韩美技术转让法人税案

In 2016, U.S. pharmaceutical company Genosco entered into a technology transfer agreement with Korean firm Yuhan Corporation for liver cancer treatment compounds, receiving 500 million won as part of the fixed license fee, from which Yuhan withheld corporate tax. Genosco sought a refund, arguing the income was exempt under the Korea-U.S. Tax Treaty as capital asset gains. The Seoul High Court ruled in Genosco's favor. However, on May 18, 2026, the Supreme Court (Presiding Justice Oh Seok-jun) overturned this decision, holding that technical know-how constitutes depreciable business property rather than a capital asset under the treaty, and remanded the case for further review.

The Supreme Court overturned the appellate court ruling and remanded the case to the Seoul High Court for further proceedings to determine whether the know-how qualifies as "intangible personal property" and whether the sale occurred in Korea.

Whether payments for technical know-how transfer qualify as "gains from the sale of capital assets" exempt from Korean corporate tax under Article 16(1) of the Korea-U.S. Tax Treaty. The Supreme Court held that since Korean law lacks the concept of "capital assets," it must be interpreted under U.S. Internal Revenue Code context, where depreciable business property is excluded from capital assets.

The ruling clarifies that technical know-how transferred to Korea is generally subject to corporate tax, potentially affecting numerous cross-border technology transactions. It establishes that treaty terms should be interpreted according to U.S. tax law context, providing guidance for future international tax disputes and potentially increasing tax liabilities for foreign technology providers.