미국 계약법 상의 Consideration에 관한 소고

Korea is within the world’s top 10 trading power and actively conducts trade with countries around the world. And in particular, it is actively engaged in trade with the United States. In addition, as of 2021, the number of overseas Koreans worldwide was 7,325,143. And the largest number of overseas Koreans live in the United States. Furthermore, the number of overseas Koreans in the United States continues to increase. Therefore, as the inflow of Korean people into the United States increases, economic activities and transactions of overseas Koreans in the United States will also increase. In this situation, it is necessary to have a broad understanding of the US contract law and its customs. In U.S. contract law, even if a contract is concluded in accordance with the agreement of intentions between the parties, not all promises can be enforceable. In order for the contract to be enforceable, in addition to the agreement of intentions between the parties, the consideration (or one of the substitutions of consideration) is required. In other words, even contracts that are completely valid under Korean law may be difficult to obtain legal protection without consideration under the U.S. Contract Law. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the legal principles of the consideration in order for the contracting party to prevent unexpected damage in advance when dealing with a party in the British-American legal system. This consideration have two elements: bargained for exchange and legal value. Among the various promises made in the transaction world, it is often questionable whether there is consideration. In addition, if there is substitution of consideration, the promise is enforceable even if there is no consideration.