Shin & Kim LLC said on the 10th that it has hired foreign attorney Kim Se-jin and expert adviser Choi Byung-cheon to strengthen its capacity to respond to changes in the global trade environment and economic security issues.
Attorney Kim graduated from the Department of Political Science at Seoul National University, completed law school at the University of Washington in the United States, and obtained a New York attorney license. At the graduate school of Seoul National University, Kim earned a master's degree in international investment law and completed a doctoral program. From Oct. 2022 for three years, Kim served as Director of the trade dispute response division at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, an open recruitment position. During this period, Kim handled supply chain management and economic security risk issues in the defense industry, nuclear power, batteries, and shipbuilding sectors.
Before being appointed Director at the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI), Attorney Kim worked at BAE, KIM & LEE LLC from 2013 to 2022, handling international disputes such as international commercial arbitration, investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS), overseas litigation, and World Trade Organization (WTO) disputes. Kim represented the first domestic ISDS case in which Korean corporations filed against a foreign government and led a win in the Korea-U.S. washing machine safeguard WTO dispute.
A Shin & Kim LLC official said, "Attorney Kim is regarded as proficient in 'designing industrial strategy combined with regulatory analysis.'" Kim's books include "The era of conditional free trade: Great-power strategies for survival" and "International investment arbitration and public policy."
Expert adviser Choi, during a period as a National Assembly aide, took part in legislative activities across various fields, including finance and fair trade. As an expert member of a presidential commission, Choi handled overall national policy, and later served as a policy aide to the Seoul city government. Choi then also worked as director of the New Growth Economy Research Institute, conducting research on macroeconomics, industrial policy, fiscal policy, and deregulation. Choi authored several books, including the series "Good inequality," "Winning political science," and "Korea's issues."
Shin & Kim LLC plans to strengthen its consulting function by bringing in experts in trade and economic security to analyze risks from changes in the global trade environment and policy, and to connect corporations' industrial strategies with investment opportunities. Managing partner Oh Jong-han said, "Shin & Kim will provide strategic and practical solutions amid a rapidly changing global regulatory environment."
Attorney Kim said, "The changes in the trade and industrial environment facing corporations are not just regulatory risks, but a structural shift that requires overhauling the business model itself," adding, "We will provide comprehensive consulting combined with strategies for global industrial expansion."
Expert adviser Choi said, "Because the Korean government is also pushing a strong policy drive for supply chain stabilization, fostering advanced industries, and attracting foreign investment, we will present practical strategies so that corporations can make the most of government support."