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On July 18, Law Firm Tong held its first bowling tournament for all employees (including lawyers), with Team D winning the championship and awards given in various categories, including medalist, runner-up, and near-medalist. All participants received souvenirs, and the competition and awards process fostered competition and socialization among lawyers. At the dinner after the awards ceremony, Mr. Lee emphasized the importance of relieving stress and promoting mutual understanding among employees, and said that he would continue to organize events for welfare and harmony in the future. As a practical consideration, it is necessary for law firms to review and prepare for practical and legal issues such as working hours management, safety and insurance measures, and personal information management when organizing similar events.
The second golf tournament, hosted by Law Firm Tong on August 24, expanded the number of participating teams from two to three, and promoted competition and camaraderie among lawyers through various awards, including medalist (co-winner), Sinferio method winner, and longest-senior list. The entire competition and awards were organized by Law Firm Tong. Attorney Lee Eun-young won the Near List award and demonstrated her personal improvement by recording her first birdie on a long hole with a high handicap, while Attorney Yoon Jeong-yeon contributed to revitalizing the atmosphere of the event with her enthusiastic singing at the post-award dinner. The participants strengthened their will to practice for the next tournament. At the event, Mr. Jonghwa Chung was elected as the chairman of the golf club and shared his plans to promote regular meetings and expand the number of teams to four for the next tournament. Law Firm Tong plans to organize future tournaments and gatherings with the goal of strengthening its internal network and continuing its activities.
On August 21, Attorney Lee Hyung-taek Lee (CEO of Law Offices of Tong, Director of Kukkiwon, and Advisory Board Member) received a visit from the President of the Sri Lanka Taekwondo Association and led a discussion on strengthening Taekwondo exchanges and cooperation between the two countries. Mr. Lee emphasized the importance of international cooperation and expressed his willingness to provide legal support for continued exchanges and institutional cooperation in the future. Specifically, Mr. Lee expressed his willingness to help the taekwondo community develop through practical legal services such as reviewing and drafting exchange agreements, institutional development, and dispute prevention and resolution. Through the meeting, the two sides confirmed their close cooperation and agreed to explore practical ways to operate exchange programs and establish legal frameworks in the future. Based on Mr. Lee's experience and expertise, Law Firm Tong plans to actively participate in global taekwondo cooperation and continue to respond to relevant legal issues.
In the monthly Leaders' Interview, Mr. Lee explained the direction of the law firm's operations, focusing on leadership and management philosophy. He emphasized an organizational culture based on trust and professionalism, presented team empowerment and customized service provision as management principles, and specifically mentioned the actual organizational management and decision-making methods. Regarding the AI era, Mr. Lee said that the firm views technology as an opportunity, not a threat, and will reorganize its work structure and training system to enable lawyers to focus on strategic advice and dispute resolution by automating repetitive tasks and introducing data analysis. He also emphasized the need to establish internal guidelines and risk management measures for ethical and liability issues that accompany the adoption of technology. In terms of future plans, Tong said it will expand its practice areas by strengthening specialized teams, diversifying its digital platforms and services, attracting top talent and expanding its overseas network, and balancing sustainable growth with social responsibility.
On August 1, Law Firm Tong signed a business agreement with T.S. Detective Agency to improve the efficiency and reliability of investigations and evidence collection. Lee Hyung-taek, a partner at the firm, said that through the agreement, the firm will strengthen its scope of legal services and practical skills, and focus on verifying facts and securing the legal validity of evidence using its detective capabilities. Law Firm Tong plans to integrate the Detective Research Institute's domestic and international investigative experience into its legal practice to enhance the professionalism, speed, and quality of evidence acquisition and open up new markets. To this end, the two parties will standardize data management and evidence preservation procedures, establish a dedicated team to review evidentiary capacity and legal requirements for each case, and conduct activities to strengthen compliance with legal issues such as privacy and prohibition of illegal collection. Through continued cooperation, we will promote customized services and business model advancement.
