Die Entwicklung des Leistungsstörungsrechts und die Rezeption der westeuropäischen Rechtstheorien in Korea – mit Bezügen zum japanischen Recht

Authors

  • Seunghyeon Seong

Abstract

The article analyzes the historical development of the rules on breach of contract under  Korean law. Korean private law developed in close connection with Japanese law which  in  turn  was  strongly  influenced  by  German  doctrine. This  also  applies  to  the  law  of  breach  of  contract.  The  article  first  describes  the rules  on  rescission  of  contract  and  damages in case of breach of contract as contained in the Korean Civil Code as well as  relevant tort law provisions. Art. 390 Korean Civil Code contains a general clause on  breach of contract and is based on a widely framed notion of “non-performance” which  includes impossibility to perform, default and malperformance. Thus, in Korean – as in  Japanese law – there is no gap which would suggest adoption of the German doctrine of  positive Vertragsverletzung. Nevertheless, Korean doctrine embraced – by way of Japanese law – a system which defined breach of contract either as impossibility to perform, default  or  positive  Vertragsverletzung. The  latter  is  particularly  important  in  Korean  law as regards cases where the debtor refuses to perform. The Korean Civil Code only  provides for rescission of contract in case the debtor refuses to perform after default but  not for any other remedies while there are no provisions at all on a refusal to perform  prior  to  default.  Further,  the  Korean  Civil  Code  lacks  provisions  on  rescission  of  contract in cases of non-performance other than impossibility or default. Again, Korean  doctrine  resorts  to  positive  Vertragsverletzung and  has  further  developed  it.  Positive  Vertragsverletzung as understood in Korean law, thus, differs from the original concept  in Germany. The reasons become clear when looking at the process of adoption in Japan  and later on in Korea. The article finally looks at the plans to reform the law of breach  of contract in Korea.

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Published

2011-10-01

How to Cite

S. Seong, Die Entwicklung des Leistungsstörungsrechts und die Rezeption der westeuropäischen Rechtstheorien in Korea – mit Bezügen zum japanischen Recht, ZJapanR / J.Japan.L. 32 (2011), 199–222.

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Articles