Why is Kim & Chang hiring ex-officials?

By Kim Tae-gyu

Kim & Chang, Korea’s largest law firm, keeps a large number of former government officials on its payroll, triggering speculation that they are used to lobby for their big clients.

“Many ranking officials from the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) and the National Tax Service (NTS) join law firms like Kim & Chang shortly after they retire,” said Kim Mi-young at the Citizens’ Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ), a civic group.

“What do they do in return for large remunerations? Common sense tells us that they offer inside information they still have access to and influence the decisions of their erstwhile colleagues to offer better chances for their clients, mostly big companies, to win in lawsuits, possibly against government agencies.”

Kim & Chang said that its advisors get paid for their expertise, while rebuffing the allegations that they were acting as lobbyists.

The debate concerning Kim & Chang began late last week after Minister of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs-nominee Kwon Do-youp was found to have earned 25 million won a month during his five-month stint at the law firm.

The amount represents a substantial leap from the candidate’s salary during his tenure as a vice minister. Even when he moved to Korea Express, where the yearly pay was substantially high, it is said to have fallen far short of that at Kim & Chang.

In a recent CCEJ survey, Kim & Chang led the list with a total of 28 advisors, who formerly worked for influential government offices. The contents of which were collected from the online statistics of each company.

For example, the list of advisors Kim & Chang announced on its website includes just a single figure from the National Tax Service (NTS), according to the CCEJ. But an insider at the outfit told The Korea Times that more than 20 with experience at the NTS are working there at the moment.

In this climate, even the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), the biggest lobby for local conglomerates that is supposed to represent big companies and law firms, presented a negative opinion on the influential role of law firms.

“I don’t think that Kim & Chang is a law firm. It is just a big lobby group,” said an FKI executive, who asked not to be named.

Such prominent figures as Strategy-Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun and former Prime Minister Han Seung-soo used to work for Kim & Chang.

김&장이 퇴직 공무원 고용하는 이유는?

국내 최대 법률회사인 김&장은 많은 전직 공무원을 고용함으로써 대형 고객을 위한 로비를 하는데 이용하고 있다는 추측을 증폭시키고 있다.

시민 단체인경제정의 시민 연대의 김미영씨는 “공정거래위원회와 국세청의 많은 고위 공무원들이 퇴직하자마자 김&장 같은 로펌에 합류한다”고 말했다.

“많은 보수 대신 그들이 하는 일은 무엇인가. 상식적으로 봐서 이들이 아직 접근할 수 있는 내부 정보를 준다. 또 하나는 현직 동료들이 자신들의 고객들, 대부분 대형 회사들이 정부기관을 상대로 소송에서 이길 수 있게끔 더 나은 기회를 제공하기 위한 결정에 영향력을 준다는 것이다.

김&장은 고문들이 로비스트 노릇 한다는 주장을 단호하게 거절하며 전문 지식에 대한 보수를 받는다고 말했다.

김&장 관련 논란은 지난 주 말 권도엽 국토부 장관 내정자가 이 로펌에 5개월 있으면서 2,500 만원을 받은 게 알려지면서 불거졌다.