From left: Yeong Ho Shin and Keum Seok Oh
Korea’s Yoon & Yang has hired Keum Seok Oh and Yeong Ho Shin as co-heads of the corporate risk and regulatory response centre to bolster its antitrust and competition practice.
Yoon & Yang’s managing partner, Myung Soo Lee told Asia Business Law Journal that there is a growing demand for competition, antitrust and regulatory legal services in Korea, driven by the new government’s intensified oversight of unfair trade practices, cartel activities, and abuse of market dominance, as well as increased scrutiny of digital platforms.
“Yoon & Yang brought in partner Keum Seok Oh and senior adviser Yeong Ho Shin to further strengthen its leadership in competition and antitrust, particularly in light of [the] new government’s heightened regulatory scrutiny on unfair trade practices and corporate governance issues,” Lee told ABLJ.
Oh brings more than 30 years of experience in major litigation and advisory matters. He has joined the firm from Bae, Kim & Lee where he led its antitrust practice for more than 20 years. Prior to working at Bae, Kim & Lee, he served as a judge at the Seoul District Court and the Sokcho branch of the Chuncheon District Court, and later as a judicial researcher at the Supreme Court of Korea. His track record includes representing Apple in the 2016 Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) case against Qualcomm, as well as cases involving Hyundai Mobis, LG Uplus, HSBC, Harim and NGK, among others.
Shin spent 30 years at the KFTC, where he held key positions such as director general for the Cartel Investigation Bureau, Anti-Monopoly Investigation Bureau and Competition Policy Bureau, and standing commissioner. Shin oversaw a wide range of investigations and reviews of policy areas such as competition and cartel, as well as in anti-competitive acts such as abuse of dominance, cartels and M&A. He also provides advice on fair trade and competition law issues, helping clients manage competition law risks.
As co-heads of the firm’s corporate risk and regulatory response centre, both would proactively identify risks that corporations face, design preventive compliance strategies, and provide tailored guidance on responding to regulatory investigations and enforcement actions, said Lee.
