Attorney Tae Eon (Ted) KOO worked as a core member (Public Prosecutor) of Computer Crime Unit and Hi-Tech Crime Unit at Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in Seoul from 2002 to 2005. He introduced digital forensic techniques to investigation in early 2002, leading many investigations to remarkable successes. He joined Kim & Chang in 2006 as an attorney. Areas of practice included handling emerging issues in TMT industry, especially those related to e-commerce, privacy, information technology, digital forensics, protecting trade secrets, e-discovery, data protection, and litigating those issues in trial cases by investigative and forensic methodologies. As a Managing Partner for TEK&LAW LLP, his specialty was in blockchain law, cryptocurrency & ICO, private information protection, trade secret protection, financial security, corporate legal compliance, and cyber-crime and criminal defense. He is currently the head of Law Firm Lin’s TMT· Data Security department. He advises on blockchain law, cryptocurrency & ICO, Fintech, Healthcare Tech, Reg Tech along with private information protection, trade secret protection, financial security, corporate legal compliance, and cyber-crime and criminal defense.
Profile
Experience
[Primary Professional Experience]
- Current) IT & Intellectual Property Specialist Lawyer (Designated by the Korean Bar Association) (2016 – Present)
- Current) Member, Economic Regulatory Innovation Task Force under the Deputy Prime Minister for Economy (2022.07 – Present)
- Current) Member, Policy Advisory Group to the Minister of SMEs and Startups (2022.07 – Present)
- Current) Adjunct Professor, Startup College at Gachon University (2022.09 – Present)
- Current) Head of AI·Platform·Technology Team / Chief Vision Officer (CVO), LIN LLC
- Past) Member, Presidential Committee on Digital Platform Government (2022.09 – Present)
- Past) Prosecutor, High-Tech Crime Investigation Division, Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (In charge of Internet/Tech-Leakage Crime Investigation Centers) (2002 – 2005)
- Past) Attorney at Law, Kim & Chang Law Office (2006 – 2011)
- Past) Managing Partner, TEK & LAW (Known as the 'Law Firm for Innovators') (2012 – 2019.03)
- Past) Commissioner, Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC)
[Corporate Executive Roles]
- Past) Outside Director, SK Communications (2016 – 2019)
- Past) Outside Director, Saltlux Inc. (2019 – 2022)
- Past) Head of Legal Policy Division & Non-Executive Director, Life Semantics (2020 – 2023)
[Metaverse & ESG]
- Current) Member, Win-win Cooperation Committee, K-META Metaverse Enterprise Support Center
- Current) Member, SDX Carbon Reduction Committee, SDX Foundation
[Public Sector & Government Advisory]
- Current) Member, Operating Committee, Seoul AI Hub
- Current) Member, AI Innovation Committee, Federation of Korean Industries (FKI)
- Current) Member, 3rd Remuneration Management Committee, Korea Entertainment Producer's Association (2024.06.01 – 2026.05.31)
- Current) Member, Digital Strategy Advisory Committee, NH Nonghyup Bank (2024.06.24 – 2025.06.23)
- Current) Member, AI External Advisory Group, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (2024.03.18 – 2026.03.17)
- Current) Member, Policy Advisory Group, Korea Software Industry Association (KOSA) (2023.09.12 – 2025.02)
- Current) Member, Special Committee for AI-IP, Presidential Council on Intellectual Property
- Current) Member, Regulatory Sandbox Deliberation Committee (Industrial Convergence), Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy
- Current) Member, New Industry Innovation Committee, Office for Government Policy Coordination (Prime Minister’s Office)
- Current) Member, Legal Interpretation Advisory Committee, Financial Services Commission (FSC)
- Current) Member, Blockchain Development Forum Advisory Group, Financial Supervisory Service (FSS)
- Past) Member, Sanction Review Committee, Financial Supervisory Service (FSS)
- Past) Member, Digital Investigation Advisory Committee, Supreme Prosecutors' Office (1st–7th Terms)
[Academic & Professional Societies]
- Current) Vice President, Personal Information Protection Law Association
- Current) Vice President, Korea Artificial Intelligence Law Association
- Current) Vice President, Korea Forensic Science Association (Registered Director)
- Current) Vice President, Blockchain Law Society
- Current) Vice President, Korea Blockchain Startup Association
- Current) Vice President, Korea Shared Economy Association
- Current) Director, Korea Fintech Society / Korea Information Processing Society (KIPS)
[Digital Healthcare]
- Current ) Partner & Mentor, Digital Healthcare Partners (DHP)
- Current ) Member, Health & Medical Data Review Committee, Korea Health Information Service (2022.04.08 – 2024.04.07)
- Current ) Member, Public Data Provision Deliberation Committee, Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service (HIRA)
[Blockchain & New Industries]
- Current) Chairman, Legal Tech Industry Association
- Current) Member, Operating Committee (Director), Korea Startup Forum
- Current) Legal Advisor, Korea Fintech Industry Association
- Current) Legal Advisory Group, Busan Blockchain Regulatory Free Zone
[Data Privacy & Cybersecurity]
- Current) External Evaluation Member for Data Specialization, Shinhan Bank / Samsung Card
- Current) Legal Counsel, Korea CPO Forum / CONCERT (Korea Data Center Council)
- Current) Member, Pseudonymous Data Expert Group, Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA)
- Past) Member, ISMS Certification Committee, Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA)
Representative Matters
- Advised on mass data breach cases for risk and litigation management (experience in representing several highly-publicized data theft cases)
- Advised healthcare, financial and fintech companies with data protection laws
- Advised blockchain companies with ICO/IEO/STO and regulatory compliance
- Advised on trade secret civil/criminal cases
- Advised on digital forensic, regulatory sandbox, and financial data protection
Activities
- (사) 한국블록체인기업진흥협회(KBEPA) 공로상 (2021.11.26)
Education
- Gyeonggi High School
- Korea University (BA, Law 1991)
- Korea University School of Cybersecurity (MSc Information Security 2014)
- Santa Clara University Law School (Visiting Scholar)
- Korean Bar Examination (34th)
- Judicial Research and Training Institute (24th)
Qualifications
- Attorney at law (Korea)
- Patent Attorney (Korea)
- Tax Attorney (Korea)
Publications
- Research on enhancing personal data processing accountability (2014/Committee on personal data protection)
- A study on the personal data definition clause, consent regime and justifiability of criminal penalty (2014/Korea Association of Informedia Law)
- Personal Data Protection Law and Policy (2014/pybook)
- Fin-tech, grabbing an opportunity (2015/co-authored)
- We cannot regulate future (2018)
Capabilities
- Personal Data Protection, Trade Secret, Financial Security;
- Corporate, Compliance, White-collar Crime;
- Electronic Commerce, Intellectual Property, Digital Forensic;
- Blockchain, Cryptocurrency;
- Digital Healthcare, FinTech