Regulatory Response

The business management environment is constantly affected by changing legislative and policy factors.

In particular, proactive handling through regulatory response is needed in the following situations.

In such situations, if a company cannot communicate with public agencies on the basis of accurate legal grounds and reasoning, it may face substantial losses or risks.

Regulatory response organizes a company's interests into objective legal reasoning and supports smooth communication with public agencies.

Finance, energy, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, bio, food, and manufacturing are industries whose business direction is greatly influenced by government regulation or policy changes.

These companies must continuously monitor trends in legislative amendments and establish proactive response strategies, and regular consultation with public agencies is indispensable.

Companies in emerging technology fields such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, autonomous driving, and bio-health have many areas that may conflict with the current legal framework, so an active regulatory response strategy is needed from the early stages.

Matters such as regulatory exemptions, the regulatory sandbox, and innovation support programs also require a specialized approach.

For small and medium-sized enterprises that have suffered harm such as technology misappropriation or unfair trade at the hands of large platforms or conglomerate groups, or for industry associations and organizations, a regulatory response strategy that resolves problems through cooperation with government agencies is effective.

Companies that participate in government or local government projects in fields such as procurement, infrastructure, construction, and defense need continuous legal support throughout the process before and after bidding.

Situations also frequently arise that require legal representation in matters such as contract interpretation, changes to performance conditions, and disputes over fairness.

With the strengthening of ESG, the enforcement of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, and tighter environmental regulation, the fulfillment of corporate social responsibility is being emphasized.

Large and mid-sized companies in particular are readily subject to government oversight, so the weight given to specialized regulatory response in areas such as statutory interpretation, handling investigations, and defending against administrative sanctions is growing.

Companies that expand abroad or frequently transact with foreign companies must respond sensitively to changes in domestic and overseas policy and legislation.

A systematic regulatory response strategy must also accompany matters such as foreign investment regulation, domestic licensing standards, and trade friction.

Public institutions such as state agencies, public enterprises, and local governments may also be clients for regulatory response.

A variety of legal needs exist, including disputes over jurisdiction between institutions, legal advice on important decisions, the formation and operation of committees, handling audits, and advice on disciplinary matters concerning officers and employees.

For draft legislation enacting or amending laws that directly affect a business or its rights, the firm identifies issues in each provision of the bill, unclear concepts, and shortcomings in the legislative intent, and drafts an opinion that includes alternative legislative proposals.

The firm submits these in a timely manner during the legislative pre-announcement stage or in line with the bill review subcommittee of a National Assembly standing committee, and communicates in advance with National Assembly expert advisers, legislative researchers, and working-level officials of the relevant ministries to help improve the likelihood that the opinions are reflected.

Depending on the bill, the firm logically presents the unconstitutionality or lack of effectiveness of a provision on the basis of constitutional principles, general principles of administrative law, and principles of economic law.

During the annual parliamentary audit season, companies and institutions are frequently designated as audit subjects or as witnesses.

In line with the parliamentary audit schedule, the firm analyzes the issues in advance and supports the preparation of materials for submission and the development of a response strategy.

This is a procedure of formally submitting a written inquiry to a government ministry or a related agency to confirm the interpretation of a particular provision, its scope of application, and the possibility of recognizing an exception.

Because an administrative agency's authoritative interpretation has binding force in practice even though it is not a legal order, the written inquiry must be composed precisely on the basis of statutory provisions, legislative intent, and case law.

If there is a problem with the interpretation that is returned, the firm continues ongoing consultation with the administrative agency by submitting a further inquiry or a written rebuttal.

In preparation for an investigation or audit conducted by an agency such as the National Tax Service, the Fair Trade Commission, the Board of Audit and Inspection, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of Environment, and the labor office, the firm analyzes in advance the laws, facts, and supporting evidence that are the subject of the investigation and identifies the legal issues.

If interviews or statements by the company's officers and employees are scheduled, the firm supports the prevention of unfavorable remarks and the presentation of favorable arguments by attending the investigation or reviewing statements in advance.

