• THE INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE & LAW REVIEW
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• v.43
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• pp.143-168
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• 2009

International Factoring transaction in Korea is different from that of financially advanced countries in terms of legal system and commercial and financial practices. As for the domestic factoring, Korean factors are only involved in advances often on a with recourse basis. With regard to the international factoring, Korean factors do not accommodate whole account receivables from clients (suppliers) but handle on a selective basis. Among Korean banks, KEXIM (Export and Import Bank of Korea) is sole factor for international transactions. Currently KEXIM and several foreign banks handle factoring provide factoring services with limitation to invoice discounting which is largely extended to large corporate names. Therefore this is far different from factoring in Europe and Americas designed for small exporters with non recourse advances. In respect of legal environment, receivable assignment is subject to debtor' acknowledge or approval of such assignment according to Civil Law Act. To remove the legal obstacles, Korean government have prepared new law which allows factor's own notification of assignment (and thereby reimbursement right) to debtor with some evidences.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.345-366
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• 2012

The country using factoring actively today is England. The history of factoring could throw back to the Middle Ages, but modern factoring was developed in colonial age of the United States and it was known throughout England in 1960s. At the beginning, it performed mercantile agent who works in local area in order to get rid of uncertainty and inconvenience of a distant trade, but it was getting developed into a today's factoring system which focusing more on financial function. The factoring is called 'account receivable financing' in the United States and it is started out as sales agent and getting developed to 'del credere agent' who guarantee the payment. The activities of factors have been expanded to not only consignment sale and payment guarantees but also advance financing service. However, at the end of the 19th century, the direct sales(direct marketing) was expanded by the development of telecommunication and transportation technology, and then the marketing service by factor was degraded, but the collection of payment and advance finance had been maintained until now and developed into today's factoring system. Especially, the establishment of Uniform Commercial Code in 1931 had formed the basis for activating factoring in the United States through preparing a legal basis of factoring. Due to changes of international trade environment, most of commercial bank in Korea have to deal with export factoring as a trade finance service and it is desirable to specialize as a financing for small and medium company.