Senior Legal Counsel – South Korea

Get To Know Our Team:

In the age of technology, things are constantly changing. The travel market is much the same, being more dynamic and complex than ever. Agoda’s Legal team is well suited to take on the challenges presented, adopting a proactive mindset to tackle challenges and solve problems. We are quick on our feet, decisive, and collaborate with multiple departments. We hire out-of-the-box thinkers that are well grounded with ethics and legal knowledge to ensure that Agoda achieves the right results, the right way. 

The Opportunity:

We are looking for a highly autonomous, strategic, commercial and regulatory-focused sole legal counsel to lead our legal function in South Korea. As our only on-the-ground legal resource, you will act as the primary legal anchor for our local business. You will navigate a fast-moving and heavily regulated digital landscape, providing pragmatic advice to senior management while safeguarding our business interests.

The ideal candidate will have deep expertise in South Korean digital commerce regulations, privacy laws, and consumer protection. They will possess the confidence to handle complex issues with minimal supervision. The role requires sound legal judgment, strong analytical skills, the ability to manage complex multi-jurisdictional matters, and a practical, business-oriented approach to risk. The candidate should be comfortable working with cross-functional teams, coordinating external counsel, advising senior stakeholders, and helping the business move quickly while maintaining strong legal and compliance standards.

What You’ll Do:

Regulatory

• Regulatory Navigation: Monitor, analyze, and ensure compliance with South Korean laws relevant to tech platforms and OTAs. This includes the Electronic Commerce Act, Act on Fair Labeling and Advertising, and Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act.  Act as the primary point of contact for local regulatory bodies, such as KFTC, KCC, PIPC, etc.
• Data Privacy & Protection: Oversee absolute compliance with the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) regarding user data, cross-border data transfers, and cybersecurity protocols.
• Licensing & Audits: Secure and maintain necessary local operating licenses and lead responses to regulatory audits or inquiries.

Commercial & Operations

• Partner and Contract Management: Draft, review, and negotiate all local commercial agreements as well as managing stakeholders through negotiations from start to finish. These include partnerships with hotels, airlines, payment gateways, and marketing vendors, etc.
• Localization Review: Review platform terms and conditions, user interfaces, promotional campaigns, and cancellation policies to ensure full alignment with strict Korean consumer protection mandates.
• Turning legal advice into action: Work with stakeholders to move from legal analysis to implementation; helping teams understand their options, make informed decisions and execute the solutions.

Risk Management & Dispute Resolution

• Litigation & Disputes: Manage customer disputes, claims filed with the Korea Consumer Agency (KCA), and coordinate external counsel for litigations.
• Corporate Governance: Manage local corporate secretarial work and ensure corporate governance alignments with the global headquarters.
• Risk Management: Identify legal risks early and develop proportionate, commercially workable mitigation strategies for the business.

Required Qualifications:

 

• Education: LL.B., LL.M. or J.D. degree.
• Experience: 5-10 years of post-qualification experience (PQE). A mix of law firm experience and in-house counsel experience at a multinational internet, e-commerce, or OTA company is highly preferred.
• Regulatory Expertise: Proven track record dealing directly with the KFTC, KCC, or PIPC, with deep knowledge of consumer protection and data privacy law.
• Language Proficiency: Native fluency in Korean and professional fluency in English is required for communicating with global teams.
• Soft Skills: Possesses an exceptional commercial mindset, high resilience, and the capability to make firm, risk-based assessments independently in an ambiguous environment while effectively removing blockers and closing gaps between diverse stakeholders. 

Preferred Qualifications:

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with sound judgment and attention to detail.
• Excellent academic credentials and experience working in a top-tier law firm and/or in-house legal team at a multinational company.
• Experience with travel, technology, online platforms, fintech or another regulated digital business is preferred.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a large, diverse and collaborative team.
• A demonstrated can-do, roll-up-your-sleeves approach, coupled with a strong work ethic and high integrity. You would rather get the right answer than the credit.
• Ability to contribute at both the strategic and detailed levels, working collaboratively with colleagues and business teams to get things done.
• Experience contributing to policies, procedures, training materials, playbooks or templates that improve legal efficiency and compliance.
• Experience of using AI in an efficient and scalable manner.

 

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