1.  The final panel report on the WTO Korea-EU Commercial Vessel Dispute, which was distributed to the 
disputing parties on December 22 of last year, was officially circulated among the WTO members in March 7, 
Geneva time. 

2.  The panel ruled that the creditor’s assistance for restructuring Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine 
Engineering, Samho Shipbuilding and Daedong Shipbuilding was inconsistent to the government subsidies 
under the WTO Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM ) Agreement. 

3.  Also, as the panel did not find on the Pre-shipment Loan and the Advance Payment Refund Guarantee of 
the Korea ExIm Bank in violation with the SCM Agreement, Korea ExIm Bank will continue to sustain the two 
policies.

4.  However, the panel recommended the Korea ExIm Bank to remove the Pre-shipment Loan and the 
Advance Payment Refund Guarantee within 90 days that were issued during January ~ March 5, 2004 to 
certain shipbuilding companies as they were recognized as export subsidies. But these loans and 
guarantees have all expired at the end of last year, making the ruling irrelevant.

5.  As the Korean government won the dispute on the restructuring assistance subsidies which was the core 
issue, the Korean shipbuilding industry has been provided the footing to sustain and expand their number 
one global market share which has been maintained since 1999 in the category of orders. 

6.  Especially, the content of the ruling on restructuring assistance reconfirms the ruling of the U.S.-Hynix 
DRAM Panel on February 21, 2005, acknowledging that the government restructuring measures of the 
financial and corporate sectors after the 1997 financial crisis cannot be viewed as subsidies, and signifies 
blockage of Korea’s major trading partners such as U.S., EC, Japan, etc. from imposing countervailing 
duties or filing a complaint to the WTO on Korean companies who went through restructuring after the 1997 
financial crisis. 

                                                        Spokesperson for MOFAT

* unofficial translation