The Ministry of SMEs and Startups said on the 16th that the dispute between craft beer company 7bräu and Daehan Flour Mills was concluded with a final settlement under the mediation of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS)–affiliated Committee for Mediation and Arbitration of Technology Disputes for SMEs.
The dispute began when differences arose during the process of ending the collaboration and trademark contract for "Gompyo wheat beer."
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) had pushed for mediation, seeing that a prolonged dispute could burden both companies' management and the industry ecosystem. A settlement was reached about three years after the dispute began and six months after mediation started.
Under the settlement, both sides agreed to withdraw all complaints and lawsuits they had filed against each other. Daehan Flour Mills will support 7bräu's management stability, technology development, and market expansion by providing grants to a co-prosperity cooperation fund.
On the same day at the National Assembly Members' Office Building, a grant ceremony for the co-prosperity cooperation fund was held with National Assembly, government, and private-sector officials who took part in the dispute mediation in attendance.
Minister Han Seong-sook of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) said, "This is a case where a long-running legal dispute was resolved through mediation," adding, "We will work to activate the mediation and arbitration system by strengthening cooperation with the courts and promoting institutional improvements such as ex officio mediation and the introduction of single-person mediation."