The Korean Commercial Arbitration Board (KCAB) has named Hyun Yoon Shin as its 12th president, with the appointment taking effect from December 2024 and running through 2027.
“Fundamentally, it is important to further promote domestic and international arbitration. To achieve this, efforts should be made to address the demands of the new era, such as introducing electronic arbitration suitable for the digital age, and building basic infrastructure for international arbitration, based on a stable management foundation for the KCAB”, said Shin when Asia Business Law Journal asked what would be his prime target for the next three years.
Shin also said establishing a well-structured basic plan for the Arbitration Industry Promotion Act was important. Enacted in 2017, the act stipulates that the Minister of Justice shall establish and implement a basic plan to promote the arbitration industry every five years.
“Starting next year, the second basic plan is set to be established and implemented. Although it has not been finalised yet, I plan to do my utmost to properly establish and implement the basic plan”.
A law graduate from Yonsei University, Shin earned a Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Freiburg in Germany and spent most of his career in academia as a professor at Yonsei. Most notably, he was the dean of Yonsei University Law School from February 2010 to January 2014.
Shin also previously served as president of the Korea Commercial Law Association. He was most recently the concurrent president at the Korea Fair Competition Federation and the Korea Competition Forum from 2019 and 2021, respectively, until he joined the KCAB.
Founded in 1966, the KCAB is the first and, to date, the only arbitration institution in Korea offering comprehensive dispute resolution services both domestically and internationally. According to official data, the KCAB managed 6,120 cases in 2023, totaling KRW 3.83 trillion (USD 2.67 billion).