[Law Firm Now] Bareun Successfully Holds Seminar on "Middle East Geopolitical Risks and Project Contract Defense Strategies"

Significant Participation from Power Generation Firms, EPC Companies, and Financial Institutions
Presenting Defense Strategy Solutions for Overseas Energy and Infrastructure Projects

Amid growing supply chain risks and potential contractual disputes for overseas energy and infrastructure projects as a result of the Middle East war, a related seminar organized by Bareun Law Firm (Managing Partners Lee Donghoon, Lee Younghee, and Kim Dohyeong) concluded successfully.

Bareun announced on the 18th that the seminar titled "Middle East Geopolitical Risks and Defense Strategies for Project Contracts," held on the 15th at the seminar room on the 15th floor of the Bareun Building in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, ended successfully with the participation of numerous industry stakeholders from power generation public enterprises, EPC companies, and financial institutions.

On the 15th, at the seminar room on the 15th floor of Barun Building in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, attorney Seunggyo Lee gave a presentation at the seminar titled "Middle East Geopolitical Risks and Defense Strategies for Project Contracts." Barun Law Firm

This seminar was jointly hosted by Bareun, the Overseas Construction Experts Forum, the International Contractors Association of Korea, the Korean Society of Civil Engineers, and the Korean Institute of Construction Management. The Bareun Energy Infrastructure Team organized the seminar to analyze, from a contractual perspective, the impact of the recent Middle East war and resulting overseas supply chain crisis on foreign power generation projects, and to introduce strategies for risk allocation and defense in project contracts.

In particular, with a large number of projects related to the construction or operation by domestic companies underway in the Middle East, and with Korean companies as well as private construction and supply companies participating through equity investments, engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts, and equipment supply, there was significant interest from industry professionals in this seminar.

The seminar focused on geopolitical risks that may arise during the execution of projects in the Middle East and contractual defense strategies to address them, targeting domestic power generation public enterprises, EPC contractors, overseas energy investors, financial institutions, insurance companies, related associations, and suppliers.

The seminar consisted of three sessions. In the first session, foreign attorney Seunggyo Lee delivered a presentation on "Key Issues in PPP Concession Agreements, Power Purchase Agreements (PPA), and Offtake Agreements." Attorney Lee explained the structure and core issues of concession agreements, power purchase agreements, and long-term offtake agreements, which serve as key contracts in overseas power and infrastructure projects, and provided a clause-by-clause analysis of how geopolitical risks affect project profitability, feasibility, and financial stability.

In the second session, specialist Je San presented on "Supply Chain Risks and Countermeasures in EPC Contracts." Je analyzed, from a practical perspective, new types of risks that are difficult to anticipate in standard international contracts — such as war, drone and long-range missile attacks, maritime blockades, and cyberattacks on energy infrastructure — and examined EPC contract provisions on force majeure, time extensions, cost compensation, limitation of liability, and supply chain disruption countermeasures.

Notably, the seminar included an in-depth discussion on whether the force majeure clauses in existing international standard contracts are sufficient to cover modern geopolitical risks. The presenters emphasized the need to design contract structures from the outset with the potential occurrence of risks in mind and to proactively review the applicability and limitations of existing contract provisions for ongoing projects.

During the Q&A session that followed the presentations, participants involved in or considering investments in actual Middle Eastern projects raised a wide range of questions regarding supply chain disruptions, war risks, the applicability of insurance, sharing of responsibilities with project owners, and risk assessment criteria used by financial institutions.

A representative from Bareun stated, "Geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East is no longer a simple external variable; it has become a core risk that directly impacts the contract structure, financial arrangements, and overall supply chain management of overseas power generation and infrastructure projects," adding, "We will continue to provide practical, business-oriented legal solutions for contract review, risk allocation, and dispute prevention to help Korean companies stably carry out overseas projects."

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