Korea-U.S. FTA

How the New Law Opening the Korean Legal Market Works

Brian Rupp and Jae En Kim report on the new law that opens up the Korean legal market: Korean Legal Services Set to Open Up (Law.com, Feb 26).  They describe the new law as "the first measure the Korean government has taken to comply with the free trade agreement..."

The law opens the legal market in three stages:

The FTA and the Changing Korean Market For Lawyers

The trade agreement opens up the Korean legal market to U.S. firms.  The biggest Korean firm has just under 300 attorneys, the biggest U.S. firm has over 3,000.  Are the Korean firms about to be blown away?

In April 2007 The Korea Times published three stories on the possible impact of the agreement on the Korean law market: For Law Firms, Bigger Is Better (Kim Tong-hyung, April 15, 2007); ‘US Invasion’ Not Likely in Korean Law Market (Kim Tong-hyung, April 15, 2007); In-House Lawyers Take on Enhanced Role (Park Chung-a, April 30, 2007).

These stories were published just after negotiations ended and before the texts were released.  It's unclear to me how knowledgeable the reporters' different sources were about the specific content of the agreement.  At least one, who served as a consultant to Korean negotiators, was probably quite knowledgeable.

The legal services agreements are in Chapter 12: Cross-Border Trade in Services.  The Services Industry Advisory Committee report also contains a discussion of the agreement's impacts on legal services: Report of the Industry Trade Advisory Committee on Services and Finance Industries (April 2007).  The Advisory Committee explains that the agreement will be implemented in three phases:

Korea Opens Up Law Market, Somewhat

Kim Rahn reports on Korean action to begin to open up its legal market, in line with the trade agreement: Foreign Lawyers to Provide Limited Service (The Korea Times, February 5):

The FTA and the Market for Lawyers in Korea

The market for lawyers in Korea appears to have tightened up, as Korean law firms anticipate increased competition under the trade agreement: Law Firms Strive For Survival, Lawyers Welcome Open Legal Market (Dong-a, January 8, 2008):

The Trade Agreement and Trade in Financial Services

Is Korean trade key to growth in N.J. and U.S. (Mark Grier, The Times (Trenton), Dec 16, 2007)  That's possibly a little strong. 

The author is in the financial services industry.  The points he makes are rather general; despite its title, this isn't a detailed analysis of the benefits to New Jersey. 

But here are his comments on financial services:

Korea-U.S. Media Collaboration

If you're learning about it here, you missed today's forum on the 2007 Gyeonggi-Hollywood Connection: Creative Convergence through Collaboration (UCLA's Center for Korean Studies) too:

This mini-conference & mixer is intended to exchange expertise and values of U.S. & Korean American entertainment professionals to promote synergistic collaboration. By looking into successful Korean American content business models along with diverse & innovative distribution strategies, it seeks out the ways to generate creative convergence between Korea and Hollywood.

It's still worth going to the agenda and browsing through the lists of speakers and topics.

Gyeonggi-Do is Korea's most populous province.  It surrounds Seoul, borders North Korea, and includes the port of Incheon.  The forum was sponsored by the Gyeonggi Digital Contents Agency.

KFTA Assessment from Jeffrey Schott

The Peterson Institute has released an assessment of the FTA by Jeffrey Schott: The Korea-US Free Trade Agreement: A Summary Assessment (Policy Brief 07-7, August 2007).

Schott is a supporter.  This survey is tightly focused on a few issues.  Separate sections deal with autos, agriculture, services, the Kaesong industrial complex, implications for trade relations in the Asia-Pacific, and the prospects for ratification in the U.S.  Schott doesn't draw on, or add to, the general equilbrium modeling.  The abstract:

Legal Services Reform in Korea

The Wall Street Journal editorializes about legislation under consideration in Korea's National Assembly that would liberalize the Korean legal market: Free the Lawyers (August 6).  Hoon Lee, at the "Korean Legal News," had a pessimistic take on the new statute a few days ago: The New Foreign Legal Consultants Bill -- creating more problems than offering solutions? (July 20).

Brendon Carr, at the "Korea Law Blog," provides a very useful, paragraph-by-paragraph, analysis of the Journal's editorial.: Wall Street Journal on Korea Legal Market Opening: “Free the Lawyers” (August 6).

Hollywood No Real Threat to Korean Media

Eli Noam - a professor at Columbia - doesn't think the Korea-U.S. will give Hollywood much, or do much to threaten Korean media: A paradoxical free trade agreement (Financial Times, June 24)

Can Korean Book, Film and TV Producers Survive the FTA?

UCLA's AsiaMedia website reprints a number of stories from Korea discussing the possible impacts of the FTA on Korean media - print, television, and film. 

The title isn't meant to be an editorial statement - it reflects the uncertainty expressed in the Korean stories excerpted in this post.