“LIN Shapes the Future Legal Landscape in the Digital Age”

▲ Jin Seok Lim (Managing Partner), Tae Eon Koo, Jong Sik Kim, Ji Young Gil

LIN (Managing Partner Jin Seok Lim) has launched the Platform & Antitrust Team to revolutionize legal services in the digital economy. The Platform & Antitrust Team, comprised of elite experts, including Tae Eon Koo (24^th class, Judicial Research and Training Institute), who serves as the leader of LIN's Tech Group, symbolizes LIN's strategic response to the rapidly changing platform business environment and complex regulatory landscape.

LIN's Platform & Antitrust Team operates under the joint leadership of Jong Sik Kim (37^th class, Judicial Research and Training Institute), Head of the Antitrust Team, and Ji Young Gil (40^th class, Judicial Research and Training Institute), Head of the Platform & E-Commerce Team. The team was formed following LIN's proactive review of the platform industry that it is facing overlapping regulations such as personal information protection and consumer protection as well as antitrust issues, and therefore needs technical support and legal advice with an integrated perspective. This comes as the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) has recently announced its intention to regulate monopolistic platforms through amendments to the existing Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act rather than enacting new platform-specific legislation.

Jong Sik Kim, co-head of LIN's Platform & Antitrust Team, has over 15 years of experience in antitrust law. Kim has handled various antitrust issues such as corporate collusion, merger filings, and unfair trade practices since his time at Kim & Chang, and has recently provided legal advice on platform business models. He is currently the head of the Antitrust Team at LIN, and is also a litigator for the Korea Fair Trade Commission.

“Proactively responding to the new regulatory environments, such as the EU's Digital Market Act (DMA) and the ongoing discussions in Korea to revise the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act, is becoming a major challenge for companies. Our new Platform & Antitrust Team will focus on closely analyzing these regulatory trends and formulating strategies to help companies respond effectively,” said Kim.

Ji Young Gil, co-head of the team, is an expert in platform business and corporate law. She has extensive experience advising numerous platform companies, including reviewing their terms and conditions and advising on disputes, and as an in-house counsel of a listed holding company, she was in charge of group-wide antitrust issues and online platform-related matters of subsidiaries. She currently serves as the head of the Platform & E-Commerce Team at LIN, where she provides comprehensive legal services to platform companies, including M&A, antitrust regulatory compliance, and corporate legal affairs.

Gil said, “There are growing concerns that the current trend of platform regulation may discriminate against homegrown platforms and hinder their growth. We plan to provide comprehensive and practical advice on key legal issues facing platform companies, such as privacy regulations related to data utilization, securing fairness in on-platform transactions, and responding to country-specific regulations as they expand globally.”

Also joining LIN's Platform & Antitrust team is Jae Gyu Park, senior advisor (former standing commissioner of the KFTC). After 11 years at the KFTC, where he handled various antitrust issues such as collusion, abuse of dominance, and mergers, Park served as a standing commissioner for two years, leading the deliberations and decisions of KFTC cases. His extensive experience and policy-making know-how in the areas of mergers and unfair trade practices, which are particularly relevant to platform companies, will further strengthen the team's regulatory response and corporate advisory capabilities.

Additionally, Shin Min Kang, senior advisor with more than 30 years of experience at the KFTC, has joined the team. Kang is an expert in all areas under KFTC’s jurisdiction, including cartels, mergers, and unfair trade practices, with particular expertise in the regulation of platform companies. His addition strengthens the team's policy response and regulatory advice.
 

***

LIN 's Platform & Antitrust  Team provides comprehensive one-stop legal services to domestic companies in connection with their platform business. For inquiries, please contact our Platform & Antitrust Team at +82-2-3477-8695.