Hwan Kyoung Ko

Practice Areas

TMT, Data Privacy & Cybersecurity, Digital Health, TMT Litigation

Career

Hwan Kyoung Ko is a partner in the TMT (Technology, Media, and Telecommunications) Group at Lee & Ko. He is a leading expert in the areas of Data Privacy & Cyber Security, telecommunications, broadcasting, IT, Digital Finance, Fintech, AI, and legislative consulting.

Notable experiences include serving as a member of the Financial Services Commission's Credit Information Use and Protection Act Reform and Information Protection Task Force during the credit card data breach, the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection Reform Task Force, the Science and Technology Innovation Committee of the Presidential Committee on the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and participation in hackathons. Mr. Ko currently serves as an advisory member of the Digital Platform Government Committee, a member of the Ministry of Science and ICT's AI Strategy Council, a member of the AI Legal System Improvement Group, and a member of the National Data Policy Committee.

In 2019, he received the President’s Commendation Medal for his contribution to the growth of the data industry. And in 2022, he received a Commendation Award from the Minister of Health and Welfare for his contribution to the Medical Health Way.

Mr. Ko has been consistently recognized as one of the top legal practitioners in Korea as witnessed by his selection as: a leading lawyer in the field of TMT (Technology, Media, Telecommunications) by Chambers Asia for 12 years (Band 2 as of 2024); the best lawyer in the field of data protection in Hankyung Business Magazine’s “Best Lawyer” Rankings in 2020, 2022, and 2023; and one of Asian Legal Business’s Top 15 TMT Lawyers in Asia.

Mr. Ko participated in the establishment of Lee & Ko’s Credit Information Team in 2020 and Digital Finance Team in 2021, and as of 2024, he is serving as the head of the DPC (Data Privacy & Cybersecurity) Team, Tech & AI Team, and Platform Regulation Response Team.

He is also actively engaged in interdisciplinary research through his roles as vice chairman of the Korea Personal Information Protection Law Association, vice chairman of the Financial Information Society of Korea, auditor of the AI Law Association, director of the Korean Association for Policy Studies, and vice chairman of the MyData Forum.

Professional Memberships

Korean Bar Association, New York Bar Association.

Publications

EU GDPR(co-author) (Bakyoungsa, 2017)

The Telecommunications Business Act (co-author) (Bobmunsa, 2016)

Study of the Radio Waves Act (co-author) (Bobmunsa, 2013)

Presentation on Feasibility and Effectiveness of Regulations on Consent for and Destruction of Personal Information (Korea Personal Information Protection Law Association/ Korea Society for Regulatory

Presentation on Recommendations for the Reasonable Amendment and Enforcement of Personal Information Protection Laws (Korea Personal Information Protection Law Association, 2014)

Presentation on Approval System for Telecom Service Fees and Main Legal Issues (Center for Law & Public Utilities, Seoul National University, 2014)

Presentation on Amendment of the Credit Information Act and Main Legal Issues (Financial Information Society of Korea, 2014)

Criteria for Determining the Justifiability of an Approval System for Telecom Service Fees and Recommendations (Journal of Law and Economic Regulation, 2014)

Conducted numerous lectures for the Korean Bar Association, SK Telecom, Doosan Group, LG Group, the Samsung Group, Nike, Daum, etc.

Personal

Korea University (LLB, 1996) ; Georgetown Law Center (LLM, 2008).