ECCK CFO Forum on Digital Transformation in Finance

November 3, 2021

The session was presented by two speakers Yan Uhl, CFO Korea and Representative Director of SAP and Torsten Berger, CFO & Vice President at Vitesco Technologies Korea, where they shared their first-hand experience and valuable insight with Digital Finance Transformation.

During the session, Mr. Uhl facilitated a discussion by depicting increased expectations towards finance and shared details about the ongoing Digital Finance Transformation at SAP before focusing on the new role of the CFO and Finance in general.

Mr. Berger provided real-life examples from Vitesco in Korea and demonstrated how even from afar, a local subsidiary can trigger change on a headquarter level.

Held in hybrid format, the forum was attended by over 20 CFOs both physically and virtually. We would like to send our immense gratitude to two speakers for the informative sessions, our member ‘The Executive Centre’ for venue support and all the participants for joining the forum.

For more information on ECCK’s CFO Forum, please check: ECCK CFO Forum Invites CFOs of ECCK Member Companies.

ECCK Co-hosts the 2021 Maritime Conference

November 15, 2021

The key objective of the event was to engage a partnership between Europe-Norway and the Republic of Korea in the maritime industry. Therefore, during this private event, 49 key stakeholders in the maritime industry had an opportunity to share valuable insights, innovative ideas and solutions.

The conference was opened by Norwegian Ambassador to Korea, Frode Solberg and welcomed by Mr. Dirk Lukat, the ECCK Chairperson. Then, under the theme “Green and Smart Shipping”, first keynote speech was kicked off by Mr. Won Ho Joo, CTO of Hyundai Heavy Industry (HHI) followed by a presentation delivered by Mr. Tommy Rasmussen, President of MAN Energy Solutions Korea under the topic “Decarbonization”.

Subsequently, the second keynote speech was delivered by Mr. Ørnulf Rødseth, Senior Scientist of SINTEF Ocean also followed by a presentation by Mr. Seunghyeon (Stanley) Yoo, Research Engineer / Digitalization Expert at DNV under the topic “Digitalization”. This first session was concluded with a panel discussion with the speakers and moderated by Mr. Andreas Kristoffersen, Chairperson of NBA.

The second session was re-opened by Mr. Yunil Kim, the Vice Mayor for Economic Affairs of the Busan Metropolitan Gov. which was followed by a short introduction of Busan City delivered by Ms. Nayong Jun, Deputy Director of Foreign Investment Attraction of the Busan Metropolitan Gov. Then finally the participants enjoyed the dinner alongside networking.

November 11, 2021

We would like to take this moment to give appreciation to those companies that participated in the program. They have provided many useful goods including kitchen & home appliances, clothes, food to our CSR organizations to help communities in need:

Donations were delivered to the Chamber’s charity partners including Anna’s House, Jeon Jin Sang Clinic, House of Bethania, and Shinmyeong Orphanage. We would like to express our sincere gratitude and appreciation to all the companies for their kind donation. If you wish to make donations to our CSR partners, feel free to check the information below. Charity Partners: Anna’s House: A welfare organization run by Father Kim Ha-jong (Father Vincenzo Bordo), an Italian-born Catholic priest. Since 1990, it has been providing shelter for homeless and runaway teenagers in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. (사회복지법인 안나의집: Nonghyup Bank 171405-51-047081 / Contact: 031-757-6336) House of Bethania: A social welfare shelter for migrant workers in Korea run by Father Ha Dae-Geon (Father Christophe Bérard) and Symeon Kyung Ok Hwang. (천주교서울대교구 이주사목위원회: Woori Bank 1005-401-277443 / Contact: 02-802-9313)

Jeon Jin Sang Clinic: A medical social welfare center run by Dr. Marie-Helene Brasseur, a Belgian Doctor who has been serving neighbors in Siheung-dong, Seoul for 45 years. (전진상복지관: KB Bank 037-01-0318-564 / Contact: 02-924-9970) Shinmyeong Orphanage: A childcare facility in Korea run by Ms. Sunju Choi. (신명보육원: Suhyup Bank 2010-0797-6832 / Contact: 032-522-3944)

November 11, 2021

Also, Ms. Sukhee Cho, Director of Korea Global Product Stewardship/R&D of Procter and Gamble Korea, has been reappointed as a Vice-Chairperson of the Cosmetics Committee.

