1. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the ROK’s accession to the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice will hold an international conference with the HCCH, the Judicial Research and Training Institute, the Korea Private International Law Association, the Korean Bar Association, and the Korea Legislation Research Institute at the Four Seasons Hotel Seoul from July 3 to 4.

2. The conference, one of the events to be held during the HCCH Asia Pacific Week 2017, will be organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice on July 3-4, and by the Judicial Research and Training Institute on July 5-6.

3. The conference will bring together about 300 people from home and abroad, including delegates from the US, China, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Australia. The participants will discuss a range of conventions prepared by the HCCH, and the current state of implementation in each country.

4. In his opening remarks, Acting Justice Minister Lee Geum-ro will stress the importance of harmony and uniformity among regulations to maintain judicial stability. He will also hope that the conference will serve as an opportunity to share related information with each other and further strengthen international cooperation.

5. The opening remarks will be followed by welcoming and congratulatory remarks by Secretary General of the HCCH Christophe Bernasconi, Chair of the Legislation and Justice Committee of the National Assembly Kwon Seong-dong, President of the Korean Bar Association Kim Hyun, and President of the Korea Legislation Research Institute Rhee Ik-hyeon. President of the Korea Private International Law Association Chung Byung-suk will make a keynote speech under the theme “current state and prospects of the ROK’s private international law.”

6. The opening ceremony of the conference will be attended by various honored guests, including Chairman of the Korean Committee for UNICEF Song Sang-hyun, Chairperson of the Korea Legal Center Kwon O-gon, and President of the Judicial Research and Training Institute Choi Jae-hyung, who will extend congratulations on the event.

7. Deputy Director-General for Overseas Koreans and Consular Affairs Lee Jae-wan of the Foreign Ministry will attend a symposium on apostille on July 4. At the symposium, he will explain the ROK’s efforts to expand e-apostille service to improve the convenience of Korean nationals, and asked participants to work to establish mechanisms for close cooperation on authentication of administrative documents between governments of each country.

8. The international conference is expected to help the ROK develop into a center of harmony and uniformity among regulations on private international law in the Asia-Pacific, and increase international awareness of the ROK’s efforts to promote harmony and uniformity among regulations on private international law.


* unofficial translation