The results of the legal seminar in Seoul, South Korea, on doing business in Russia

On 17 October 2014, Seoul welcomed a legal seminar on the topic of doing business in Russia that focused on South Korean companies. The organizers of the event were ART DE LEX, a Russian law firm, and the Korean International Trade Association (KITA), with the support of the Trade Mission of the Russian Federation in South Korea. At the seminar, partners and heads of practices of the ART DE LEX law firm, representatives of various businesses, and a number of experts in real estate and construction, public-private partnership, and antitrust legislation discussed the main aspects of current Russian legislation and its implementation. The seminar also addressed the legal aspects of organizing businesses for South Korean companies operating in Russia with respect to such issues as logistics, land-use, public-private partnerships, and trade.

The trade representative of the Russian Federation in South Korea, Mikhail Bondarenko, the head of KITA, Oh Sang-bong, as well as the managing partner of the ART DE LEX law firm, Dmitry Magonya, welcomed the South Korean guests with opening speeches.

Representatives of a number of significant companies in South Korea attended the legal seminar, including Samsung Engineering, LG, Daweoo, E&C, BASCO P&E, Daewoo E&C, Hyundai Engineering, Hyundai Motor Group, GS Global, KOTRACK, CISCO, Shinjung Global Co, Nature Cell, KEST Corporation, SJ Auto, and Mirequip.

In his speech, the managing partner of the ART DE LEX law firm, Dmitry Magonya, addressed the key aspects of private-public partnerships in transportation and municipal services, including investment possibilities. Mr. Magonya gave an example of a public-private partnership in the area of domestic solid waste and waste water treatment. He highlighted the positive image of private-public partnership projects in Russia and highlighted their attractiveness for foreign investors.

Yaroslav Kulick, an ART DE LEX law firm partner and the head of the South-Korean desk, together with Dmitry Letunov, an associate of the Yulchon Company, spoke about various aspects of doing business in Russia. Both analyzed the current sanctions against Russia and their possible enlargement. They paid special attention to the future of Russian and South Korean relations, given the current sanction regime.

Yaroslav Kulick also spoke about implementation of Russian legislation regarding distribution and dealership and reported on current trade policies and practices. In order to eliminate risks in partnerships between producers and distributors of goods, Mr. Kulick pointed out some of the peculiarities of signing and executing transborder distribution agreements, including selective distribution. He also addressed antitrust risk management for companies that do business in Russia, including the topics of trade policies and disclaimers.

Evgeny Arbuzov, an ART DE LEX law firm partner, shed the light on the latest amendments to Russian legislation related to the so-called roadmap for improving legal regulations that affect town-planning and the business climate in the area of real estate. Mr. Arbuzov also spoke about the perspectives of doing business in Russia resulting from changes in the procedures of transferring land from public to private property–reforms that decrease administrative barriers and speed the approval process.

The head of the board of directors of Logistic Agency 20A LLC, Dmitry Lebedev, together with the representative director of TransContainer Asia Pacific LLC, Sergey Chepusov, addressed the possibilities of investments in logistics. Both speakers reviewed the industrial real estate market and used illustrations to show the price dynamic for warehouses and production growth in Russia.  The representatives of leading logistics companies highlighted the necessity to cooperate in order to improve the infrastructure connecting Russia and South Korea.

The participants of the seminar also discussed Russian-Korean partnerships, in light of the sanctions, considered selective distribution for transborder agreements that involve retail chains and the purchase of goods produced in Russia, and examined new perspectives on public-private partnership projects for municipalities and for transportation infrastructure.

After each report, participants joined in the various discussions, and they raised a number of issues, including the topic of transaction procedures and money flow with respect to sanctions. The enthusiasm they showed was an indication of the great deal of interest South Korean businesses have in cooperating with Russia. 

Please find more information on the official web-page of the event: www.artdelex.ru/seminar.

ART DE LEX is now organizing another seminar in January-February 2015 for Russian and South-Korean companies that will focus on Russian companies investing in South Korea and the possibility of joint projects in South Korea.