A suggestion was made that to achieve consolidation between artificial intelligence (AI) and actual corporate performance, corporations need a management framework that encompasses data, organization, and compliance rather than focusing only on adopting the technology.
Law firm Barun (chief attorney Lee Dong-hoon) said on the 10th that it co-hosted the "3rd Middle-market corporations scale-up strategy forum 2026" with the Federation of Middle Market Enterprises of Korea (FOMEK) at the Barun Building in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the 9th. The forum was held under the theme "AI is reshaping middle-market corporations' growth strategies: beyond adoption to performance and growth."
Professor Yeo Hyun-deok of the KAIST Graduate School of Management of Technology said in a keynote that as AI evolves into "agentic AI," which functions like a member of the organization beyond a simple work tool, the need to jointly manage human resources (HR) and information technology (IT) is growing. Yeo emphasized that people and AI should divide tasks according to their respective strengths, and in high-risk fields such as healthcare, law, and defense, a structure is needed in which people ultimately intervene.
Real adoption cases by corporations were also introduced. Taekyung Group shared a plan to leverage AI to utilize the long-accumulated manufacturing know-how of skilled workers and to supplement insufficient on-site data through a Digital Twin, while YC shared a method of processing general business and technical data in open and closed AI environments, respectively.
Attorney Lee Ui-gyu of Barun's compliance team explained that with the enforcement of the Basic AI Act, corporations' legal obligations may vary depending on how they develop or use AI. In particular, when using "high-impact AI" that significantly affects individuals' rights or safety, such as in hiring or loan screening, Lee said corporations must check strengthened obligations including risk management and explanation, user protection, and human management and oversight.
Lee suggested that corporations should create internal guidelines that define AI use purposes and approval authority, and operate a management ledger that records the using department, tools, data, and error histories. Lee also said that when using external AI services, corporations should confirm at the contract stage whether input data will be used for retraining and the conditions for storage and deletion.
Lee Seung-geun, an executive director at Samjong KPMG, emphasized that AI adoption should be viewed as a process that changes not only simple task automation but also ways of working, expense structures, and organizational management methods. Lee said it is important to apply AI step by step, starting with tasks where performance can be measured, rather than making a large investment all at once.
In the subsequent general discussion, data standardization and security, organizational resistance, and uncertainty about returns on investment were cited as major challenges in the AI adoption process. Participants agreed that while repeating small success stories to establish AI use across the organization, legal and compliance reviews should proceed from the early stages of adoption.
Barun chief attorney Lee Dong-hoon said, "For AI use to lead to actual performance and growth, corporations must consider not only technology adoption but also regulatory response, data management, and organizational operations together."