On 26 January 2011, Korea Line Corporation, one of South Korea’s largest shipping companies, filed an application in the Seoul Central District Court requesting the commencement of rehabilitation proceedings under the Debtor Rehabilitation and Bankruptcy Act (DRBA). It was widely-reported at the time that Korea Line was facing significant losses due to the decline in the Baltic Dry Index over the previous two years that were further frustrated by a series of bankruptcies and charterer defaults involving several of its contractual counterparties. The Seoul Central District Court immediately issued an order restricting Korea Line’s ability to pay liabilities or provide security in respect of liabilities that arose before the application date, borrow money or hire new employees in accordance with Article 43 of the DRBA as well as a general prohibition order under Article 45 suspending creditor actions in Korea against Korea Line and its assets until a decision could be made regarding the commencement of rehabilitation proceedings. On 15 February 2011, after considering the grounds for rehabilitation protection, the court ordered the commencement of rehabilitation proceedings. This circular will analyze the legal consequences of commencing rehabilitation proceedings. Details please refer to ALCO
大韩海运破产申请案
韩国一家大型干散货海运公司大韩海运(Korea Line Corporation) 1月份向首尔法院（Seoul Central District Court）递交破产申请，原因是国际航运市场两年多持续低迷，加上租家违约导致公司严重亏损，资不抵债。法院随后颁布禁制令，严禁该公司在偿还债务、提供担保、进行借贷和雇佣员工等方面的运作。这意味著债权人不能通过起诉大韩航运的途径追收欠款。2月15日，法院正式宣布开始进入破产接管程序。
破产接管有以下几个影响：
法院将指定破产管理官全权负责公司债务
法院将强制执行大韩海运的资产，禁止债权人对大韩海运提起诉讼，对大韩海运的索赔要按法院公布的时间表提起
大韩海运有权终止租约但可以要求合同另一方履行合同义务；对由合同终止造成的损失的索赔要按破产保护程序进行
即使索赔能成功立案并得以确认其债权，由于各种因素影响（例如债权是否有担保）最终的得偿金额也可能少于原始债权，并且需要经历多年的执行程序
债权人如在韩国以外对其提起诉讼或仲裁，大韩海运可以申请中止诉讼或仲裁并要求索偿人按韩国破产保护程序提起索赔。这里还涉及到，当进行国外诉讼时，债权人债务人的债务能否抵消的问题。根据DRBA 144条，如果债务在破产接管程序开始之前已经存在，债权人在报告期内申请抵消，那么就可以抵消。如果债权人因大韩海运在破产接管程序开始之后终止合同带来的损失进行的索赔则不在此限，原因是该债务发生在破产接管程序之后。另外，即使是可以抵消，债权人需要付全款，而受偿时则要按DRBA规定延期付款。
可是如果租约规定仲裁地在国外并受制于国外法律，那么抵消并不受制于韩国法律。仲裁庭须了解该管辖法律关于抵消的规定。如果仲裁中止，债权人要向韩国申请抵消并同时保留索赔权，以免当仲裁庭判决在合同适用法律下没有抵消权的情况。同时，债权人及其律师要尽早考虑报告时间，以免错过时间期限。详见附件。
