Korea maintains a well‑defined framework of copyright exceptions modelled on the doctrine of fair use, permitting third parties to use copyrighted works lawfully without prior authorisation. Art. 35‑5 (Fair Use of Works) of the Copyright Act provides that such use is permissible where it does not unreasonably prejudice the author’s legitimate interests or conflict with the normal exploitation of the work. In assessing whether a particular use satisfies this standard, the Act requires consideration of the purpose and character of the use, the nature and purpose of the work, the amount and substantiality of the portion used relative to the whole, and the effect of the use on both the existing and potential market or value of the work. Further limitations on authors’ economic rights are set out in Arts. 23 to 35‑4 and 101‑3 to 101‑5 of the Act.

Korea has adopted the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty.

Korea has adopted the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Performances and Phonograms Treaty.

The Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act provides a framework for the effective protection of trade secrets. According to Art.1 of the Act, trade secrets are defined as "information, including a production method, sale method, useful technical or business information for business activity, that is not known publicly, is the subject of considerable effort to maintain its secrecy and has independent economic value. The law (chapter 2) contains provisions for the protection of trade secrets, such as an injunction against infringement, liability for damages, and restoration of reputation.

There is an obligation for passive infrastructure sharing in Korea to deliver telecom services to end users. It is practiced in the mobile sector and in the fixed sector based on commercial agreements.

Art. 8.1 of the Telecommunications Business Act stipulates that foreign governments or foreign nationals may collectively hold no more than 49% of the total issued shares of a facilities‑based telecommunications business operator that satisfies the criteria prescribed by Presidential Decree regarding the type, installation area and other characteristics of telecommunications line equipment. Under Art. 2.11, a “facilities‑based telecommunications service” is a service that transmits or receives voice, data, images and similar content without altering their form or substance and leases telecommunications line equipment to enable such transmission or reception, including services such as telephony and Internet connectivity.

It is reported that the government holds an equity stake in the telecommunications firm KT Corporation, with the National Pension Service currently owning 7.77% of the company.

Korea does not mandate functional separation for operators with significant market power (SMP) in the telecom market. However, there is an obligation of accounting separation.

Korea has appended the World Trade Organization (WTO) Telecom Reference Paper to its schedule of commitments.

Korea is a party to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA). Although its commitments include a service sector regarded as central to digital trade, namely computer and related services (CPC 84), they only partially include telecommunication services (CPC 752) and do not include telecommunication‑related services (CPC 754).

Art. 8.1 of the Telecommunications Business Act stipulates that foreign governments or foreign nationals may collectively hold no more than 49% of the total issued shares of a facilities‑based telecommunications business operator that satisfies the criteria prescribed by Presidential Decree regarding the type, installation area and other characteristics of telecommunications line equipment. Under Art. 2.11, a “facilities‑based telecommunications service” is a service that transmits or receives voice, data, images and similar content without altering their form or substance and leases telecommunications line equipment to enable such transmission or reception, including services such as telephony and Internet connectivity.

Under Art. 14 of the Broadcasting Act, no foreign ownership is allowed in terrestrial broadcasting businesses or community radio broadcasting entities. Only 20% of foreign ownership is allowed to a program provider engaging in general programming or a CATV relay broadcasting business entity. Up to 49% of foreign ownership is allowed to a CATV broadcasting entity, satellite broadcasting business entity, or a single transmission network business entity. This restriction has been in place since 2009.
Additionally under Art. 9 of the Internet Multimedia Broadcasting Services Act, only up to 49% of foreign ownership is allowed for Internet multimedia broadcasting service providers or Internet multimedia broadcast content business operators. Only up to 20% of foreign ownership is allowed for internet multimedia broadcast content business operators engaged in general programming or specialised programming of news reports. This restriction has been in place since 2009.

Since 1998, Art. 4 of the Foreign Investment Promotion Act has provided that the national government has a right to decline a foreign investment if there is clear evidence that this investment poses a threat to the national security or public interest. This is not sector-specific but applies horizontally. A decision of the national government about restricting a foreign investment is followed by a notification of the Minister of Knowledge Economy including the categories of business and content of restriction. Korea uses a negative list system, which means that the country is open to foreign investments unless it is explicitly restricted.