BKL’s Technology, Media & Telecom (TMT) Group, formed in 1988, was the first Korean law firm team to focus on telecom infrastructure, information technology and broadcast regulation. Over the past 30 years, our practice has expanded rapidly with the proliferation of laws governing information flows in Korea, making it a highly regulated jurisdiction in this regard. Throughout, BKL has been at the leading edge of Korean legal services, in every relevant area of industry, financial and data privacy regulation.

TMT Group specializes in telecom, online services and media, with focal areas including connectivity rules and data security. It also offers comprehensive regulatory advice in areas of new technology, such as mobility, blockchain, and AI. With our dedicated team of former government and industry professionals, we have unsurpassed expertise in regulatory know-how. Commonly, telecom and broadcast enterprises, as well as online and smartphone based services, must navigate significant license or registration requirements in Korea. Key agencies include the Ministry of Science and ICT, Korea Communications Commission (KCC), Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC), and Financial Services Commission (FSC). In testament to BKL’s standards, we are often consulted by the regulators themselves for policy comment and issues of first impression. BKL has guided hundreds of clients through the requisites – often including technical and organizational standards – of the regulatory process.

We serve a wide spectrum of Korean and foreign-headquartered businesses, ranging from multinationals and local market leaders – major telecoms, broadcasters, financial institutions, online/app service providers – to mid-size innovators and fast-growing startups. TMT Group delivers, and our expertise builds on, intensive regulatory and transactional advice for a large cross-section of the media, online and app-driven space in Korea.

Technology

Our technology work serves many of the most innovative device makers and service providers in the world. For regulatory advice and transactional guidance, as well as top-tier litigation support, TMT Group has represented major smartphone and wireless appliance makers, as well as developers of leading edge technology such as 5G, “connected cars,” Big Data, FinTech, blockchain, software and open source, AI and robots, virtual reality, mobility and so on. We have extensive experience assisting financial institutions and online and app service providers on issues ranging from facility and data security, to user terms and business partner contracts. In recent years, members of TMT Group have been active in crisis management as well, advising online service clients in response to major data breach incidents and investigations.

Media

BKL’s track record in broadcast media is unsurpassed. TMT Group has been advisor to a “Big 3” TV broadcast network in Korea for over 20 years, and has assisted many broadcast companies and multiple system operators, in operating within the extensive range of regulation in this sector. Inter-system conflicts (among terrestrial, cable, satellite, IPTV), including those with and among new hybrid areas including OTT services, and broadcast and retransmission constraints, frequently give rise to issues tackled by our group. In particular, with regard to new media services, we offer support to our clients in legislative process participation and complicated regulatory compliance. With a robust understanding of the business environment and commercial norms, we have also handled a large volume of transactional work in this sector, ranging from negotiation of inter-operator fees to joint ventures for news, sports, entertainment and home-shopping channels. TMT Group offers comprehensive expertise across the range of transactional tasks, including without limitation program licensing, channel distribution, advertising sale, and has assisted clients coordinate outbound broadcast-sector investments in the Asia region, including China. 

Telecommunication

TMT Group is expert in every aspect of telecom regulations in Korea, having long advised all of the “Big 3” telecom infrastructure companies, together with many telecom-based service providers. We have handled a wide span of issues arising in the regulatory framework, including operating and investment restrictions, licensing hurdles and user protection rules, under the Telecommunications Business Act, Telecom Networks Act and related regulations. In addition to traditional telecom issues such as spectrum allocation and facility compliance, in recent years the focal areas of our practice have included the expansion in LTE service, 5G service, data center installation and transfer, cloud computing, subsea cable investment, and other frontier infrastructure projects. In the transactional sphere, BKL is widely recognized for its leading part in telecom sector M&A deal work over the past 20 years.