Electronic documents that are preserved for later reference and reproduction will be deemed legally-binding documents. (image: Pixabay)
SEOUL, Dec. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — A recent law revision in South Korea has extended legal effect and admissibility previously limited to paper documents to electronic documents as well.
The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Ministry of Justice jointly announced that the revised Basic Law on Electronic Documents and Transactions would take effect from Friday.
The revised law contains a provision that acknowledges the legal force and effect of electronic documents.
Electronic documents that are preserved for later reference and reproduction will be deemed legally-binding documents.
For paper documents that are scanned and saved at designated special organizations, it will not be necessary to store the original documents separately.
Accordingly, the new measure will contribute to addressing the inefficiency of storing both paper documents and scanned ones, a practice that many financial and medical institutions had to follow.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
