[Law Firm Now] Law Firm Won "Not a Choice but a Necessity: One-Stop Legal Service for 'ESG Management'"

Diverse and Rapidly Changing ESG Issues
Industry- and Scale-Specific Customized Legal Advice
CEO Won and Team Members Embrace 'ESG Authenticity'

From the left, Lawyer Lee Young-joo of Law Firm One ESG Center, Lawyer Oh Ji-heon, Lawyer Lee Yoo-jung (Co-Director), U.S. Lawyer Moon Sung-hoo (Co-Director), Lawyer Park Jun-woo.
[Photo by Law Firm One]

Companies are becoming increasingly anxious amid the ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) boom. Major overseas asset management firms, governments, and institutions around the world are also preparing related disclosure and evaluation standards. There are concerns that the further companies fall behind in responding to issues such as human rights due diligence and supply chain management, the greater the damage to their operations will be.

"ESG policies mean that top performers are expected to become 'model students' as well. Unlike the past when companies were forgiven as long as they made profits, now it is important to 'Do Good by Doing Well'?to make money while doing good."

Moon Seong-hoo, Head of the ESG Center at Law Firm Won (Lead Attorneys Kang Geum-sil and Yoon Ki-won), explained the ESG management paradigm this way. He stated, "Investors with money have already declared that they will not invest in companies that ignore ESG risks. ESG has become an unavoidable demand of the times."

Managing ESG regulatory risks has become a challenge for companies. Moon diagnosed, "Risks vary by industry, company size, and issue, so solutions through a 'collaborative structure' are necessary." Won proactively established an 'ESG One-Stop Legal Service' and officially opened the ESG Center in June 2021. Last year, it operated the educational service 'ESG KNOW & HOW,' covering corporate executives and employees as well as small and medium-sized partner companies, winning the 'BEST PRACTICE' award at a special forum hosted by the Korea HRD Association. It has also built external collaboration systems with overseas law firms and carbon credit specialists.

Won is making direct efforts to practice human rights management by actively encouraging its affiliated lawyers' public interest activities. It established the nonprofit organization Seon, consistently conducting activities such as offering Earth Law lectures, supporting youth climate change lawsuits, and organizing Earth Day events. It has also actively supported public interest lawsuits for women's rights. Led by Kang Geum-sil, the first female Minister of Justice and the first female law firm representative (Judicial Research and Training Institute class 13), and with Yoo Jeong Lee, a constitutional, administrative, and women's law expert serving as the finance director, Won is regarded as a 'law firm inherently internalizing ESG values.'

Currently, the ESG Center is headed by Attorney Yoo Jeong Lee (class 23), following the first center head Kang. Moon, a U.S. attorney and former executive at Hyundai Motor Group and other large corporations, was appointed co-center head on the 15th. Attorneys Lee Young-joo (Bar Exam 1st), Oh Ji-heon (1st), and Park Jun-woo (class 39) are respectively in charge of the environment, social, and governance sectors, managing the risks of client companies visiting the ESG Center in depth.

Attorney Lee Young-joo cited 'carbon neutrality' as a major issue in the environmental field, introducing, "Countries overseas are demanding that 'carbon emitted must be eliminated,' and international agreements have set targets. We provide customized advice on calculating carbon emissions and preparing plans for each company."

Attorney Oh, who emphasized a 'human rights-respecting management system,' said, "The European Union is leading the trend of legislating corporate human rights responsibilities and mandating human rights due diligence. In Korea, laws such as the Serious Accidents Punishment Act and the Workplace Harassment Prohibition Act are in effect." He added, "Unlike general consulting firms, as a law firm with 'attorney-client privilege,' we can appropriately resolve difficulties companies face domestically and internationally." He also noted, "We have a system entrusted with operating corporate human rights counseling and reporting centers, and because we objectively and professionally resolve internal corporate human rights violations and sexual harassment issues that companies find difficult to handle on their own, satisfaction is high."

Attorney Park, who recently successfully advised on the preparation and review of a corporate governance report for a listed company, explained, "The scope of companies required to disclose ESG information is gradually expanding. Governance is the most sensitive area for companies, and many issues have not been addressed before. We review and advise on specific issues such as 'inadequate disclosure' and 'false disclosure.'"

The ESG Center plans to expand education and support for 'ESG internalization' and to broaden its response work by closely communicating with legislative bodies. Moon stated, "While focusing on risk management for private and public sector clients, we will continue to provide precise and in-depth consulting through collaborative systems with domestic and international partners."