Session 1 Speakers
“Developing User-Friendly Asian Model ADR Services"
[Session 1] Co-Moderators
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Seung Wha Chang
Chairman, KCAB INTERNATIONAL
Seung Wha Chang is the Chairman of KCAB INTERNATIONAL and a Professor of Seoul National University (SNU) School of Law.
Prof. Chang took the lead in founding the Korean international arbitration community. He was the founding Chairman of the Korean Council for International Arbitration (KOCIA) and chaired the drafting committee for the original KCAB International Arbitration Rules and the KCAB Code of Ethics for Arbitrators. Prof. Chang played an active role to promote international arbitration in Asia, while serving as the 3rd President of the Asia-Pacific Regional Arbitration Group (APRAG).
Since late 1990s, Prof. Chang has sat as an adjudicator/arbitrator for international dispute settlement tribunals nearly one hundred times. He has served as an arbitrator (chairman or co-arbitrator) for various arbitral institutions, including the ICC, LCIA, SIAC, HKIAC, VIAC, JCAA and KCAB. He also served as a Member of the ICC International Court of Arbitration.
After serving as one of the most frequently appointed panelists/arbitrators for the WTO dispute settlement, in 2012, he was appointed as a Member (Judge) of the WTO Appellate Body. After returning from Geneva, Prof. Chang also served for the Korean government as the Chairman of the Korea Trade Commission. In 2022, he was appointed, for the first time in history, as an appellate review arbitrator for WTO dispute settlement.
Christopher Lau SC
Independent Arbitrator, 3VB
A Senior Counsel, Chartered Arbitrator and former Judicial Commissioner of the Singapore Supreme Court, Christopher’s arbitration practice encompasses investment as well as all aspects of commercial disputes including construction, corporate, energy, pharmaceuticals, maritime, aerospace, communications, insurance, military & defence procurements involving the laws of various common and civil law jurisdictions including those of Bangladesh, Cambodia, Denmark, England & Wales, Germany, Hong Kong SAR, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, New York, Oman, Pakistan, PRC, Qatar, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Christopher has served in over 200 international arbitrations conducted either on an ad hoc basis or under, amongst others, AIAC (formerly KLRCA), DIFC-LCIA, HKIAC, ICC, ICDR, JCAA, KCAB, LCIA, LMAA, SCMA, SIAC and UNCITRAL arbitration rules seated in various civil and common law jurisdictions. Amounts in dispute in several arbitrations exceeded USD 1 billion.
Christopher is a Vice President of the LCIA Court and a member of, among others, the ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR. He is a former member of KCAB’s International Arbitration Committee and the ICC International Court of Arbitration. He is also a former Chairman of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Singapore) Limited and former Chair of IBA’s Asia Pacific Forum.
Christopher also served as independent, non-executive director of the Board of Directors of the former Neptune Orient Lines Limited, Singapore Technologies Marine Ltd, Singapore Technologies Aerospace Ltd and Wing Tai Holdings Ltd mostly as chair or member of their respective audit and enterprise risk management committees.
[Session 1] Speakers
Andrew Sek-Hwan Hong
Vice President, Hyundai Heavy Industries
Andrew is a Senior Vice President at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (“HHI”), where he takes diverse roles. He oversees all contract and dispute matters in relation to HHI’s offshore and energy projects, and is a Project Director for P78 – a Brazilian FPSO construction project. He is also in charge of all onshore EPC projects of HHI.
Before transferring to the project management side in 2021, he worked as an in-house lawyer for more than a decade and was the Deputy General Counsel for the International Legal Department, where he led many high-profile litigation and arbitration cases to successful closure. He has extensive experiences in various kinds of ADR as well, including mediation, expert determination, dispute resolution board. With this background, he was listed in the KCAB’s Panel of International Arbitrators in 2021.
