Corporate risk does not begin suddenly in court. It first appears as small signals in the National Assembly, the government, regulatory agencies, the media, and public opinion. We need an integrated legislation, policy, and crisis management strategy that reads those signals first and designs solutions that are politically acceptable and legally defensible.
Attorney Baek Dae-yong (Judicial Research and Training Institute class 31), who leads the legislative strategy advisory team at Shin & Kim LLC, said in an interview with ChosunBiz on the 8th that the team's role is "to manage the starting point of corporate risk." He said the organization goes a step beyond a law firm's traditional work of litigation representation and legal counsel by comprehensively reading movements before and after bill proposals, the course of regulatory enforcement, investigative possibilities, and media and public sentiment, and then designing corporations' response strategies.
Shin & Kim established the legislative strategy advisory team in July 2019. The firm had supported corporations through extrajudicial means even before that, but there were limits to building dense points of contact with working-level lines at relevant authorities. That was because the work was centered on former senior government officials or attorneys. Shin & Kim strengthened its legislation and policy network by recruiting National Assembly aides and others. The legislative strategy advisory team now has about 30 members, around 10 of whom are attorneys. More come from backgrounds as National Assembly aides or government ministries.
The interview was joined by adviser Nam Hyeong-gi, a former Second Vice Minister at the Office for Government Policy Coordination, adviser Jang Dae-seop, a former director general of the National Assembly Secretariat's Legislative Bureau and senior expert member (Deputy Minister level) of the House Steering Committee, senior expert member Kim Geon-hoon, a former head of the society desk at a general programming cable channel, and senior expert member Lee Jun-young, a former policy secretary to the National Assembly speaker. The following is a Q&A.
─What does the legislative strategy advisory team do?
Attorney Baek: "We are an organization that combines public affairs and legal reasoning to craft solutions. Legislative and regulatory issues cannot be resolved through legal review alone. Even if a claim is legally sound, it is hard to be a realistic solution if the National Assembly or the government will not accept it. Conversely, if you put only a political approach first, legal stability can suffer.
At Shin & Kim, the legislative strategy advisory team moves as one team of policy experts from the presidential office, government ministries, and the National Assembly, together with attorneys specialized in regulation. We look together at how policy is made, how regulation is enforced, and how legal issues operate on the ground. That enables a three-dimensional response that provides practical help to corporations."
─Compared with other law firms, what strengths does Shin & Kim's legislative strategy advisory team have?
Attorney Baek: "Our strength is that we do not stop at simple advice; we design solutions that are politically acceptable and legally defensible. Most law firms' legislation-related units are attorney-centered. Other specialists often remain in support roles for attorneys.
Shin & Kim is different. Attorneys support experts from the National Assembly or ministries, and we work in a way that maximizes the synergy of experts in each field. Legal review, policy analysis, National Assembly response, communication with the government, and media response all happen at the same time. That is because corporate risk does not arise in only one area."
─Major corporations have in-house teams for government relations. Even so, why should they come to Shin & Kim?
Attorney Baek: "From the perspective of regulators or the National Assembly, even if what a corporation's government-relations officer says is reasonable, there can be suspicion that 'in the end, this is just for their own interest.' This is where the role of outside experts matters. Our team designs together the public-interest rationale, policy grounds, and social persuasion logic that the government and the National Assembly can accept. We translate a corporation's interests into the language of the public interest and turn them into policy alternatives that regulators and the National Assembly can adopt.
Also, unless they are really large conglomerates, many corporations do not have well-built government-relations teams. Some suffer headaches after hiring the wrong person for the job. If you need two people for government relations, hire one and outsource the rest of the expense to our team, and you can leverage a diverse organization of 30 experts. And when problems arise, a control tower for the government-relations, legal, and PR teams is needed; our team, which can provide integrated consulting, can take that role."
─When corporations run into regulation, they can get help from government bodies like the Board of Audit and Inspection and the Anti-Corruption & Civil Rights Commission. Why is a private law firm needed?
Attorney Baek: "For example, when conflict arises between a metropolitan local government and a basic local government, permits that a corporation needs can be delayed. For corporations, time is money. Our team provides integrated strategic advisory consulting so that the Office for Government Policy Coordination, the Board of Audit and Inspection, the Anti-Corruption & Civil Rights Commission (ACRC), or the National Assembly member for the relevant district can intervene and resolve the issue quickly. We use the platforms of the legislative and executive branches, not the judiciary, to resolve problems swiftly and efficiently."
Adviser Nam: "Of course, the government resolves people's difficulties through various platforms. But even at the ACRC alone, 200,000 to 300,000 petitions are filed a year. On the other hand, the private sector often does not know those platforms well. It is also important to connect those in difficulty with the organizations that can resolve their issues."
─Why are solutions other than lawsuits needed when problems arise?
Attorney Baek: "Social conflicts or concerns held by government ministries and local governments are not necessarily issues that must be resolved only through lawsuits. By explaining to and persuading stakeholders, and making small concessions, you can achieve good results and resolve problems faster at lower expense than litigation.
In a lawsuit, someone has to lose. But if you find a policy solution, a path to mutual coexistence can open. I believe that finding a method acceptable to everyone—not only corporations but also the government, local communities, and stakeholders—is a healthier way for society as a whole."
─How should corporations respond when a crisis occurs?
Attorney Baek: "Incidents such as owner risk, violations of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, large-scale hacking, and technology leaks spread into national issues within an hour or two after they occur through social media (SNS) and digital media. In the past, corporations had time to ascertain the facts and hold internal meetings. Now, there is almost no time to respond. Right after an incident, public outrage, pressure from authorities, movements by investigative agencies, attention from the National Assembly, and media reports all rush in at once. A corporation's fate can change in a short time.
That is why the first response is crucial. The first message a corporation issues right after a crisis must consider both legal responsibility and public sentiment. If you emphasize only legal reasoning, you will be battered by public opinion; if you emphasize only an emotional apology, you can suffer fatal disadvantages in future investigations or trials. Shin & Kim can simultaneously design response scenarios for the National Assembly, the government, regulatory agencies, investigative agencies, the media, and stakeholders, and present realistic messages."