Barun Law Firm (led by managing partners Lee Dong-hoon, Lee Young-hee, and Kim Do-hyung) announced the establishment of an 'AI Infrastructure Center' dedicated to AI data centers (AIDC) and power and infrastructure consulting, appointing Lee Yoon-hyung, who has 30 years of experience in power operations at Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), as its director.
The creation of the 'AI Infrastructure Center' by Barun responds to the surge in demand for consulting services as large-scale data center construction is being promoted nationwide due to the rise of generative AI.
While many major law firms have recently established AI infrastructure organizations, most remain focused on traditional legal consulting areas such as AI legislation, regulation, and data privacy. The success of large-scale power demand projects hinges on two critical gateways: negotiations with KEPCO regarding grid connections and timely power permits, as well as attracting investments from financial institutions and securing project financing (PF).
In a structure where financial procurement reviews are challenging without confirmed power supply, there has been a limited number of professionals capable of coordinating KEPCO's transmission and grid operational networks with investment networks in the Yeouido financial district. Barun has launched an 'execution-focused' AI Infrastructure Center to address this unmet market demand, combining regulatory review with practical execution capabilities.
The center director is an expert in power infrastructure, having worked in various roles at KEPCO from 1995 to 2026, including power management, sales, and overseas projects. He has conducted reviews of power grid connections and project structuring for large-scale development projects such as the Incheon AIDC, Hwaseong AI Data Center, and Yongin Giheung AI Cluster, as well as provided regulatory consulting for power purchase agreements (PPA) and compliance with grid reliability standards and basic power supply plans.
He stated, "The key to the current AI infrastructure market lies in verifying KEPCO's power supply and grid connection possibilities and organically linking funds from Yeouido. We aim to build an effective consulting model that goes beyond simple legal reviews, mitigating client risks from power procurement to financial structuring of projects."
The Barun AI Infrastructure Center will leverage the director's expertise in power infrastructure discovery and external negotiations, combined with the legal consulting and project structuring capabilities of Lee Seung-kyo, a foreign attorney with extensive experience in domestic and international energy and infrastructure projects, as well as public-private partnerships (PPP) and project financing.
Additionally, the center has established an organic collaboration system involving the PF team led by attorneys Byeon Sang-yeop and Hwang Deok-jin, the corporate legal team led by attorneys Lim Hoon-taek and Jeong Kyung-ho, regulatory and administrative response from foreign attorney Hong Seung-jin, and specialized attorneys in real estate, development, and litigation participating at various project stages.
Park Hyung-deok, a senior advisor who previously served as president of Korea Western Power, brings nearly 39 years of field experience and expertise, having led the reform of the electricity pricing system during his tenure at KEPCO, and will contribute to renewable energy and overseas projects.
Through this center, Barun aims to provide integrated consulting covering the entire lifecycle of AI infrastructure projects, including preliminary reviews of KEPCO's power supply timelines and capacities, grid connection negotiations, PPA risk assessments, investment attraction through institutional investor networks, PF contract structuring, establishment and governance design of project finance investment companies (PFV) and special purpose companies (SPC), site acquisition and development contracts, administrative responses to permit delays, and M&A risk defense.
Kim Do-hyung, managing partner, remarked, "The success of AI data center projects hinges on untangling the complexities of power procurement and funding. By combining KEPCO's field experience with Barun's capabilities in finance, real estate, and regulatory responses, we will provide differentiated consulting that goes beyond regulatory reviews to actual project execution."
Founded in 1998, Barun Law Firm is one of South Korea's eight major law firms, renowned for its strength in litigation. It currently employs around 300 attorneys and offers comprehensive legal services across various fields, including corporate consulting, fair trade, governance risk, M&A, inheritance, and asset management (Barun EP Center).
* This article has been translated by AI.
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