Law firms shakes hands with 8 government officials this year

Starting from Kang Kyung Su (HIRA) to Ryu Yang Ji (MOHW)

Former Executive Director at HIRA, Hwang Eui-dong joins LK Partners

Large-scale law firms in Korea are adding more and more former government officials affiliated with National Health Insurance (NHI) to their roster.

 

A former Executive Director of Planning at Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA), Hwang Eui-dong, 61, was recently welcomed by law firm ‘LK Partners’ as an advisor.

 

Lately, LK Partners formed a pharmaceutical affairs team to handle diverse law suit related to pharmaceutical rebate case and medical, pharmaceutical and medical device industries.

 

Attorney Kim Hyeong Seok, formerly a director of Food and Drug Inspection Division at Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, was added to the pharmaceutical affairs team at LK Partners, where Hwang was also agreed to join as an advisor.

 

The team also shook hands with Attorney Jung Dawoon, a former director of Administrative Law Division at HIRA.

 

Advisor Hwang majored in law at Sungkyungkwan University, and joined National Medical Insurance Corporation, now National Health Insurance Service (NHIS), in 1986.

 

He served as chief of ICT Division, director of Daegu District Office, director of Automobile Insurance Review Center, director of Medical Information Analysis Division and retired after serving as executive director of planning.

 

After his retirement at HRIA, Advisor Hwang was appointed as a chief of Policy Development Division at Korea Institute for Healthcare Accreditation (KOIHA), but decided to join LK Partners recently.

 

Law firms’ demand and interest on medical, medical device and pharmaceutical and bio industries have been constantly expressed.

 

And it finally exploded as major law firms ‘Kim & Chang’ and ‘Lee & Ko’ started revving up the NHI-associated government official recruitment market from last year.

 

Just in this year alone, eight former government officials have been scouted by law firms, including former chief at HIRA Kang Kyung-soo; former vice-minister of Health and Welfare Choi Won-young; former Regional Office Director at National Health Insurance Service Cho Yoo-hyun; former executive director at HIRA Hwang Eui-dong; former director at HIRA Jung Dawoon; and former director at Ministry of Health and Welfare Ryu Yang-Ji.

 

Large-scale law firms are appointing government officials for titles like advisor, senior consultant and consultants, which previously were taken by industry and drug pricing experts.

 

Other law firms are also quick to follow and open healthcare or medical and pharmaceutical specific teams.

 

At first, Kim & Chang welcomed Lee Byung-il, a former chief of Pharmaceutical Management Department at HIRA, as an advisor in May, 2018, and continued on to scout Ko Su Kyoung, formerly associated with HIRA, NHIS and multinational pharmaceutical company, as an expert consultant.

 

Kim & Chang’s rivaling law firm, Lee & Ko organized Healthcare team consisting of former Minister of Health and Welfare Rim Chemin, former vice-minister of Health and Welfare Sohn Gunn Yik, and former director general at Ministry of Food and Drug Safety Han Young Sup.

 

Their last addition was Kang Kyung Su, a former chief at HIRA, in last February.

 

The firm is also strengthening their healthcare expertise with senior consultant Byun Youngshik, a former senior director at AstraZeneca Korea, and Advisor Kim Sungju, a former executive director at Novartis Korea.

 

Law firms like ‘HMP Law’, ‘Yulchon’ and LK Partners have been busy this year lining up pharmaceutical expert teams with health sector experts.

 

In last March, HMP Law organized Healthcare team for the first time since the firm was founded.

 

The team invited former vice-minister of Health and Welfare Choi Won-young as an advisor and former chief of Legal Affairs Support Team at HIRA Byen Chang-suk as a chief of the team.

 

Moreover, Park Young Hwa, formerly a medical case judge at Incheon Regional District Court, joined HMP Law as a Managing Partner, whereas Cho Woo-hyun, a former director of NHIS Seoul and Incheon District Office, and Lee Chung-gu, a former director of Administration Department at Hallym University Hospital, joined the firm as advisors.

 

Yulchon has had a full-fledged Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals team with Choi Hee Joo, a former chief at MOHW, Kim Sung Jin, a former director at MFDS, and Choi Cheol Su, and a former chief at HIRA.

 

But its roster recently made an addition, a former director at MOHW now a senior advisor Ryu Yang Ji, to boost the firm’s strength.

 

These law firms assertively seeking out for healthcare related government officials could mean that the need for legal consulting and lawsuit is growing fast in related industries, specifically regarding pharmaceutical and medical device insurance reimbursement listing and application, various administrative penalty, medical dispute and government policy.