Lee Hyung-taek Tong, a lawyer at Law Firm Tong, views real estate as a social resource, not just a private asset, and emphasizes the need to strengthen public ownership to address issues of housing insecurity, inequality, and speculation. In addition to strengthening regulations through administrative and legislative measures, he argues that the tax system should be overhauled, development profits should be returned, and lease protection should be expanded to compensate for market failures. In terms of legal issues, Mr. Lee presents the proper compensation and expropriation procedures for land and housing, the possibility of litigation related to the right to housing, and the constitutional and administrative law validity of strengthening transaction reporting and taxation. Tong says that the firm aims to balance public and private property rights by proposing relevant law amendments, advising local governments and the state, designing contracts and compliance to prevent disputes, and responding to lawsuits.
On July 10, lawyers at Law Firm Tong signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Korea Digital Forensic Center (KDFC) to introduce digital forensic technology into legal services. The agreement focuses on strengthening data analysis and security and technical cooperation, and Law Firm Tong plans to link its forensic capabilities to litigation, advisory services, and breach response. Tong will focus on securing evidentiary competence and legitimacy in litigation and investigation response and regulatory and compliance risk management by establishing forensic-based evidence collection, preservation, and analysis procedures. In particular, it will strengthen its responsiveness to practical legal issues such as chain-of-custody management, privacy compliance, and verification of legal response procedures for breaches. In addition, through joint research, training, and on-site cooperation with KDFC, Tong lawyers plan to expand services in various fields such as corporate counseling, incident response, and digital evidence-based dispute resolution, and to enhance legal credibility and competitiveness by building a reliable data environment.
Mr. Byung Moon Kim has joined Tong as a partner in the firm's Busan office and led the opening of the Busan office. Based on his 20 years of experience in investigation and prosecution as a prosecutor, he will strengthen our criminal defense capabilities and provide practice-oriented legal services in the areas of investigation, evidence management, and defense strategy. In addition to general criminal cases, Mr. Kim's expertise and know-how in various fields, including corporate and economic cases, tax and financial cases, will help establish a legal service system in the Busan area and promote prompt and professional legal support. With the opening ceremony held on July 1, 2024, we expanded our network with the local legal community and plan to contribute to solving various legal issues in the Busan area under his leadership.
Mr. Chung Jong-hwa (30th Judicial Training Institute), a principal at Law Firm Tong, has been appointed as the new General Counsel of the Armed Forces. Mr. Chung will serve a two-year term beginning July 1 and will be in charge of providing legal advice to the military, interpreting laws and regulations, and handling litigation cases involving the military. The appointment ceremony was held on July 11th. In response to the diversification and complexity of its administration, the budgetary force amended the 'Ordinance on the Operation of Budgetary Force Advisory Lawyers' in July 2023 to expand the number of advisory lawyers from three to five, and appointed two more through an open recruitment in the first half of this year. The appointment is expected to strengthen the military's expertise in administrative and legal tasks such as providing legal advice to local governments, interpreting laws and regulations, and strengthening its ability to respond to lawsuits.
At the Innovation and Finance Forum's monthly breakfast seminar, Mr. Lee Young-nam, a partner at Law Firm Tong, focused on the penalty reduction system for self-reporters of unfair transactions in the capital market. He emphasized that the system aims to ensure fairness in the capital market by promptly investigating covert and organized crimes committed by a large number of people and preventing similar crimes. The lawyer specifically explained that self-reporters can benefit from the reduced penalties by turning themselves in to the investigative authorities, or by stating the facts of the crime and submitting evidence during the trial process, explaining that the system will strengthen the crackdown on unfair trade and contribute to the transparency and credibility of the market.
Hyungtack Lee, a partner at Law Firm Tong, has published a new book, "ESG Revolution - The Power of Sustainability," which summarizes the legal and managerial issues of ESG. The book explains the impact of ESG on corporate strategy and governance, related regulations and disclosure obligations, and risk management measures through case studies, and suggests integrated strategies to strengthen corporate competitiveness and secure long-term sustainability. The book details practical implementation methods such as using AI tools to improve the accuracy and efficiency of ESG reporting, stakeholder communication, and the design of performance indicators, internal controls, and accountability structures, and emphasizes the need to mitigate legal issues, compliance, and dispute risks related to contracts, investments, and disclosures. It also provides a legal and compliance guide that companies can apply immediately through specific checklists and action roadmaps.
