2023 Incheon Law & Business Forum “From Documents to Data: Legal and Commercial Solutions for Digital Trade”

Monday, 11 September 2023 - 9:30am to Tuesday, 12 September 2023 - 3:45pm

UNCITRAL RCAP held the 3rd Incheon Law & Business Forum (ILBF) themed “From Documents to Data: Legal and Commercial Solutions for Digital Trade,” from 11 – 12 September 2023 at the Holiday Inn Incheon Songdo, Republic of Korea. The Forum was co-hosted with the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Korea and Incheon Metropolitan City, Korea Legislation Research Institute and other partners. This two-day regional Forum brought together representatives from the law, business, and public sectors to discuss the promotion of law reform and business development in support of digital trade across the Asia Pacific, with special attention on UNCITRAL instruments.

The ILBF included the following six panels: 

  1. Business Track 1: Trade Finance and Fintech; 
  2. Business Track 2: Transport and Logistics – MLETR Implementation; 
  3. Business Track 3: Transport and Logistics – Paperless Trade; 
  4. Law Track 1: Trade in Data;
  5. Law Track 2: Digital Trade Agreements; and
  6. Law Track 3: Roundtable on Digital Trade Law Reform in Asia and the Pacific, along with coffee/lunch highlights focusing on recent topics and a special event.

E-Flyer

Programme (English)

Programme (Chinese)

Speaker profiles

 

PROGRAMME (DAY 1)

Opening Ceremony

  • Mr. Koo, Sang-yeop, Deputy Minister for Legal Affairs, Ministry of Justice, Republic of Korea 
  • Mr. Yoo, Jeong-bok, Mayor of Incheon Metropolitan City, Republic of Korea
  • Ms. Anna Joubin-Bret, Secretary, United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL)

Keynote Speeches

  • Dr. Eiman Al-Mutairi, Vice Minister of Commerce and CEO of the National Competitiveness Center (NCC), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia    
  • Mr. Satvinder Singh, Deputy Secretary-General for the ASEAN Economic Community, the ASEAN Secretariat

Business Track 1: MLETR Implementation in Trade Finance and Fintech 

Moderator: Mr. Luca Castellani, Legal Officer, United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL)

Speakers:

Business Track 2: MLETR Implementation in Transport and Logistics 

Moderator: Ms. Khanit Phatong, Executive Advisor and Chief Information Officer, Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA), Thailand

Speakers

Business Track 3: MLETR Implementation in Paperless Trade

Moderator: Ms. Soo Hyun Kim, Economic Affairs Officer, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN/ESCAP)

Speakers:

Coffee Highlight: The Use of NFT for Electronic Bills of Lading

Moderator: Dr. Hyeon Kyun Lee, Senior Research Fellow, Korean Society of Law / Adjunction Professor, Hannam University School of Law, Republic of Korea

Speakers:

Concluding Remarks for Day 1

  • Ms. Athita Komindr, Head, United Nations Commission on International Trade Law Regional Centre for Asia and the Pacific (UNCITRAL RCAP)

Special Event: Launch of the United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and E-business (UN/CEFACT) White Paper on Transfer of MLETR-compliant Titles

 

PROGRAMME (DAY 2)

Law Track 1: Trade in Data

Moderator: Mr. Kyoungjin Choi, Law Professor and Director of Center for AI Data and Policy, Gachon University, Republic of Korea

Speakers:

  • Dr. Jacob Lee, Group Leader, Logistics Contract Group, Samsung SDS, Republic of Korea “e-B/L Drive & Legislation”
  • Mr. Yong Lu, Executive Director of Shanghai Data Service Provider Association, Vice President & Mr. Lin Zihan, Researcher, Shanghai Data Exchange, China
  • Ms. Bo Kyung Kim, Director, Data Promotion Division, Artificial Intelligence Policy Bureau, Ministry of Science and ICT, Republic of Korea “Data Trading Policy in Korea”
  • Mr. Atsushi Okada, Partner, Mori Hamada & Matsumoto, Japan “Japan: AI Governance, IP Rights Protections, Data Free Flow with Trust (DFFT)”

Law Track 2:  Digital Trade Agreements 

Moderator: Mr. Jae Sung Lee, Senior Legal Officer, United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL)

Speakers:

  • Mr. Ren Yuh Kay, Assistant Director, TradeTrust, Digital Utilities Cluster, Sectoral Transformation Group, Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), Singapore “Deeper Dive – Digital Economy Agreements”
  • Ms. Alexandra Dawes, Counsellor (Economic), Australian Embassy Seoul, Australia “Digital Trade – Australia's Priorities and Approach”
  • Ms. Laura Ho, Director, National Roadmap and Cross Border Rules, Digital Trade, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), Malaysia “Digital Trade Agreements: Malaysia’s Journey”
  • Mr. Junghyun Park, Partner, Lee & Ko, Republic of Korea “Digital Trade Agreements: Korea’s Experience”
  • Mr. Sivaram Superamanian, Assistant Director, Digital Economy Division, The ASEAN Secretariat “ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA): ASEAN to Leap forward its Digital Economy and Unlock US$2 Tn by 2030”

Lunch Highlight: Environmental Impact of Paperless Trade

Law Track 3: Roundtable on Digital Trade Law Reform and Promotion of UNCITRAL Texts in Asia and the Pacific

Facilitator: Mr. Luca Castellani, Legal Officer, United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL)

Participants:

Concluding Remarks and Way Forward

  • Ms. Athita Komindr, Head, United Nations Commission on International Trade Law Regional Centre for Asia and the Pacific (UNCITRAL RCAP)