Case Studies
[Consulting] Review of Personal Information Issues Arising from University Operations
Law firm Veat provided legal advice on personal information issues accompanying university operations. Each university is an institution holding a large amount of personal information, and personal information use and provision also frequently occur, so they can be considered institutions with a high risk of misuse and leakage of personal information. Accordingly, Law firm Veat reviewed issues related to personal information in university operations, such as whether to obtain consent for personal information requests from other institutions, responses to personal information issues related to overall university operations while operating a university-industry cooperation team, the legal basis for collecting personal information for top-level course students, and whether personal information can be provided to alumni associations, and derived the best solutions. Thank you. Law firm Veat
[Consultation] Responding to the Fair Trade Commission’s corrective disposition order
A leading domestic activity brokerage platform, OO, received a notification from the Fair Trade Commission stating that the company's terms and conditions may violate the “Act on Regulation of Standard Contractual Clauses” and are subject to review. While conducting a comprehensive investigation into the terms and conditions of providers of “knowledge and talent sharing services,” the Fair Trade Commission reviewed the terms and conditions of OO, a leading company in this field. Law firm Veat (1) meticulously analyzed the Fair Trade Commission’s official letter and (2) based on the understanding that OO can serve as an industry standard as a leading company in the knowledge and talent sharing service field, grasped the particularities of the “knowledge and talent sharing service providing platform” business through meetings with OO. Through this analysis and meetings, Law firm Veat was able to review the legitimacy and appropriateness of the Fair Trade Commission’s points of concern. Based on this analysis, and taking into account the intention of the Fair Trade Commission’s points, (1) in cases where revision was deemed appropriate, a “draft” in the format of a comparison table of new and old articles was prepared, and (2) in cases where existing terms and conditions were maintained, the reasons were detailed. Through several rounds of coordination with the Fair Trade Commission, OO’s draft revision was ultimately accepted. When a business is small, like a startup, terms and conditions may not be a major issue, but as the volume of transactions and sales increases, legal disputes may arise not only in relationships with customers but also with administrative agencies such as the Fair Trade Commission. Therefore, it is necessary to manage customer and governmental risks through legal advice on a regular basis. Thank you. Law firm Veat
[Consulting] Foreign Investment Reporting Guide
Law firm Veat guided A Company, located in the U.S. Silicon Valley, on the necessary documents and procedures for foreign investment reporting during the process of transferring funds to its Korean subsidiary. When an overseas corporation invests in a domestic corporation, and that falls under the definition of ‘foreign investment’ as stipulated in the Foreign Investment Promotion Act, it may be eligible for benefits such as guaranteed outward remittances, exemption from the provision temporarily suspending foreign exchange transactions, national treatment, and exemption from discriminatory tax provisions. A Company intended to lend funds to its subsidiary in the form of a subordinated loan. This falls under the definition of ‘providing long-term loans to a domestic corporation invested in by a foreigner’ as stipulated in Article 2 of the Foreign Investment Promotion Act and Article 2 of the Enforcement Decree of the same Act. Law firm Veat reviewed the laws and regulations related to the Foreign Investment Promotion Act and guided A Company on the reporting procedures and necessary information to ensure the fund transfer qualified as foreign investment. Thank you. Law firm Veat
[Consultation] Drafting Standard Investment Contract for a Technology Holding Company
Venture capitals (VCs) are often misunderstood as corporate raiders who seek to maximize investment profits, and are viewed as speculative capital with no interest in the long-term development of startups or the creation of a healthy venture ecosystem. However, in reality, most VCs do not think of investing in startups as solely a means of realizing profits, and believe that investing in startups can drive economic development, ignite the challenge-seeking spirit of young people, and is one of the ways to contribute to society. Furthermore, startup investment companies established by schools or public institutions may be required to fulfill a stronger role in social contribution and the building of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Technology holding company A recently needed to revise standard contracts after being selected as a TIPS operating company. In particular, company A intended to consider not only the role of a venture investor who invests in startups and recovers profits, but also the socially contributing aspect of discovering promising startups and helping them grow. Accordingly, Law firm Veat, at the request of company A, proposed a standard draft for investment in common stock, preferred stock (RCPS), convertible bonds (CB), and bonds with warrants (BW), guaranteeing an appropriate level of investment profit while containing more favorable terms for new venture companies, and in the process, drafted a standard contract that could reflect the positions of both investors and startups. Thank you. Law firm Veat Dream
[Consulting] Review of the legality of the Fintech business
Finance and IT combined, Fintech now accounts for a considerable portion of our country's financial sector. Especially areas like P2P lending have not only pioneered the mid-interest rate lending market, but also have loan amounts exceeding 100 billion won, gaining recognition as a field within finance. Meanwhile, regulatory measures and guidelines from relevant authorities are gradually being established due to the rapid growth of the P2P lending market. Law firm Veat received a request from a Fintech company specializing in P2P lending and analyzed the contents of the new P2P lending guidelines announced by the Financial Supervisory Service in November 2016, and identified legal risks in the business direction of P2P lending, considering the contents of soon-to-be-formalized administrative guidance. Thank you. Law firm Veat
[Advice] Review of the possibility of dismissing an employee who intentionally caused a malfunction in the company's IT system.
