On November 23, 2015, Ms. Meg Kinnear, Secretary-General of ICSID, and Professor Hi-Taek Shin, Chairman of the Seoul International Dispute Resolution Center (Seoul IDRC), signed an Agreement on General Arrangements between the ICSID and the Seoul IDRC.  The signing ceremony took place at the Seoul IDRC and was followed by a special seminar.  H.E. Wook Bong, Deputy Minister for Legal Affairs, Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Korea, delivered the opening remarks.  Mr. Bong highlighted the importance of this new relationship for both institutions and congratulated ICSID on its continuing role as the pivotal arbitration institution in the world.  Following Mr. Wook’s remarks, Secretary-General Kinnear gave a lecture titled “ICSID at 50”.  Ms. Kinnear spoke about the history, present and future of ICSID and discussed current topics in international investor-State dispute settlement.

The Agreement between ICSID and the Seoul IDRC provides possibilities for holding of ICSID hearings at Seoul IDRC’s state-of-the-art facilities and reinforces ICSID’s truly global presence and services. The Agreement also encourages cooperation and knowledge sharing between ICSID and Seoul IDRC.

Meg Kinnear, Secretary-General of ICSID, and Professor Hi-Taek Shin, Chairman of the
 Seoul IDRC signing the agreement (photo courtesy of Seoul IDRC)