The firm provides review and drafting advice on the various response documents requested of the client after an investigation, such as confirmations, explanatory statements, and corrective plans.

For various documents such as applications for regulatory exemptions, public policy proposals, recommendations for institutional improvement, and business plans, the firm handles the drafting in a manner that meets the legal requirements and formats.

In particular, because matters such as the regulatory sandbox, approval of new businesses, and cooperative projects with local governments require both practical feasibility and a legal basis at the same time, the firm designs the company's business model within the legal framework and reflects it accordingly.

The firm analyzes pre-announced bills, enforcement decrees, enforcement rules, and similar measures to assess the legal and economic impact on the client's business and presents the direction of the response and the necessary measures.

The firm analyzes the degree of impact based on factors such as the scope of application, the level of regulation, penalty provisions, and reporting obligations, and also presents alternatives from a comparative-law perspective (differences from other countries' systems).

When a client is requested by a government agency to provide a statement, an explanatory document, a confirmation, an opinion, or a similar document, the firm comprehensively reviews the key facts to be included in the document, the legal issues, and the connection to the relevant supporting evidence, and provides advice on drafting the written submission.

Because a submitted document may later be used as key evidence in an adverse disposition or in litigation, preventing the risk of an unfavorable interpretation depending on how it is written is key.

We provide legal advice on the formation and operation of the various committees of local governments and public institutions.

In addition, when a dispute or an adjudication on jurisdiction arises between national administrative agencies or between public institutions, we respond strategically.

If a company or an individual concludes that its fundamental rights have been infringed by regulatory statutes, ordinances, or administrative dispositions, we file a motion with the Constitutional Court for constitutional review of a statute or file a constitutional complaint.

In this process, we build a logical structure that establishes the unconstitutional elements of the measure based on constitutional principles, precedents (Constitutional Court rulings), and academic theory, and assessments of the unconstitutionality of local legislation (ordinances) and administrative legislation (enforcement decrees) are frequently used in particular.

Although the authoritative interpretations or informal positions provided by public institutions are not mandatory law, they carry practical binding force, and companies can be substantially affected by them.

However, such interpretations can be arbitrary, and there is often room for conflict with the text and system of the statute.

Correcting this requires a comprehensive analysis of the overall structure of the statute, its legislative intent, and trends in case law.

Bills and policy drafts are often pushed forward rapidly without sufficient sharing of information with the relevant stakeholders.

Ordinary companies, and small and mid-sized companies in particular, lack access to the legislative process, the schedule, and the key issues, and as a result they may miss the timing to respond or fail to have their views reflected.

A single matter often involves multiple government ministries, related institutions, and local governments.

Because each institution has a different perspective, priorities, and method of interpretation, conflicts arise in the coordination process, and companies become confused about where, what, and how to present their arguments.

Documents such as inquiries, written opinions, explanatory statements, statements of justification, and bid proposals may be used as evidence in future audits, investigations, and litigation.

Documents prepared internally by a company are prone to weaknesses in legal terminology and structure, and this not infrequently invites an unfavorable legal interpretation or leaves room for misunderstanding.

Under the Administrative Procedures Act, companies have rights such as the statement of opinion, hearings, and administrative appeals, but in practice arbitrary judgments within an institution or the omission of procedures frequently occur.

If a company responds on its own, it is difficult to effectively contest such infringements of rights, so a practical possibility of remedy opens up only when a legal professional becomes involved.

With attorneys experienced in administrative matters at the center, our firm documents and preserves as evidence all communications and procedures that arise during the regulatory response process, so that a consistent legal strategy can be maintained even in situations that may develop into a dispute stage such as administrative litigation or a constitutional complaint.

🔗Attorneys Experienced in Administrative Matters. Through a task-force response centered on them, we provide a one-stop response system that runs from 'prior policy consultation – administrative procedure response – subsequent legal remedy.'