[Interview] ‘Daeryun’ becomes a top 10 law firm 9 years after its founding… ‘No. 1 Contributor’ Representative Kim Kuk-il

“We will stand tall in the global market by specializing in ‘AI Logaltech’”
The secret to shortest growth... Legal advice blind spot, China-centered quality service
Focuses on M&A, major disasters, patent infringement, pharmaceutical bio, health sector, etc.
Recruiting a large number of legal tech attorneys and expanding branch network in major cities around the world

“Change and innovation are the only ways to survive.” Kuk-il Kim, the representative attorney of Daeryun Law Firm, is a ‘little giant’ who has learned how to survive in the legal market where uncertainty prevails. He achieved his goals with a spirit of constant change, innovation, and challenge. ‘Daeryun Law Firm’ has become one of the top 10 law firms in Korea just 9 years after its founding.

This is proven by the performance of appointments as of the end of 2024. This is a remarkable record achieved in the shortest amount of time even in the law firm industry's growth statistics. A miraculous new record was set.

CEO Kim emphasized, "This is only the beginning. I will not be complacent and will focus my passion on the wider legal market and globalization beyond the domestic market." “In the AI ​​era, the wind of AI is strong in the legal market,” he said, and pledged, “We will solidify the foundation for the second leap by recruiting a large number of professional lawyers who will lead AI legal tech.”

We met with CEO Kim of Daeryun Law Firm and heard about his passion for entering the top 10 law firms in a short period of time and his future vision on how to overcome the barriers to globalization.

▶What are the criteria for recruiting competent talent for the second leap forward?

= Daeryun places importance on being able to develop customer-centered thinking while possessing expertise and creativity. As legal tech expands, including the introduction of AI, in various fields at home and abroad, the legal market also needs changes to accommodate this, so we need talented people who can lead legal tech. We are looking for people with outstanding expertise in domestic and international corporate advisory, M&A, fair trade, and healthcare, as well as people with creative thinking who can predict and respond to new legal tech technologies and market changes, and people who can accurately understand the diverse needs of customers and provide optimal solutions accordingly.

▶Do you have a differentiation strategy for customers?

= Compared to other law firms, Daeryun's top priority is to strengthen customized legal services for customers. By forming a professional team that can meet the diverse needs of customers, we are expanding our ‘one-stop service’ system so that customers can receive the same level of high-quality service in any region or field. In other words, we aim to be a customer-centered law firm that puts customers' needs first, not only by providing solutions that customers need, but also by operating a customer management center that regularly communicates with customers and listens for areas for improvement.

▶Compared to sales in 2013, sales last year grew by approximately 60%. Which field is most responsible for sales?

= The most notable field is the corporate legal team. While existing large law firms provide legal advice mainly to large corporations, Daeryun focuses on providing quality legal advice services to small and medium-sized businesses that are in the blind spot of legal advice, especially companies outside the metropolitan area.

Over the past year, we have provided legal advice on mergers and acquisitions (M&A), major disasters, and patent infringements of these companies, as well as related criminal and tax administration areas. In addition, I believe that the key to our growth is that we have continuously strengthened our professional areas, such as by reorganizing our medical and pharmaceutical group and expanding our business areas to the pharmaceutical, bio, and health fields.

▶It is said that the introduction of advanced law firm systems such as those in the United States has attracted a lot of appeal from customers. I am curious about the system that is highly preferred in benchmarking. Please be specific.

= Among the systems of global law firms in the English-speaking world, the key elements that Daeryun benchmarked are the establishment of offices that visit customers and the introduction of legal technology that provides sufficient information to customers.

English-speaking law firms are providing customized services to customers in each country by setting up offices in each country, and Daeryun is also benchmarking this and establishing offices in major cities not only in Korea but also around the world, prioritizing customer accessibility. In addition, we are striving to provide optimal solutions to our customers by not only setting up offices like this, but also developing AI Legal Tech that can meet customer needs.

▶What are your plans to become a global law firm?

=With the size of the domestic legal market no longer growing and stagnating, Daeryun's overseas expansion is a natural choice to overcome the current situation and an important vision for Daeryun. Currently, the process of setting up offices and hiring local lawyers is underway in New York, Washington, D.C., and Tokyo, Japan, and field investigations have also been conducted in Beijing and Shanghai, China. In the future, we plan to expand the competitiveness of the Korean legal market internationally by strengthening Daeryun's position as a global law firm beyond Southeast Asia and Europe and around the world.

▶What are your key projects and goals for this year?

=The main business focus is the expansion of Legal Tech, and the goal is the completion of customer-centricity. As mentioned earlier, in order to become a global law firm, we aim to provide legal services based on AI legal tech in overall business areas such as counseling, advisory, and marketing, while focusing on recruiting experts who can meet the diverse needs of domestic and foreign customers, maintaining systems and manuals, and strengthening communication with customers by making the customer management center practical.

▶ What is CEO Kuk-il Kim’s motto?

= “Change and innovation are the only way to live”, this is my motto. Change is always uncertain and challenging, but I believe that taking it as an opportunity and maintaining an attitude of constant innovation is the driving force behind Daeryun's growth. Daeryun will not settle for the stagnant domestic legal market but will become a pioneering law firm that leads change and achieves innovation in the rapidly changing global legal market.

▶ Who is CEO Kuk-il Kim?

=Graduated from Seoul National University College of Law in 1991, took the 34th bar exam (1992), and completed the Judicial Research and Training Institute (24th class) in 1995. After entering the legal profession as a prosecutor at the Seoul District Prosecutors' Office in 1998, he worked as a prosecutor at the Busan District Prosecutors' Office and the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, before serving as chief prosecutor at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office, and Suwon District Prosecutors' Office.

Afterwards, he served successively as the head of the Namwon branch of the Jeonju District Prosecutors' Office, the Mokpo branch of the Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office, and the head of the Goyang Branch of the Uijeongbu District Prosecutors' Office, working hard to establish the image of prosecutors who work with citizens. He worked as a professor at the Judicial Research and Training Institute and worked to cultivate upright lawyers.

Attorney Kim, who took off his legal uniform and entered the legal field in 2020, promoted innovation in the public sector by working as an innovation advisory member of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Osan City of Gyeonggi-do, Gyeonggi Housing and Urban Corporation, and legal advisor to the Korea Sports Council. After joining Daeryun as the top general lawyer in 2023, he was appointed as CEO of management in 2024 and is leading Daeryun from the front line.

Reporter Jeong Young-cheol (jyc6131@sejungilbo.com)

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[Interview] ‘Daeryun’ becomes a top 10 law firm 9 years after its founding… ‘No. 1 Contributor’ Representative Kim Kuk-il (Shortcut)