[Invest&Law] Law Firms Mobilize for Corporate Hacking Victims... Bringing in Experts and Even White-Hat Hackers

When an Incident Occurs: Overlapping Personal Information Protection Commission Investigations, Sanctions, and Trillion-Won Collective Disputes and Lawsuits
Kim & Chang Operates the Largest Specialized Team
BKL, Sejong, and Lee & Ko Run Their Own Information Teams

As hacking and personal data breach incidents have become persistent risks, major law firms are expanding their corporate advisory services with dedicated teams. This trend is driven by the increasing number of cases where, following a breach, companies must simultaneously handle investigations and sanctions by the Personal Information Protection Commission, responses to law enforcement, collective disputes and litigation, and crisis communications. Leading law firms are combining advisors with regulatory backgrounds, technical and forensic specialists, and litigation and criminal law teams to offer comprehensive "end-to-end solutions"—from prevention and immediate response after an incident to dispute resolution.

According to the legal community on March 25, Kim & Chang operates the country's largest "Privacy and Information Protection Group" among domestic law firms. The firm runs a large, specialized team that includes not only attorneys and patent attorneys but also IT, security, and policy experts. Their wide-ranging services cover compliance checks, mock inspections, post-incident support, and representation in both civil and criminal cases related to personal information.

Under the leadership of Attorney Jung Youngjin, the team includes Attorney Park Mincheol, Attorney Bang Sunghyun—who has advised major big tech companies—and Attorney Lee Inhwan, recognized as a data specialist. The team has further strengthened its capabilities in regulatory response and policy interpretation by recruiting advisors such as Choi Youngjin, a former Vice Chairperson of the Personal Information Protection Commission, and other former officials from policy and investigation units. Recently, the firm has enhanced its "cyber incident response" capabilities by involving digital forensics and compliance professionals, enabling them to establish facts and prepare for various scenarios in a unified strategy.

BAE, KIM & LEE LLC (BKL) operates the "BKL TMT Group," which provides integrated solutions covering everything from regulatory response and compliance program set-up to dispute resolution. Led by Group Head Attorney Park Jiyeon, the team features core experts in personal information such as Attorneys Kang Taewook and Yoon Juho. Particularly notable are Senior Advisor Cho Kyungsik, a former Vice Minister at the Ministry of Science and ICT, and Senior Advisor Heo Sungwook, former President of the National IT Industry Promotion Agency, who provide multidimensional advice from legal, policy, and technical perspectives.

In response to the seriousness of recent hacking and data breach incidents, the firm has significantly bolstered its team by hiring experts such as Kim Minsu and Yeo Dongu, who previously led hacking response at Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA), as well as Attorneys Choi Geonhui and Noh Ilhyun, who have experience at the Personal Information Protection Commission Investigation Bureau. When a breach occurs, the "Cyber Incident Response Center" coordinates with the criminal group—which includes former cybercrime investigators—and the Digital Forensics Center for a seamless, one-team response. A key differentiator is that the partner attorney in charge directly oversees the entire case, from regulatory response strategy and issue identification to drafting key documents.

SHIN & KIM LLC (SEJONG) has raised the profile of its "Personal Information and Data Team" by consecutively handling major personal data breach cases involving e-commerce firms and telecommunications companies. The team is led by Kang Shinwook, head of the ICT Group, along with Attorney Jang Junyoung—who has served at the Korea Communications Commission and as Chief Privacy Officer (CPO) at major corporations—and Team Leader Attorney An Jungho, all of whom are well-versed in both corporate operations and policy. The team also receives full support from former officials such as Yoon Jongin, former Chair of the Personal Information Protection Commission, and Choi Kwanghee, former Head of the KISA Cyber Incident Response Center.

SEJONG's unique strength lies in its "end-to-end response system," which goes beyond legal response after an incident to integrate initial root cause analysis and regulatory risk management. By combining in-house specialists with threat intelligence analysis agencies, they provide technical solutions that other law firms find hard to match. The team's expertise was proven by their involvement in designing the initial external communication strategy for last year's SK Telecom personal data hack, as well as defending against breaches at KT and Coupang, demonstrating optimal risk management capabilities.

LEE & KO operates the "TMT & DPC Group" with more than 60 specialized professionals. The group is led by Ko Hwan-gyeong, who has advised major telecommunications companies for 25 years, and Attorney Chae Seonghee, a former in-house counsel at Samsung Electronics. The multidisciplinary team includes Senior Advisor Jin Seongcheol, formerly Section Chief at the Personal Information Protection Commission, Jang Seokyeong, former Vice Minister at the Ministry of Science and ICT, and Senior Specialist Park Jongsup, who previously oversaw information security at a global IT company.

Notably, the firm accumulated regulatory experience by responding from the initial on-site investigation to the record-setting SK Telecom data breach last year, which resulted in a fine of approximately 134.7 billion won. The firm has also handled both investigation and dispute response for major cases such as the Kakao Pay incident. LEE & KO forms one-team responses by pairing regulatory agency experts and information security consultants with attorneys, operating a dedicated response hotline that provides seamless support from initial response through litigation.

YULCHON LLC, recognizing the growing demand for security risk management, launched an "Integrated Security Center" last year to enable proactive response. Its in-house Data & Tech Team, led by veteran Son Doil with 30 years of experience, specializes in advising foreign companies, with Attorneys Kim Sunhee and An Dayeon at the forefront. To meet increased needs for major incident prevention and advanced consulting, the firm has brought in Senior Advisor Yoon Ojun, former 3rd Deputy Director of the National Intelligence Service, as well as experts from the Financial Supervisory Service and Korea Communications Commission. In June, a highly skilled white-hat hacker with a Ph.D. from Korea University’s Graduate School of Information Security will join the team. The Data & Tech Team receives technical support from the Trade Secret Center and the Discovery & Forensics Center.

YULCHON’s strength lies in its technical collaboration between the Discovery & Forensics Center and other teams to address the recent trend of cybercrimes involving simultaneous leaks of trade secrets and personal information. The team has demonstrated its practical dispute resolution capabilities by securing first-instance wins in both administrative and collective lawsuits concerning global tech firms’ personal information sanctions.

With regulations tightening, there is growing concern that a single incident could lead to sanctions and collective lawsuits. Law firms now commonly emphasize the importance of ongoing consulting to embed personal data protection from the data planning stage, as well as the activation of hotlines immediately after an incident occurs.

An attorney at one law firm commented, "With stricter criteria for imposing fines, the initial stance taken by the Personal Information Protection Commission during its investigation determines the final level of sanctions. It is urgent to establish an expert one-team system capable of maintaining a consistent approach—from technical root cause analysis and legal defense immediately after an incident, to media response and preparation for potential collective lawsuits in the future."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.