Metaverse

As our daily life expands from the real world and into the digital metaverse, new legal issues are emerging to regulate.  These issues include, among others, the rights and obligations between relevant operators, and between the operators and users on the metaverse.  Our Practice provides innovative and effective advice on legal issues related the entire lifecycle of the metaverse, starting from the launch of the metaverse business, both domestically and abroad, by customers in various industries such as games, entertainment, fintech, virtual assets, IT, broadcasting, and TMT.  Our Practice consists of lawyers with extensive experience in licensing, tax, IP, fair trade, data protection, consumer protection, digital platform regulation, payment processing regulation, other regulatory and compliance, cross-border investment, M&A and litigation, which are integral to the metaverse business.  Based on these capabilities and extensive experience in the new metaverse field, our Practice provides comprehensive legal services in order to advise and support customers achieve their business goals.

Blockchain

Recently, blockchain technology is being applied to various industries and is attracting attention as an emerging fundamental technology in the public and private sectors across the world.  In Korea, blockchain-based vaccination certificates were introduced to protect individuals’ privacy in the process of overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic.  In addition, efforts are continuously being made to enhance the efficiency and transparency of services through the use of blockchain technologies in areas other than finance or payment, such as certificates, shareholder verification services, and donation ledger management.  In Korea, the path to blockchain innovation is gradually opening up through regulatory sandboxes, etc., but on the other hand, due to the cross-border nature of blockchain technology, it is necessary to monitor conflicts with regulations not only in Korea but also overseas.  In these unsettled circumstances, our Practice provides comprehensive advice to our customers to help them navigate the complex regulatory environments to realize innovations through blockchain technology.

Digital Assets

Digital assets include virtual assets, non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”), and Central Bank Digital Currencies (“CBDCs”), based on blockchain and distributed ledger technology.  Digital assets already play a key role in providing innovative services in a wide range of areas, including finance, payment, games, sports, arts and metaverse.  The ecosystem of digital assets is expected to expand even faster in the future.
Our Practice provides comprehensive advice to a number of domestic and foreign companies that engage in businesses using blockchain technology and virtual assets.  Specifically, we generally advise not only on regulatory and tax issues applicable to the relevant stakeholders such as virtual asset issuers, virtual asset exchanges, virtual asset trustees, wallet operators, DeFi, funds, financial institutions, and blockchain game companies, but also on related issues such as early project design and investment.  We also represent and advise a number of customers in regulatory investigations, litigations, arbitrations and other disputes regarding blockchain technology and virtual assets.

Further, our Practice advises on NFT, which is used across multiple industries such as arts, games, entertainment, finance and e-business.  Our Practice is comprised of professionals and experts with extensive practical experience and provides a broad range of advice on various legal issues such as NFT market places, NFT businesses of game companies and entertainment companies, fractional NFT investment platforms, NFT issuances and transactions, and NFT related IP issues.

Metaverse

• Conducted an overall review of Korean regulations on domestic metaverse platforms

• Advised on Korean regulations in general for foreign metaverse game companies to launch domestic business

• Reviewed and advised on legal regulatory issues such as personal information, platform regulation, payment, consumer protection, fair trade, and IP, in relation to the establishment/operation of metaverse services by global companies

• Advised a Korean company in relation to building a metaverse in collaboration with a foreign VR company holding the metaverse business rights of a foreign professional football club

• Advised a famous foreign luxury brand on metaverse and NFT issues under Korean laws

• Advised on the application for trademarks, etc. for the sale of famous furniture brand goods on metaverse platforms in Korea

Blockchain

• Provided general advice on regulations on blockchain development and operation

• Advised on privacy issues of information recorded on blockchain

• Advised on drafting contracts between blockchain ecosystem members

• Represented blockchain development companies in disputes arising from the non-fulfillment of a blockchain development service agreement

Digital Assets

Virtual Assets

• Advised on regulations on virtual asset business operators such as domestic and foreign exchanges and wallet business operators

• Advised on transactions involving virtual assets such as ICOs, STOs, and tokens

• Advised on blockchain games and Web 3.0 projects

• Advised traditional financial institutions on virtual asset businesses

• Advised on decentralized finance and decentralized exchange

• Advised on investment in virtual assets

• Advised on virtual asset payment services

• Represented virtual assets businesses in responding to regulatory investigations

• Advised on regulatory sandboxes for virtual asset businesses

• Represented and advised various businesses in lawsuits and other disputes related to virtual assets

NFT

• Advised domestic and foreign companies on the establishment of NFT exchange and compliance therewith

• Advised domestic and foreign game companies on NFT games

• Advised domestic and foreign entertainment companies on NFT businesses and sales of NFT contents

• Advised on fractional NFT investment platforms

• Advised NFT minting companies on disputes over intellectual property rights related to NFT

• Represented and advised NFT businesses in responding to regulatory authorities’ investigations

• Advised on financial services using NFT