Even though the global economic situation has dramatically changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and commitments to reach carbon neutrality, Korean companies have sought a way out of the difficulties in the economy through overseas expansion and exports.

In order for businesses to enter global markets and achieve successful settlement overseas, it is vital to minimize the possibility of court battles by correctly understanding the laws and systems of other countries. However, Korean companies may find it difficult to obtain and understand laws and regulations written in foreign languages such as Arabic, Vietnamese, Malay and Thai.

The Ministry of Government Legislation of the Republic of Korea is operating the World Laws Information Center website to provide our people and businesses who hope to advance abroad with greater and easier access to foreign legal information.

The center has legal information of international organizations and 55 major countries with which we have close relations and categorizes that information by nation and topic. It provides the original texts of laws and regulations in 11 foreign languages, including Arabic, Vietnamese, Malay and Thai as well as English and Chinese. Translations into Korean of major laws involving labor, investment and tax are also available at the website.

The World Laws Information Center is operating a “personalized legal information service” that provides the foreign legal information users ask for within five days upon request. Let me give some examples.

A small producer of firefighting equipment requested the translated version into Korean of Vietnam’s law on fire prevention and fire services through the personalized service to verify whether it is legally possible for the company to sell its products in the country.

A translation of provisions regarding hiring foreign workers of Iraq’s labor law into Korean was provided at the request of a construction company that is now doing its business in the country.

And a translation of provisions regarding registration of collateral security of Singapore’s corporation law was also provided at the request of a Korean company that intended to invest in a Singaporean company.

The personalized service enables us to provide foreign legal information on request in a prompt and precise way.

In addition, it provides legal information on enactment of and amendment to major laws and regulations of other countries and changes in systems and policies through its “current law service” to help our people and businesses who are abroad adapt properly to the changes.

Businesses can also acquire the latest information such as changes in major laws and systems of various countries, including enactment of the data security law in China, enactments of three labor laws for reforming labor laws and systems in India and punishment regulations regarding industrial accidents for 14 countries ranging from Germany to the United Arab Emirates. In particular, after the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, it has focused on providing COVID-19-related information, such as each country’s regulations on punishment for violations of mandatory mask-wearing rules and COVID-19 vaccine injury compensation programs to help our people and businesses who are abroad easily find relevant laws and regulations.

Meanwhile, in December 2021, the Ministry of Economy and Finance launched a “foreign economic information service” that is an integrated platform to help Korean companies and people hoping for overseas expansion gain easy access to relevant information scattered across government agencies. This one-stop service has the information of 79 organizations that are supporting overseas expansion. The Ministry of Government Legislation is the only government agency that provides integrated foreign legal information and makes it easier to access it through the Finance Ministry’s integrated platform.

As the global popularity of Korean culture is expected to lead to increases in exports of “K-products” such as “K-quarantine” goods and “K-beauty,” the accuracy of foreign legal information will matter more in the future. The Ministry of Government Legislation will endeavor further to provide practical help to our people and businesses for their overseas expansion by making the latest legal information more accessible.

By Lee Kang-seop, minister of government legislation