Joongi Kim
Professor of Law, Yonsei University
Joongi (dʒun-ɡi) Kim is a Professor of Law at Yonsei Law School in Seoul. His research focuses on international arbitration, international trade and investment, corporate governance and good governance. He sits on the editorial board of International Investment Law and Arbitration (Brill), Asian Journal of Comparative Law (Cambridge University Press), Dispute Resolution International (IBA), Jus Mundi Arbitration Review, and Korean Arbitration Review. His treatise INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION IN KOREA (OUP) received the 11th Simdang International Trade and Business Research Award. He has been a visiting professor at ESADE, Georgetown, Keio, the National University of Singapore, National Law School of India University (Bangalore), University of Florida and University of Hong Kong.
He has acted as a presiding arbitrator, sole arbitrator, and co-arbitrator in institutional and ad hoc proceedings under the rules of the GGGI, HKIAC, ICC, ICSID, JAMS, JCAA, KCAB, LMAA, QICCA, SIAC, UNCITRAL, and VIAC. In 2019, he was selected as International Arbitrator of the Year by KCAB International and the Korea Economic Daily. A Member of the ICC Court, he also serves as a Council Member for the ICC Institute of World Business and an Academic Council Member of the Institute of Transnational Arbitration. He was the immediate past President of the Korean Council for International Arbitration (KOCIA).
He has been empaneled on the panel of arbitrators for the ICSID, Korea-EU Free Trade Agreement, Korea-US Free Trade Agreement and GGGI, in addition to AIAC, CAA, CAfA, CIETAC, CRCICA, DIAC, eBRAM, HIAC, HZAC, HKIAC, JCAA, KCAB, PIAC, RIMA, SCCA, SCIA, SHIAC, SIAC, and VIAC, and the panel of mediators of HIAC International Mediation Center, KCAB, SIMC, and VMC.
Joanne Lau
Secretary-General, HKIAC
Joanne is the Secretary-General of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre. As HKIAC’s principal officer, she leads the Secretariat and is responsible for the overall management of the centre, including overseeing its international dispute resolution services and operations across its Hong Kong, Shanghai and Seoul offices. She also works closely with the HKIAC Council and committees in the development and implementation of HKIAC’s strategies and initiatives.
Prior to joining the HKIAC, Joanne was a Partner at Allen & Overy, specialising in international arbitration. As counsel, she represented clients in both international commercial arbitrations and investment treaty arbitrations in a wide variety of cases, across multiple sectors, jurisdictions and arbitral rules. She also regularly advised on arbitration-related court matters and sat as arbitrator.
Joanne is a past co-Chair of the HK45 Committee. She has been recognised in leading legal directories, including Chambers & Partners, Legal 500 and Who’s Who Legal.
Jae Sung Lee
Senior Legal Officer, UNCITRAL
Jae Sung Lee is a senior legal officer at the International Trade Law Division of the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs, which functions as the substantive secretariat for UNCITRAL. He currently functions as the secretary of Working Group III on Investor-State Dispute Settlement Reform and has served as secretary of working groups on dispute settlement, secured transactions and electronic commerce. Before joining the United Nations in 2007, Jae Sung served in the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Jae Sung is a graduate of Seoul National University College of Law, holds LL.M. degrees from Seoul National University Graduate School of International Studies and NYU School of Law as well as a Ph.D. in Law from Seoul National University.
Gloria Lim
CEO, SIAC
As the Singapore International Arbitration Centre’s (SIAC) Chief Executive Officer, Gloria works closely with the Chairman and the Board in formulating and fulfilling the vision and strategies for SIAC, and is responsible for the overall management and operations of the institution.
Gloria was previously the Director of the Legal Industry Division in Singapore’s Ministry of Law and concurrently held the statutory appointment of Director of Legal Services, heading its Legal Services Regulatory Authority. As Director of the Legal Industry Division, she oversaw the development of Singapore’s legal sector, as well as the development and promotion of the international dispute resolution regime in Singapore. In 2008, Gloria was awarded the Public Administration Medal (Bronze) for her contributions as General Manager of the Community Mediation Unit. In 2016, she was awarded the Public Administration Medal (Silver) for her contributions as Director of the Legal Industry Division. In 2023, she was a recipient of the National Awards (Covid-19) – Covid-19 Resilience Medal.
Gloria also headed the Singapore delegation involved in the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Working Group II (Dispute Settlement) discussions from 2019-2021. Gloria is experienced in legal policy, alternative dispute resolution and community mediation.
