How to reach me

I am a Korean-qualified lawyer and a partner at SEUM Law in Seoul. If something on this site looks like your company's problem, write to me.

These are the matters I usually handle.

  • Breach response — the first 72 hours, whether notification and reporting are triggered under art. 34, and dealing with the Commission afterwards
  • PIPC investigations and enforcement — from a materials request through opinion submissions to challenging a disposition
  • Cross-border transfers and structure — art. 28-8 transfer grounds, group agreements applied under Korean law, domestic representative appointment, chief privacy officer requirements
  • Product and feature review — whether a planned data use holds up under Korean law
  • Disputes after an incident — who bears what between the company and its entrustee (the processor, in GDPR terms)
  • Investment and M&A — privacy findings in diligence and how they carry into the documents

If your matter falls outside data protection, colleagues at SEUM Law may be better placed, and I will tell you where to go.

Writing from outside Korea

Two situations in particular, for a company with no Korean legal team of its own.

  • An independent Korean-law opinion — a Korean customer or partner has asked for one before your product or service goes in. Send me their request and a description of how the data is handled. The memo is in English, and their Korean counsel can check it against the statute and the Commission's published guidance.
  • A letter from a Korean regulator — from the Korea Internet & Security Agency, the Personal Information Protection Commission or another authority. Send me the letter and the date it reached you. I check the reply deadline first.

How long either takes depends on the scope. I tell you once the scope is settled.

Working language

Correspondence, advice and reports are in English. Filings with the Commission and court documents must be in Korean; that work is handled on your behalf. Korean is the governing language of every statute cited on this site — English renderings here are unofficial and should not be relied on as the text.

What happens after you write

  1. Reply — I aim to reply within one business day, Korea time (UTC+9). If it will take longer, I say when to expect a full answer.
  2. Conflicts check — whether the other side is already a client of the firm. If the matter cannot be taken, I tell you that and nothing more.
  3. Scope — a short call to work out what the matter actually requires and how urgent it is. A call is usually faster than email for this.
  4. Terms — once the scope is settled, I set out how the work would run and what it would cost. You are free to stop there.

I aim to reply within one business day, Korea time (UTC+9). Replies can take longer. If you hear nothing within three days, please contact me by email or telephone to check whether your message was received or the reply is delayed.

Contact

Helps me reply faster (optional)

I aim to reply within one business day (Korea time, UTC+9). If you hear nothing within three days, please email or call to check whether the message was received or the reply is delayed.

Email works just as well and reaches the same place.

What this page is not

Corrections to the data tables are welcome at the same address — put "correction" in the subject line and I will check it against the original and fix it, recording the change in the update log (Korean).

Press, writing and speaking requests go to the same address. Please include your outlet and the dates you have in mind.

This is not a legal advice service. datalaw.kr is a notebook I write and run under my own name. It offers no automated or AI consultation, and everything on it is general information rather than advice on your facts. The only official domain for this site is datalaw.kr (about).

Frequently asked questions

Q. How quickly will I get a reply?

I aim to reply within one business day, Korea time (UTC+9). Replies can take longer. If you hear nothing within three days, please contact me by email or telephone to check whether your message was received or the reply is delayed.

Q. Can you work in English?

Yes. Correspondence, advice and reports are in English. Filings, submissions to the Personal Information Protection Commission and court documents have to be in Korean, and that work is handled on your behalf. Korean is the governing language of the statutes; English renderings on this site are unofficial.

Q. Do you act for companies outside Korea?

Often, yes. A common situation is a foreign group whose Korean subsidiary or Korean user base brings it within the Personal Information Protection Act — appointing a domestic representative, applying a group data protection agreement under Korean law, or responding to the Commission after an incident.

Q. A Korean authority has written to us and we have no office in Korea. What should we send you?

The letter itself, the date it reached you, and a short description of the service it concerns. I check the reply deadline first and ask for an extension where one is needed. Then I work out whether the requirement in the letter applies to you. The reply is prepared and filed in Korean on your behalf.

The content of this site is general information and not legal advice. Specific matters require individual review, and writing to me does not create a lawyer-client relationship.