Standard Contract Form for Smart Farms Prevents Damage from Unfair Terms and Conditions 

Sejong, 23 August 2024 — On 6 August, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) and the Korea Association of Smart-Farm Industry (KASFI) formulated a standard contract form on the export and construction order receipt of smart farms through professional help from South Korean law firm JIPYONG LLC to help Korean smart-farm companies to enter overseas markets.

Last year, the MAFRA held several meetings with Korean exporting companies in which many smart-farm businesses spoke of difficulties they might encounter when negotiating and signing a contract with an overseas client, such as risks of spending a lot of time and money in a protracted contract negotiation and entering into an unfair contract, due to their lack of experience in overseas markets and legal expertise. To help them overcome such obstacles, the MAFRA has developed a standard contract through working together with JIPYONG LLC. The standard contract is expected to help smart-farm companies to reduce the time and money spent on hammering out contractual specifics and prevent potential losses and damage arising from unfair contract terms.

The standard contract, written in both the Korean and English languages, is provided in two different forms—one for the supply of smart-farm equipment and systems and the other for a turnkey project. A manual giving explanations of important terms and conditions in the standard contract is also provided to ensure that less-experienced companies can use the standard contract more easily. 

The standard contract and the manual on the export and construction order receipt of smart farms are available in digital format on the website of the Korea Association of Smart-Farm Industry (www.kasfi.or.kr).