Shin & Kim LLC has set up a dedicated unit to address competition law issues surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) and the digital industry. The move is aimed at proactively tackling newly emerging competition-restricting issues such as AI Semiconductor and cloud, training data, and platform tie-ups.
Shin & Kim said on Apr. 7 that it launched the "AI and digital competition law team." The AI and digital competition law team will examine business strategies emerging in the AI and digital industries from a competition law perspective and advise related corporations on ways to respond to regulatory risks.
Head of Team will be attorney Lee Chang-hun. Lee has served as planning director at the Korean Competition Law Association, external cooperation director at the Platform Law and Policy Association, and a steering committee member at the Seoul National University Competition Law Center. Foreign attorney Choi Jung-hyuk (U.S.), head of Shin & Kim's global strategy division, will also join. Choi has worked in the antitrust field for about 30 years, handling global competition law cases.
Foreign attorney Kim Hyun-a (U.S.), attorney Park Kyu-tae, attorney Woo Seung-jun, attorney Kim Tae-seok, and attorney Kim Jae-i also joined as team members. Adviser Ji Cheol-ho, who served as vice chair of the Korea Fair Trade Commission, and adviser Lee In-ho, who has handled economic analysis, will also participate in advising.
As the AI industry has grown rapidly in recent years, competition authorities at home and abroad have been closely scrutinizing the relevant markets. Key areas of review include whether individual corporations' business practices restrict market competition, how data and computing resource concentration is assessed under competition law, and whether the combination of large platforms and AI services leads to expanded market dominance. However, many in practice say that standards have not yet been sufficiently established.
In light of this situation, Shin & Kim plans to expand advisory services on complex competition law issues through the AI and digital competition law team. Expected key advisory areas include competition issues surrounding core infrastructure such as AI Semiconductor and cloud, the concentration of training data and computing resources, and the structures combining platforms and AI services.
Attorney Lee Chang-hun said related corporations need to review competition law issues from the early stages of setting business strategies. Shin & Kim plans to strengthen advisory services in response to changes in the regulatory environment surrounding the AI and digital markets.