The relationship between a company and its employees cannot always be good. It is best to resolve conflicts between the company and employees in a timely manner, but if that is not possible, there are cases where the company or employees inflict harm on each other. Veat received a request to review the extent of lawful disciplinary action against an employee in a case where an employee of an IT company intentionally caused a malfunction in the company's IT system. Accordingly, Veat comprehensively reviewed the company's articles of association and the provisions of the Labor Standards Act, along with the rulings of the Labor Relations Commission and court precedents, and informed the company of the upper limit of lawful disciplinary action with little room for legal dispute. It also provided advice on the composition and procedures of the company’s disciplinary committee to prevent disciplinary action from being invalid due to procedural violations. Thank you. Law firm Veat
[Consultation] Review of Requirements for Asset Transfer and Guidance on Asset Transfer Procedures
IT Veat businesses change faster than other industries. Accordingly, management decisions, as well as the legal procedures following those decisions, often need to proceed rapidly. A, formerly a listed company, wished to quickly acquire most of the software development business operated by another company due to an urgent need for management. The problem was whether the requirements stipulated in the Commercial Code and the Capital Market Act for a business transfer were met, and what procedures were necessary to proceed with the business transfer as quickly as possible. To this end, Law firm Veat comprehensively considered the substantial business transfer requirements stipulated in the Capital Market Act and case law, the procedures of the company's institutions (board of directors and shareholders' meeting) that the transferring and acquiring companies must follow in a substantial business transfer, and the regulations regarding simplified business transfers and the special provisions for listed companies, and provided the methods and procedures for proceeding with the business transfer most quickly. Thank you. Law firm Veat
[Consulting] Review of English contract (Software supply contract and maintenance contract)
IT solutions providers are SI companies that, due to their business characteristics, provide various types of software and hardware to other companies and draft software development supply contracts or software maintenance contracts. In order to record the rights and obligations of both parties in these contracts, an understanding of the hardware or software, the development target system, and the business environment in which that system operates is necessary. Law firm Veat reviewed an English software supply contract for Company A, which provides IT solutions overseas and also carries out maintenance for them. Law firm Veat modified the contract as favorably as possible for Company A to ensure that Company A, the supplier, does not bear unnecessary additional obligations in the IT solution development and maintenance process, and utilized English contract expressions that could minimize the possibility of contingent liabilities that Company A could incur, while also considering the special nature of legal English. Thank you. Law firm Veat 드림
[Litigation] Obtained a decision of no charges in a defamation case related to the operation of a Chinese cross-border e-commerce site.
A was preparing to operate the Korean section of an internet shopping mall operated by a famous Chinese bank when he received a proposal from B, a friend, that he would like to be in charge of outsourcing product work, and he agreed to it. After A’s efforts, test quantities of products were received and sales began, but suddenly B began to make one-sided claims about the settlement method and ratio, failed to provide materials needed for settlement for several months, and filed a lawsuit against A on charges of fraud, obstruction of business, embezzlement in the course of business, and defamation. Law firm Veat, therefore, argued that fraud, etc. did not arise by thoroughly clarifying the relationship between A and B, the fact that B first proposed to perform outsourcing work, the fact that the settlement rate was to be determined later because it was initially a test quantity, the fact that money was sent to the supplier for settlement, and the fact that he was merely sending a reply email because B sent defamatory emails to the bank president, Korean branch manager, and cooperative companies of the bank. And the lawyer affiliated with Law firm Veat directly attended the confrontation interrogation of A and B and pointed out the inconsistencies in B’s claims, and during the process, obtained a statement that he participated in the business on his own judgment (related to fraud charges) and a statement that he received money from A but deceived A in order to satisfy other claims (related to embezzlement in the course of business). In the end, the defendant received a dismissal order from the Suwon Branch of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, and Law firm Veat will subsequently take recovery measures for items that the product supplier has not been able to recover from B based on this. Thank you. Law firm Veat
[Litigation] Attorney representation for prosecution of defamation and insult acts on the internet.
Online defamation and insult in the internet age can be a great pain for the victims. Especially, as the bulletin board era has passed and the SNS era has arrived, the speed and impact of spreading bad rumors about one person have increased even more. Law firm Veat has proceeded with criminal charges on behalf of victims damaged by false rumors on SNS and causing mental distress through malicious comments. Law firm Veat, based on a deep understanding of internet and SNS culture, grasped the unique context and situation prevailing in internet communities and SNS where the victim was subjected to a witch hunt. Furthermore, we effectively conveyed this context to the investigative authorities, helping them to conduct investigations smoothly in accordance with the criminal charges. Ultimately, we were able to coordinate criminal charges and settlements in a way that minimized additional damages that could occur to the victim and most effectively compensated for the victim's mental damages. Thank you. Law firm Veat