The main purpose of the contract of carriage is completed by the delivery of the goods to the consignee. Korea Commercial Code(hereinafter "KCC") similarly provides the carrier's responsibility to carry the goods and to carefully receive and deliver t...
The main purpose of the contract of carriage is completed by the delivery of the goods to the consignee. Korea Commercial Code(hereinafter "KCC") similarly provides the carrier's responsibility to carry the goods and to carefully receive and deliver the goods at the destination under Article 795. However, if the consignee does not receive the goods at the destination, the carrier has difficulties in completely fulfilling the contract of carriage and bears unexpected economic and legal costs. In preparation for such cases, the KCC imposes the duty of receipt on the consignee in Article 802 only in the case of individual shipments. Article 807 of the KCC recognizes the consignee's obligation only when receiving the goods. Therefore, the duty to receive in Article 802 of the KCC is not a general duty but should be construed limitedly under certain conditions, which the Korean courts also affirm. On the other hand, if the consignee does not receive the cargo, the KCC protects the carrier by stipulating a deposit or extradition in Article 803. However, these regulations have lost their effectiveness, and in practice, carriers are processing them through auctions, etc., which is unreasonable in terms of time and cost. Regarding the transportation of individual items, if the consignee does not receive the cargo after unloading the container at the port of discharge, the carrier cannot immediately take measures such as auction even after the free time (free storage period) has passed. It is possible only after customs have carried out customs procedures, and the end of the free storage period does not mean that the carrier's delivery obligation is terminated. It must be kept until the end of customs procedures, and public notice must be made for at least six months in accordance with Article 144 of the KCC. As a result, it will take more than six months to complete all these procedures. After the free storage period, a delay charge is imposed. Also, if the consignee does not receive the cargo, the cost will eventually be borne by the shipper or carrier, who is a party to the contract of carriage. The US FMC is negative about imposing delay charges on shippers by carriers, so carriers are exposed to considerable risks. If the delivery of cargo is only a unilateral obligation of the carrier, it is an unfair practice that violates equity and breaks the balance of legitimate interests between the carrier, the shipper(consignor), and the consignee. This study examines the legal and institutional problems that seem unreasonable to the carrier concerning the consignee's problem of receiving the shipment through comparative legal research and suggests improvement measures.