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The signature requirements pertain the legal or contractual requirements in order to make a legally effective declaration of intent or a legally binding contract.
Possibility to replace a specific formal requirement of making a binding declaration of intention
Unless the law expressly provides that an agreement is subject to formal requirement in which the matters to be set forth in the document and method are prescribed by law, a particular form is not required. The contract may be signed, sealed, or may be concluded verbally by the contracting party.
Presence of any specific formal requirements to effectively conclude a loan agreement
Since a loan agreement can be concluded upon mutual agreement of the parties, a specific form is not required in order to conclude a loan agreement.
However, under the Act on Registration of Credit Business and Protection of Finance Users (the “Credit Business Act”), if a credit service provider enters into a loan agreement with a counterparty, the credit service provider must (i) verify the identity of the counterparty, (ii) deliver to the counterparty a written loan agreement containing the name and address of both the credit service provider and the counterparty, the contract date, loan amount, maximum interest rate, and the agreed loan interest rate, and (iii) explain all such matters to the counterparty (Article 6(1) of the Credit Business Act and Article 4(1) of the Enforcement Decree of the Credit Business Act).
In addition, where a credit service provider enters into a loan agreement with a counterparty, the loan amount, interest rate, repayment period, and delinquency interest rate must be handwritten by the counterparty (Article 6-2(1) of the Credit Business Act and Article 4-2(1) of the Enforcement Decree of the Credit Business Act). Provided, however, that such requirement shall be deemed fulfilled where: (i) the counterparty or guarantor enters the above-mentioned information directly via the internet after identity verification using an accredited certificate under the Digital Signature Act, or (ii) the intention to consent is confirmed through voice recording, in accordance with prescribed requirements (Article 6-2(3) of the Credit Business Act and Article 4-2(2) of the Enforcement Decree of the Credit Business Act).
Process of conclusion of a contract by using a qualified electronic signature in practice
The term 'electronic signature' refers to electronic information attached to or logically combined with electronic documents to indicate the identity of the signer and the fact that the signer has signed such electronic document, and the term 'electronic signature generation information' refers to electronic information used by the signer to create an electronic signature (Article 2 of the Digital Signature Act).
In order to form a valid contract using an electronic signature, an 'electronic signature certification' that confirms and proves that the electronic signature generation information solely belongs to the subscriber is needed.