We would like to welcome Ms. Yun and Ms. Cho. Furthermore, we are looking forward to their leadership for the Committee.

November 8, 2021

Among the recommendations developed through extensive consultations with our European members participating in our 16 industry committees and working groups, 2 issues from Automotive Committee and Cosmetics Committee raised in the ECCK White Paper 2020 were taken into consideration. ‘Relaxation of Standard for Organic Labeling’ issue rasied by Cosmetics Committee has been accepted. ‘Application of Flexibility on Vehicle Width Standards’ issue raised by Automotive Committee is considered to go through a long-term, thorough review as various aspects, such as securing safety of pedestrians and drivers, etc. need to be ensured.

‘Price Labelling Requirement’ issue raised by Fashion & Retail Committee, which was dealt by KOTRA Ombudsman office was also accepted.

The ECCK’s White Paper is the chamber’s annual key publication. It was first published in 2015 and since then has served as the main source of information on market access and other issues European business is facing when doing business in Korea. Thus, it aims to capture the essence of major industrial issues faced by the European businesses operating in Korea and proposes constructive recommendations to facilitate open and effective dialogue with the Korean government and relevant ministries.

The White Paper is also shared with key personnel at the European Commission, the European Parliament, the European Free Trade Associations’ (EFTA) Secretariat, governments of member states of the EU and EFTA, European business interest groups but also multinational organizations such as the OECD, the United Nations and the World Trade Organization.

November 19 , 2021

To tell the conclusion first, it should be noted that when reforming luxury goods as such for business, it can be considered as trademark infringement prohibited under the Trademark Act and subject to civil and criminal penalties. That is because reforming luxury goods does not simply mean repairing and restoring old products, but rather renovating and replacing fabrics and parts of outdated products to produce new goods in different design.

The following precedents illustrate that reforming or customizing is prohibited under the Trademark Act, as it corresponds to a process of manufacture or repair that damages the identity of the original product. The Supreme Court of Korea ruled that collecting empty containers of disposable cameras that have expired, loading new films, and reselling the cameras was an act of trademark infringement, because even if the genuine goods were produced and sold with permission of the trademark holder, the process of manufacturing or repairing to the extent where it damages the identity of the original product is an act of trademark infringement (Korea Supreme Court Decision, Decided on April 11, 2003).

In addition, the U.S. court ruled that the act of reforming the watch of a famous brand upon customer’s request, such as changing its bezel, text board, watch band, or inserting diamonds into the text board, and selling it was an act of trademark infringement (Rolex Watch, U.S.A., Inc. v. Michel Co. 179 F.3d 704(9th Cir. 1999)). Also, the Japanese court ruled that the act of replacing only the shaft part of a golf club of a famous brand with the shaft produced by a third party, and selling it was an act of trademark infringement (Tokyo District Court Decision, Decided on December 25, 1998).

According to the recent trends of specific ways of reforming luxury bags, reformers produce completely different types of products (mainly, the latest design of the same brand) by adding new fabrics and parts needed for reform when they received old or outdated luxury bags from customers. However, in the case of bags, even products from same brand use different components for each model, and genuine parts are not distributed or sold separately. Therefore, even if the parts used for reform look similar to genuine ones, it is highly likely to be counterfeits that use the brand’s trademark without permission. In addition, even if the reformer uses fabrics and parts of similar quality to the genuine product or has its own manufacturing skills, the reformed bag has already lost its identity as the original product and does not meet the strict quality control standards of the luxury brand. If these reformed products that used counterfeit fabrics and parts are distributed in the market such as second-hand market as if they are genuine products, consumers who mistake and purchase reformed products could also be victims of good faith, and the reputation and trust of trademark holders could be greatly damaged.

Although operating a reform business and getting paid by the customers is a serious illegal act that violates other people’s intellectual property rights, there is a lack of accurate awareness on this issue. It should be noted that reforming and customizing genuine products and distributing them may constitute a violation of Trademark Act, as clarified in previous domestic Supreme Court decision, and may be liable for criminal liability (imprisonment for up to 7 years or fines of up to 100 million won) and damages to trademark holders.

Link to the article: [Herald Biz Column] Reforming Luxury Goods – Legal or Illegal?