Guides: when a Korean deal goes wrong

Short guides for European exporters dealing with a Korean buyer, importer or distributor. Written from real cases.

Do I need a Korean lawyer? When yes, when not yet, and what to have ready before hiring one

It is the first question many exporters ask when something goes wrong with Korea. And the honest answer, in most of the cases that reach me, is: not yet.

Published 2026-09-06

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How to negotiate with a Korean company once there is a dispute: seven rules the handbooks leave out

There is plenty written about how to negotiate with Koreans. Almost all of it is written for when things are going well: the first meeting, the contract, the dinner.

Published 2026-09-06

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Your Korean contact has stopped replying: what the silence means and how to break it without making things worse

It is the situation that unsettles European exporters most. The relationship was working, communication was fluid, and suddenly the Korean contact stops replying.

Published 2026-09-06

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Your Korean distributor is not delivering: volumes, territory, exclusivity, and how to regain control without losing the market

The problem with a distributor does not arrive all at once. It arrives as weak quarters, reasonable explanations, and the market is difficult this year.

Published 2026-09-06

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Your Korean importer asks for a discount or a credit note: when to give way, when not to, and how to say it

It arrives in different forms. The market has dropped and we cannot sell at this price. Our end customer has cancelled and we need support. We will accept the order if you issue a credit note for the last one. And the most direct: no discount, no next order.

Published 2026-09-06

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Your Korean importer raises a quality claim: how to tell if it is real and how to respond without giving the sale away

The quality claim is the most used instrument in commercial disputes with Korea. Not because Korean importers are more demanding than others, although they often are, but because a quality claim is the only socially acceptable way, inside a Korean company, to justify a withheld payment or a renegotiation.

Published 2026-09-06

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Your container is held or rejected in Korea: what to decide before the cost runs away

There is one kind of call I get with more urgency than any other. The container has arrived in Busan or Incheon, the importer has not cleared it, and every day adds demurrage, bonded storage and, for chilled or frozen product, risk to the goods themselves.

Published 2026-09-06

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Your Korean importer isn't paying: what is really going on and what to do in the next 48 hours

You have been waiting weeks for a transfer that does not arrive. The Korean importer who replied the same day two months ago now takes days, answers in short sentences, or has gone quiet.

Published 2026-09-06

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Clarify your position early, keep your options. Wait, and they disappear one by one.

You don't need every document ready. Just the key facts, the deadline, and a rough number for what's at risk. That's enough to start.

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