She graduated from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and is called to the Singapore Bar. She also holds a Graduate Certificate in International Arbitration from NUS and an LL.M from Harvard University.
Helen Shi
Vice President, ICC Court / Partner, Fangda Partners
Ms. Helen Shi is the co-head of Fangda Partners’ dispute resolution group. She also serves as the Vice President of ICC Court and the Committee member of Beijing Arbitration Commission. Ms. Shi’s practice focuses on resolving cross-border disputes through international arbitration and litigation.
Ms. Shi has handled more than 100 cases, representing many multinational companies and large domestic enterprises in a breadth of disputes, including equity acquisitions, oil and gas projects, hotel management, aircraft leasing, and construction disputes in litigation before Chinese courts and in arbitration cases before the ICC, the AAA, SIAC, HKIAC, CIETAC and ad hoc arbitrations under UNCITRAL rules.
She has heard more than 80 cases as arbitrator. She has also provided Chinese legal opinions and testified as an expert in a number of China-related overseas court cases and arbitrations, including an arbitration conducted before HKIAC and an ad hoc tribunal in London, and court proceedings in Hong Kong and Canada. She is qualified in China and the State of New York.
Chambers & Partners recognizes Helen as “an icon of arbitration” and remarks: “Helen is widely considered as one of the leading practitioners in the arbitration arena. She is especially well known for handling SIAC and HKIAC cases and is regularly instructed by entities from the energy, media and investment sectors. She receives praise from many sources, one of whom remarks: ‘She is a client-oriented person and we have had good experience working with her. In terms of professional knowledge and ability to handle our needs, she is superb.’”
Who’s Who Legal says “Helen Shi is an acclaimed lawyer, recommended for her strong experience as both counsel and arbitrator in international commercial disputes.”
Pui-Ki Emmanuelle Ta
Independent arbitrator
Ms Ta has over 20 years of experience in international arbitration and case management, with a particular focus on handling Asia-related cases and managing a diverse array of complex disputes across the region. Currently, she serves as an independent arbitration practitioner, bringing her expertise to a wide range of disputes.
Previously, she held the position of Chief Executive Officer and Secretary General at eBRAM International Online Dispute Resolution Centre (2021-2024). In this role, she played a key role in advancing the use of technology in arbitration and mediation, ensuring efficient and effective resolution of disputes. She also oversaw the design and development of the online dispute resolution platform at eBRAM, which significantly streamlined dispute resolution processes and enhanced accessibility for parties worldwide.
Before joining eBRAM, she served as Counsel at the Secretariat of the International Court of Arbitration of the ICC, Asia Office in Hong Kong (2016-2021). In this capacity, she was responsible for managing various arbitration cases, including high-stakes arbitration, and providing guidance and support to parties and arbitrators.
Ms Ta is qualified to practice at the Paris bar, and speaks English, French, Mandarin and Cantonese.
Hiroyuki Tezuka
Partner, Nishimura & Asahi
Hiroyuki heads the international dispute resolution practice of Nishimura & Asahi. He specializes in international commercial litigation, arbitration, and mediation. He has represented many international clients, including multi-national manufacturers, banking and securities firms, insurance companies, and news media in disputes involving M&A, antitrust laws, corporate governance, insurance laws, intellectual property, defamation, joint ventures, licensing, construction, and other commercial matters, as well as international bankruptcy. He has been involved in a number of international arbitrations as counsel, sole arbitrator, and co-arbitrator (including chair) before the KCAB, ICC, JCAA, AAA-ICDR, VIAC, and SIAC.
Hiroyuki serves as Vice President of the Japan Association of Arbitrators and as Chief Director of the Japan International Mediation Center in Kyoto, was Vice Chair of the Arbitration Committee of the IBA Legal Practice Division, and was Co-Chair of the Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Committee at the IPBA from 2016 to 2020. From 2013 to 2016, he taught international arbitration and international dispute resolution at the University of Tokyo, School of Law as a visiting professor. He also served as a member of the International Court of Arbitration of the ICC (with his second term ending in June 2024), and has been a Council Member of the ICC Institute of World Business Law since 2018. In addition, he has been a member of SIAC’s Court of Arbitration since 2013.