South Korean law firm Bae, Kim & Lee (BKL) has strengthened its antitrust and competition practice by hiring three lawyers and expanding its economic analysis center to incorporate data science capabilities, the firm said Thursday.
The firm has reorganized its Center for Law and Economics, established in 2021, into the Center for Economics and Data Analytics (CEDA), bringing together lawyers, economists and data scientists to handle increasingly complex competition cases.
The expanded center will use statistical modeling, data processing and empirical analysis to assess competitive effects in merger reviews, cartel investigations and abuse of dominance cases.
It also plans to extend its analytical services to commercial disputes, criminal cases and damages assessments.
CEDA is led by Richard Shin, a former economist at the US Federal Trade Commission and the US Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, and Jeon Seong-hoon, a former professor at Sogang University.
“Competition matters increasingly require not only a sound understanding of the law but also rigorous analysis of the underlying economic evidence,” Shin said.
The expansion comes alongside the recruitment of three antitrust lawyers: Lee Dong-ryul, Kim Chi-yeol and Lee Jong-hun.
Lee Dong-ryul, formerly of Shin & Kim, brings approximately 20 years of experience in competition law and cross-border disputes, including merger control and cartel investigations.
Kim previously worked at the Korea Fair Trade Commission, specializing in corporate group regulation and unfair intra-group transactions. He is also a certified public accountant.
Lee Jong-hun has more than a decade of experience in merger control, competition disputes and corporate compliance, including work involving technology and pharmaceutical companies.
The three will join BKL’s Antitrust and Competition Group and collaborate with CEDA on regulatory investigations, compliance and disputes, the firm said.
seungku99@heraldcorp.com
