유통산업발전법 제12조의2 관련 국내 판결에 대한 국제통상법적 고찰 - 서울고등법원 2014. 12. 12. 선고 2013누29294 판결을 중심으로 -

Ever since the introduction of Article 12-2 of the Distribution Industry Development Act, permitting local governments to take measures against superstores and quasi- superstores so as to restrict business hours or suspend business by designating a date for compulsory close down by ordinances of the relevant local governments, many legal disputes have arisen between local governments and large-scale distributors. On December 12, 2014, Seoul High Court held an important decision that such measures taken by Seoul Dongdaemun Ward Chief and Seoul Sungdong Ward Chief against plaintiffs including Home Plus and Home Plus Tesco were illegal, in reversing the lower court’s decision. Defendants have made an appeal to the Supreme Court, and the case is still pending before the Supreme Court. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether such measures are inconsistent with any international trade law, particularly GATS and Korea-EU FTA, by analyzing the Court’s very decision from the perspectives of international trade law. The paper first provides the factual backgrounds and controversial legal issues of the case arising in the context of international trade law. Then the paper studies and makes comments on the Court’s decision.