Seum Becomes a Key Legal Backer of Korean Startups [Boutique Firm Story]

[Boutique Firm Story]

Seum Law LLC was founded in July 2012. The firm was launched by managing partner Chung Ho-seok, formerly of Shin & Kim, and attorney Lee Byung-il, formerly of Bae, Kim & Lee, along with other lawyers. Their aim was clear: to build a law firm that would become the best partner for startups. The name Seum also carries the meaning of “building companies.”

At the time, legal advisory work for startups and venture companies was still largely uncharted territory in South Korea. Major law firms focused on litigation and advisory work for large corporations, while small newly established IT companies often struggled to access proper legal services because of high fees and steep barriers to entry.

Chung came to that realization while helping a startup run by a junior colleague. What such companies truly needed, he found, was not post-dispute litigation support but preventive advice from the outset, including risk reviews and properly structured contracts.

Despite concerns and discouragement from people around him, who questioned whether small companies would seek legal counsel at all, he launched Seum in 2012 with a team of four lawyers.

Seum also differed from traditional law firms in how it operated. Like a startup, it learned quickly and moved fast, offering practical alternatives grounded in a deep understanding of technology and business models. That approach helped the firm grow rapidly as word spread among promising startups and accelerators.

One representative case was its advisory work for virtual-asset exchange Korbit. Korbit was founded in 2013, when South Korea had no regulations in place for virtual assets. Seum advised the company on early fundraising and overall operations, providing significant support as it successfully launched the business.

Webtoon platform Lezhin Comics is another notable example. The company was the first in South Korea to introduce a paid model for webtoons. In 2013, when the idea of paying to read digital comics was still hard to imagine, Seum worked with Lezhin Comics to establish the legal basis for the business model and earned recognition for its role as a key partner.

Other notable cases included advisory work on AI ad-tech startup Korca’s pre-Series A fundraising of $5.1 million and legal-tech startup LBox’s Series B fundraising of $14.5 million.

Seum’s reputation for smoothly handling fundraising advisory work for startups eventually spread to large corporations. Because many startups were IT-related companies, major technology companies also began turning to the firm. Seum has provided legal advice to Naver, Kakao and Danggeun.

After years of rapid growth, Seum has evolved into a comprehensive business law firm offering one-stop support across the full corporate lifecycle. Beyond legal services, it is linked with Seum Patent and tax firm Seum Tax. In line with growing demand from Korean startups expanding overseas, the firm has also established a subsidiary in California and built one-stop infrastructure for overseas expansion through ties with local experts.

Another distinguishing feature is its effort to put shared growth into practice through Seum Rocket, an affordable all-in-one service for early-stage founders, as well as ongoing social contribution activities. Seum is regarded as having capabilities in startups and IT that rival those of major law firms, and attention is focused on its next steps.

Kim Jeong-woo, Hankyung.com reporter enyou@hankyung.com