선박가압류의 대상과 범위에 관한 고찰

Korea is not a party to any of the international conventions relating to the arrest of ships. Korean law does not recognize the concept of a “maritime claim” as such in common law. There are two principal methods of arresting a ship under Korean law—an arrest can either be made (1) on the basis of a maritime lien against the ship that is recognized by the law of the ship’ flag or (2) as a preliminary attachment if a creditor can show the existence of a claim against the registered shipowner. Chapter 5 of the Korean Commercial Code sets forth the rules for the arrest of ships on the basis of a maritime lien, which arise out of the use and operation of a particular vessel. In contrast, the Civil Execution Act sets forth the rules for arrest of ships by way of a preliminary attachment or preliminary disposition proceeding. An arrest by way of preliminary attachment is available whenever a creditor can show that it has a claim against the registered owner of a ship, irrespective of whether it is a “maritime claim” or whether the claim arose with respect to the concerned ship. It is also possible to attach other assets under the same law. The right to arrest a ship by way of a preliminary attachment is based on the principle that a creditor may take interim measures to preserve its rights against the debtor. To arrest a ship in a preliminary attachment proceeding, the arresting party must have a claim against the registered owner of the ship. Accordingly, a claim against a bareboat or time charterer will not give rise to a right to arrest a ship by way of preliminary attachment. The arrest of a sister ship is possible in a preliminary attachment proceeding, so long as the registered owner of both ships is the same. The arrest of a ship under associated ownership is theoretically possible where the circumstances warrant piercing the corporate veil; however, as courts in Korea generally do not permit piercing the corporate veil, this is very difficult in practice.