On May 12, 2026, a delegation led by Chairman Seo Young-kyo of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly of South Korea (hereinafter referred to as the “South Korean Legislation and Judiciary Committee”) visited the Shanghai Sub-commission of the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (hereinafter referred to as “CIETAC”). The delegation was received by Wang Chengjie, Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of CIETAC, and Li Yun, Secretary-General of the CIETAC Shanghai Sub-commission.

The South Korean Legislation and Judiciary Committee is a key standing committee of the National Assembly. It oversees agencies such as the Ministry of Justice, the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, and the Board of Audit and Inspection, and serves as the “gatekeeper” of the legislative process by conducting final reviews of all bills. As the primary deliberative body for judicial reform legislation, it plays a decisive role in the legislative process. During its visit to China, the South Korean Judiciary and Legislation Committee selected CIETAC as the only arbitration institution to visit on its itinerary. The delegation was personally led by Chairman Seo Young-kyo of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and included Democratic Party of Korea Secretary Kim Yong-min, Representative Jeon Hyun-hee, and Representative Kim Ki-pyo, and Representative Park Eun-jeong of the New Korea Party, among other key members. They were accompanied by diplomatic officials including Choi Jae-ha, Acting Consul General of the Korean Consulate General in Shanghai; Park Dae-jin, Chief Consul; Lee Do-an, Commercial Consul; and Yoo Jae-min, Counselor at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in China. The delegation comprised a total of 16 members, representing both ruling and opposition parties in South Korea as well as key figures in the country’s diplomatic corps in China. This visit demonstrates the high regard in which the South Korean legislature and diplomatic corps in China hold CIETAC’s international standing, as well as their commitment to deepening legal and arbitration cooperation between China and South Korea.

Secretary-General Wang Chengjie, on behalf of CIETAC, extended a warm welcome to the delegation, noting the high-level nature of their visit and traveling from Beijing to Shanghai to receive them. He briefed the delegation on CIETAC’s professional strengths as China’s first foreign-related arbitration institution in providing international arbitration services to domestic and foreign parties, as well as the significant achievements it has made in the field of international arbitration in recent years. He particularly highlighted CIETAC’s efforts in providing efficient and professional dispute resolution services to parties from both China and South Korea, especially against the backdrop of continuously expanding economic, trade, and investment ties between the two countries. Secretary-General Wang Chengjie emphasized that CIETAC is willing to take this exchange as an important opportunity to work hand in hand with relevant Korean institutions to promote cooperation on the rule of law in the international arena, expand diversified dispute resolution pathways, comprehensively enhance the professionalism and internationalization of arbitration services, provide more convenient and high-quality dispute resolution services to Chinese and Korean enterprises, and jointly promote the high-quality development of international arbitration in the Asia-Pacific region.

Chairwoman Seo Young-kyo expressed her sincere gratitude for the high-level reception provided by CIETAC and spoke highly of CIETAC’s outstanding achievements in the field of international commercial arbitration, as well as its efficient and professional arbitration dispute resolution services for parties from both South Korea and China. She noted that the National Assembly of South Korea attaches great importance to improving dispute resolution mechanisms and is actively advancing the development of relevant systems to create a more stable and predictable business environment governed by the rule of law for domestic and international parties. Chairwoman Seo Young-kyo also noted that there is vast potential for in-depth cooperation and mutual learning between South Korea and China in the fields of law and arbitration. She expressed the South Korean side’s high expectations that this visit would serve as a starting point for comprehensively deepening all-round exchanges between the relevant institutions of both countries—including personnel visits, information sharing, and academic seminars—to jointly improve commercial dispute resolution systems and lay a solid legal foundation for economic and trade cooperation between the two nations.

The two parties also engaged in an in-depth exchange of views on topics such as China-South Korea economic and trade cooperation, the digital transformation of arbitration, the development of the arbitrator workforce and the formulation of arbitration rules, as well as mechanisms for cooperation in international dispute resolution, and reached broad consensus. This exchange further solidified the foundation for cooperation between the arbitration communities of China and South Korea and will undoubtedly have a positive impact on comprehensively enhancing strategic mutual trust and promoting deeper exchanges and development between the two countries in the legal field.

(Li Yun, Secretary-General of the CIETAC Shanghai Sub-commission, briefed the delegation on the history of CIETAC)

(Secretary-General Wang Chengjie briefed the delegation on the Korean-language version of CIETAC’s Arbitration Rules)

During the visit, accompanied by Secretary-General Wang Chengjie and Secretary-General Li Yun of the Shanghai Branch, the delegation was shown the offices and hearing facilities of CIETAC Shanghai Sub-commission. They gained a detailed understanding of CIETAC’s hearing facilities and which are aligned with international standards, including features such as simultaneous interpretation, video conferencing, digital evidence presentation systems, and smart hearing platforms, and fully recognized CIETAC’s professional expertise in serving cross-border arbitration.

(Hearing room at CIETAC Shanghai Sub-commission)

Zhao Shuang and Gong Shaoyang, both Deputy Secretary-General of the CIETAC Shanghai Sub-commission, and Zhang Sisi, Head of International Cooperation Affairs at the CIETAC Shanghai Sub-commission, participated in this exchange event.