As the June 3 nationwide local elections enter the final countdown, law firms are scrambling to assemble dedicated teams. They are competing to provide comprehensive "customized" services ranging from legal responses to violations of the Public Official Election Act and Political Funds Act to policy advisory.
According to legal circles on the 15th, Yulchon LLC recently launched a "June 3 Local Election Strategy Team" centered on its legislative strategy response team. Yulchon's focus is on securing expertise. The team is staffed with Advisor Koo Ki-sung, former Director of the Legislation Bureau at the National Assembly Secretariat; Attorney Park Ji-woong, who served as Senior Administrative Secretary at the Presidential Office and expert advisor for the Democratic Party of Korea; Senior Expert Advisor Choi Yong-sun; and Senior Expert Advisor Kim Dong-seok. Senior Expert Advisor Choi previously served as Senior Administrative Secretary at the Presidential Office and Vice President of the Minjoo Institute for Policy Research. Senior Expert Advisor Kim is a former aide to a Democratic Party lawmaker who also worked as Policy Advisor to the Minister of SMEs and Startups. Notably, Expert Advisor Kim Han-gyu, who handled nomination affairs at the People Power Party's Planning and Coordination Bureau and managed messaging for the 20th presidential election, is also participating in the June 3 Local Election Strategy Team. The firm has expanded its legal service areas—including advisory services—beyond legal responses to election law violations to include policy consulting and issue resolution. The plan is to provide comprehensive support including post-election policy advisory on permits, corporate attraction, and tax reductions.
Jipyong LLC also launched a "June 3 Local Election Response Center" on the 3rd, led by Attorney Kim Jin-kwon (Head of the Public Policy Solutions Center), a former National Assembly aide. The Jipyong center focuses on legal judgment and record management regarding various campaign activities during the election process, as well as preparation for potential problems. The plan is to provide comprehensive solutions for stage-by-stage responses from National Election Commission investigations through police and prosecution investigations to trial proceedings. To this end, the firm recruited Yoon Seok-geun, former Director of Election Policy at the National Election Commission, as an advisor on February 4. The team also includes Managing Partner Yoon Seok-won, former Chief Judge of Gwangju District Court and Presiding Judge at Seoul High Court; Attorney Oh Ja-sung, former head of public security divisions at Changwon and Incheon District Prosecutors' Offices; and Attorney Park Jung-soo, former Presiding Judge at Seoul Southern District Court.
Daeryun Law launched its "9th Nationwide Local Election Response Task Force" on the 24th of last month. Led by Kim In-won, Head of the Criminal Group (Team Leader), and Lee Tae-seung, Head of Criminal Group Division 1 (Deputy Team Leader)—both former senior prosecutors at Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office—the task force's biggest feature is region-specific customized responses. Daeryun's Local Election Response TF plans to provide comprehensive legal response services that go beyond post-facto defense to include nomination screening processes, accounting advisory related to election expenses and political funds law, and digital forensic tracking and countermeasures against fake news.
Hwawoo LLC is mounting a comprehensive response centered on its GRC Group, which was expanded and reorganized early this year, including preemptive recruitment of top talent. Hwawoo's GRC Group recruited Attorney Kim Byung-soo, a former National Assembly aide, in January. Earlier, in October last year, Advisor Yoon Ji-hoon, former Personnel Secretary at the Blue House, joined the firm; in July and August of the same year, Advisor Song Byung-chul, former Senior Expert Advisor at the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee and Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, and Expert Advisor Lee Dong-yoon, a former National Assembly aide, joined the firm.
Additionally, law firms including Kim & Chang, Shin & Kim, and Bae, Kim & Lee are actively responding to the June 3 local elections with their existing specialized teams. Kim & Chang operates a 20-member "Election Response Team" led by Attorney Lee Sang-hyun, former head of Public Investigation Division 2 at Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office. Notably, the firm recruited Attorney Heo Hoon, former head of the Public Investigation Division at Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, in November last year. Shin & Kim has launched a comprehensive election response with its "Public Official Election Response TF," comprising about 20 members including former prosecutors, police officials, and forensics personnel. The team is led by Managing Partner Jang Young-soo, former Chief Prosecutor of Daegu High Prosecutors' Office, Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office, and Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office, with Attorneys Lee Jung-hwan, Park Jin-won, Cho Dae-ho, and Cho Joo-yeon. Bae, Kim & Lee also operates an "Election Response Team" led by Attorney Kim Hee-kwan, former Chief Prosecutor of Gwangju High Prosecutors' Office and Director of Public Security Planning at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office. The team comprises attorneys with extensive experience in various election law violation cases, including Hong Ki-tae, Kwon Soon-ik, Cho Sang-chul, Lee Sang-chul, Kim Shin, Han Jung-hwa, and Park Seung-hwan.
A legal industry source analyzed, "Local elections are important events that gauge the future regulatory direction of the government and National Assembly, with significant impact on industries and companies. Accordingly, law firms are staffing their related teams and divisions with experts in various fields, expanding their scope beyond legal responses to advisory services."