[Invest&Law] Law Firms Mobilize for October National Assembly Audit... Special Mission to Shield Corporate Risks

Former Ministers, Vice Ministers, and National Assembly Aides Join Expert Teams
Law Firms Stand Out by Embracing AI and Recruiting Practitioner-Oriented Talent

With the upcoming parliamentary audit scheduled for October, major law firms' public affairs and legislative advisory teams are moving quickly, marking a "preliminary stage" before the main audit. In the past, companies managed public affairs work with the government and the National Assembly through in-house specialist teams. However, the implementation of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act (commonly known as the Kim Young-ran Act) and stricter contact rules with public officials have made direct communication increasingly challenging. Following the national corruption scandal, many companies significantly reduced or dismantled their in-house public affairs teams, and regulatory and political risk management has increasingly shifted to large law firms through outsourcing.

These public affairs and legislative advisory teams often coordinate corporate leaders' attendance at parliamentary audits and analyze the interests and areas of expertise of individual lawmakers to minimize regulatory risk to key business divisions through legislation. Law firms are setting up dedicated organizations made up of former bureaucrats, special advisers, and lawyers with expertise in legislation and regulation, establishing a one-stop response system.

Diversifying Recruitment: From Ministers to Parliamentary Staff = According to legal industry sources on August 5, Bae, Kim & Lee (Taepyeongyang) operates a "Regulatory Response Solution Center" with a team of more than 150 members. The center leverages a matrix of experts who previously designed policy in fields such as finance, trade, science and technology, and energy, working collaboratively with lawyers. The center is led by Byun Ryul Woo, a foreign attorney and former Vice-Governor for Economic Affairs of Gangwon Province. Notable members include Seung Beom Koh, former Chair of the Financial Services Commission; Eui Seop Cho, former Head of the National Assembly Budget Office (vice-minister level); Hwa Jin Park, former Vice Minister of Employment and Labor; Kyung Sik Cho, former Vice Minister of Science and ICT; and Jae Hyun Lim, former head of the Korea Customs Service. The Regulatory Response Solution Center has achieved results such as proposing amendments to the City Gas Business Act for the use of LNG cold energy, obtaining permits for the Ulleung spring water project through pre-consulting on proactive administration by the Board of Audit and Inspection, and securing exemption of development project educational environment impact assessments through authoritative interpretations by the Ministry of Government Legislation.

Sejong was the first in the industry to establish a task force focused on practical operations. Its "Legislative Strategy Advisory Group" consists of approximately 120 experts, the vast majority of whom have backgrounds in the National Assembly Secretariat, aide positions, and government ministries. The team is led by Dae Yong Baik (31st class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute), a lawyer who also served at vice-minister level as a Commissioner of the Personal Information Protection Commission. Key members include Dae Seop Jang, a former chief expert at the National Assembly Secretariat who managed legislative work for over 30 years; Hyung Ki Nam, former 2nd Deputy Minister at the Office for Government Policy Coordination; and Hyung Joong Yoon, former First Deputy Director of the National Intelligence Service. The group provides consulting on responses to various government investigations and has a one-stop response system, operating an emergency situation room and on-site response center when corporate crises occur.

Kwangjang launched its Legislative Consulting Team in 2011, restructuring and expanding it into the "RGA Solution Group" in 2017. About 60 experts are now active members. The group addresses regulatory issues with specialists such as lawyer Yong Keun Woo (22nd class), a three-term former lawmaker; Jung Goo Jin, former Vice Head of Legislation at the National Assembly Secretariat; and lawyer Jong Seok Lee (29th class), who previously served as secretary of the Administrative Appeals Committee at the Office of the Prime Minister. Advisory members include high-ranking former government officials such as Chae Min Lim, former Minister of Health and Welfare; Kyung Deok An, former Minister of Employment and Labor; and Woong Seop Jin, former Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service. The group has provided advice on policy response projects to global economic environment changes and administrative actions taken by central agencies and local governments.

Yulchon runs a "Legislative Strategy Response Team" of about 30 people, constantly monitoring regulatory trends in the National Assembly and the government, considering legislative techniques, political decisions, and corporate logic. The team includes lawyer Ji Woong Park (37th class) who formerly served as senior administrator at the Presidential Office; Ki Sung Goo, former Deputy Head of Legislation at the National Assembly Secretariat; and Seung Hee Goo, former senior administrator at the Senior Civil Affairs Secretary Office. The team also collaborates with former lawmakers Sang Jik Yoon and Geum Joo Son, and Seung Wook Moon, former Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Betting on AI and Data = Another emerging trend in law firms’ public affairs work is the shift away from traditional methods based on personal networks and legwork to the proactive use of data and artificial intelligence (AI). Some law firms are employing quantitative approaches—analyzing lawmakers' records of legislative proposals and remarks to assign passage probabilities, or hiring econometrics professors to perform data analysis.

The "GRC Group" at HwaWoo, comprising about 50 members, is a prime example. The group bases legislative situation analysis on actual data, quantifies possibilities, and suggests optimal response times through its "AI Legislative Prediction Model and Political Risk Analysis System" (tentative name). Led by Jung Seok Hong (first bar exam class), a former head of the Fair Trade Commission’s Installment Transactions Division, the team collaborates with advisers such as Kwang On Park, former Floor Leader of the Democratic Party of Korea; Jong Goo Choi, former Chair of the Financial Services Commission; In Bok Lee, former Justice of the Supreme Court (11th class); and Chang Dong Jung, a standing member of the Board of Audit and Inspection. The group has achieved notable results in legislative amendments, such as the Distribution Industry Development Act amendment relating to limitations on operating hours for multiplex shopping centers, and laws concerning the management and supervision of nuclear power generation companies. Hong Jung Seok, head of the HwaWoo GRC Group, stated, "Regulations are not unpredictable risks but variables that can be managed with data" and that "our goal is to protect companies not through litigation, but proactively at the pre-legislation stage."

Jipyung has also scaled up its organization since January last year, expanding to a "Public Policy Solution Center" of about 20 people and focusing on offering public affairs solutions. Working with the Jipyung Legal Policy Research Institute, the group published a legislative process guidebook for the National Assembly and is simultaneously building a systematic database, including preparation to publish a parliamentary audit response manual. The team is led by Seong Taek Lim and Bongwan Sa, managing partners (27th and 23rd classes, respectively), along with Center Director Jin Kwon Kim (2nd bar exam class), a former National Assembly aide; Jeong Hyeop Seo, former Acting Seoul Mayor; and Kyoung Hyun Lee, honorary chief attorney and former Constitutional Court Justice (3rd class).

Meanwhile, Kim & Chang Law Office does not operate a separate dedicated team for legislative advice. Instead, lawyers and experts with extensive experience in legislation and administration offer tailored responses for each issue by field.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.