation through deceit.
News & Analysis

South Korea: Court Denies Worker Dispatch Relationship Between Quasi-Governmental Agency and Contractor Employees

18 September 2025 by Kim & Chang - South Korea

The Cheongju District Court issued a ruling on April 9, 2025, denying a worker dispatch relationship between the plaintiffs, who were employees of Company B (i.e., a contractor that performed agricultural waste disposal services, the “Plaintiffs”), and Agency A (i.e., a quasi-governmental agency, the “Defendant”) (Cheongju District Court Decision 2022Gahap52546, April 9, 2025).
News & Analysis

South Korea: Kim & Chang Successfully Represents Defendant in Soil Contamination Litigation Involving Large-Scale Development Site in Busan

18 September 2025 by Kim & Chang - South Korea

Kim & Chang’s Environment Practice successfully won a case in its entirety on behalf of Company H, a large corporation in the shipbuilding and construction sector. This case was initiated by Company A, a real estate development company, against Company H at the Busan District Court, seeking costs of soil remediation and compensation for damages.

News & Analysis

South Korea: Korean Air’s Acquisition of Asiana Airlines Obtains Global Merger Clearance

01 August 2025 by Kim & Chang - South Korea

Kim & Chang represented Korean Air as global merger filing counsel in relation to its KRW 1.8 trillion acquisition of approximately 63.9% of shares in Asiana Airlines, both global network full-service carriers. Our firm provided multi-jurisdictional merger filing analysis and obtained clearance from all of the jurisdictions where the merger was notified, including Korea, the EU, the US, Japan and China.
News & Analysis

South Korea: Kim & Chang Obtains Favorable Decision Denying Establishment of Worker Dispatch Relationship Between Public Institution and Subcontractor’s Employees

17 July 2025 by Kim & Chang - South Korea

On July 10, 2024, the Daegu High Court, Civil Division 2 (Presiding Judge, Tae-hyun Kim) rendered a judgment denying the establishment of a worker dispatch relationship between Public Institution A and the plaintiffs, who were workers of a subcontractor entrusted with performing facility maintenance work for Public Institution A (Daegu High Court Decision 2021Na21952, 21969 (consolidated) and 2021Na21976, all rendered on July 10, 2025).
News & Analysis

South Korea: Kim & Chang Successfully Defends Pharmbio Korea’s Patent for Orafang (Bowel Cleanser Tablet)

09 June 2025 by Kim & Chang - South Korea

Kim & Chang’s Intellectual Property Practice successfully represented Pharmbio Korea Inc. (“Pharmbio Korea”), a domestic pharmaceutical company, in two patent invalidation lawsuits related to bowel cleanser tablets. The team secured victories at both the Intellectual Property Trial and Appeal Board (the “IPTAB”) and the Intellectual Property High Court (the “IP High Court”) by demonstrating that the two patents in question (the “Subject Patents”) could not have been easily developed by a person of ordinary skill in the art based on the prior art inventions.
News & Analysis

South Korea: Kim & Chang Won Major Lawsuit Challenging KFTC’s Ruling That Platform Company’s Algorithmic Business Model Constituted Abuse of Market Dominance and Unfair Trade Practices

29 May 2025 by Kim & Chang - South Korea

Kim & Chang secured a complete victory for a leading Korean mobility platform company (the “Plaintiff”) in a lawsuit against the Korea Fair Trade Commission (the “KFTC”). The lawsuit sought to revoke the KFTC’s corrective order and a fine of approximately KRW 27.1 billion. The KFTC had argued that the Plaintiff abused its market dominance by using an algorithm to unfairly favor its member taxis. The Seoul High Court accepted our arguments and overturned the KFTC’s dispositions entirely.
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