Herbert Smith Freehills has successfully defended the South Korean government on an arbitration claim under the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (KORUS FTA) – the first arbitration award of its kind.

The claim was brought by Jin Hae-seo, a Korea-born U.S. citizen, who argued that the Korean government's expropriation in 2016 of a property she owned violated the seven-year-old KORUS FTA. The claim largely hinged on whether the property, which includes two houses, can be considered a U.S. investment in Korea under the KORUS FTA. The case marked the first time an arbitral tribunal interpreted what constituted an investment under the KORUS FTA.

A three-arbitrator tribunal sided with the Korean government and dismissed Jin's claims, stating that she was unable to show that she made an investment within the meaning of the KORUS FTA.