Choi Chang-young, Head of Team and attorney at Shin & Kim LLC (Judicial Research and Training Institute class 24), said in an interview on the 11th that this is the recent trend in criminal cases involving corporations.
In the past, criminal cases involving corporations centered on individual property crimes such as embezzlement and breach of trust by executives and employees, but recently they have grown larger and more specialized as capital markets, taxes and finance, intellectual property rights, fair trade, and serious industrial accidents have become intertwined. This is also why Shin & Kim launched the "corporate criminal litigation team" on the 5th, bringing together experts in each field.
Choi emphasized that criminal cases involving corporations do not end with simple criminal punishment. Choi said, "In addition to criminal punishment, they can lead to a penalty surcharge and administrative sanctions, and they also negatively affect overseas business and corporate credibility," adding, "From the investigation stage, multiple experts in different fields must be投入 simultaneously on the premise of trial for a proper response."
In particular, Choi repeatedly stressed the importance of "early response." Without sufficient advice, deleting internal documents or contacting related persons can raise suspicions of evidence destruction.
Choi said, "Memos or reports written in a rush to tidy up the situation can also cause misunderstandings during investigation or trial," adding, "From the early stage of a case, you should respond with expert advice, and the drafting and management of documents should be carried out according to that standard."
Choi is regarded as a legal professional with long experience in criminal trials and litigation involving corporations. From 1998 to 2019, Choi served as a judge for 21 years, handling civil, criminal, and administrative cases. Choi served as a presiding judge at the Daejeon High Court for civil and administrative appeals, as the senior presiding judge at the Daejeon District Court, as the chief judge of a criminal panel at the Seoul Central District Court, and as a warrant-only judge at the Ulsan District Court and the Pohang Branch.
After leaving the bench, Choi handled numerous criminal cases related to corporations. A representative example is Choi's involvement in the process leading to a not-guilty ruling in a case involving the head of a major domestic conglomerate on alleged unfair merger and accounting fraud. The following is a Q&A with Choi.
―What experts are on the corporate criminal litigation team?
"It currently has about 50 members. In addition to criminal trial specialists, we combined experts in finance, fair trade, taxes, intellectual property (IP), and labor. Participating are attorneys Choi Han-soon and Kwon Sun-yeol in fair trade, Do Hoon-tae, a former general research officer of the Supreme Court's tax division, in taxes, Yoon Ju-tak in IP, and Cho Chan-young in labor. Also joining are attorney Kim Se-jong, who served as a criminal deliberation officer at the National Court Administration and as a senior expert member of the Sentencing Commission, and attorneys Ha Tae-heon and Seo Young-ho in virtual assets and finance."
―Compared with other law firms, what sets Shin & Kim apart?
"Every law firm has attorneys with extensive criminal trial experience. However, criminal cases involving corporations also require knowledge of specialized areas such as fair trade or taxes, making it difficult to respond with only criminal experts. We have established a system in which experts in each field and criminal trial specialists collaborate on a constant basis."
―What preparations should corporations make in advance for criminal cases?
"There are two keys. From day-to-day operations, strengthen compliance to establish an internal control system, and continuously check whether that system actually works. The company should clearly define permitted and prohibited acts and ensure that the person in charge repeatedly learns them. It is important not to stop at creating rules but to set up a monitoring system to verify actual compliance. A single judgment by a junior employee can lead to a fair trade violation, affecting the penalty surcharge, corporate credibility, and overseas business. In particular, in fair trade or serious industrial accident cases, whether rules were followed in the ordinary course becomes a key issue, and records of safety management and internal inspections can be considered as mitigating factors in sentencing."
―Have you ever overturned a difficult case?
"In a recent large corporate acquisition case, we represented a financial investor and secured a not-guilty verdict. The client was indicted under arrest and public opinion was unfavorable, so we were at a disadvantage from the outset. On the record, the investigative agency's theory seemed to fit, but through meetings and repeated interviews we confirmed a different account. In particular, the fact that about 100 billion won in funds was actually投入 was a key clue. That was hard to explain if the purpose had been fraud. We then reconstructed the flow of funds and the decision-making process and secured objective materials, held some 60 hearings over about three years, and examined around 50 witnesses, and ultimately obtained a not-guilty verdict."
―The abolition of the Prosecution Service is scheduled for Oct. What impact is expected on criminal cases involving corporations?
"From the standpoint of corporations, procedural burdens may grow. Because the roles among the Serious Crime Investigation Agency, the police, and the Public Prosecution Agency are not yet clear, multiple agencies could simultaneously look into the same case. You would have to repeat the same explanations, and revising response strategies would be inevitable. Until the system takes hold, uncertainty is likely to increase. The biggest change is a decline in procedural predictability. It could take years to settle, making criminal risk management for corporations more difficult."
―With potential confusion raised by judicial reform, how should criminal response by corporations be prepared?
"When I worked on the practical implementation of the Criminal Procedure Act revision in the past, there was confusion at the outset, but over time the new procedures naturally took root. This system will be the same, with investigative agencies, courts, and attorneys adapting to reality. Rather than excessive anxiety, it is necessary to watch the process of change. The name "corporate criminal litigation team" also means we will systematically respond by uniting experts with diverse experience. We have built a competitive team by combining criminal experts with specialists in each field."