Law firm Hwa Woo (led by Managing Partner Lee Myung-soo) announced on September 8 that it has welcomed Ma Soon, a former official at the Financial Services Commission, as a partner attorney.
Hwa Woo stated that Ma's 20 years of experience in key departments of the Financial Services Commission will enhance the firm's advisory capabilities in financial regulation, covering all aspects from practical responses to policy and legislative actions.
Ma entered public service in 2007 after graduating from the Judicial Research and Training Institute and began working as an administrative officer at the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Ministry of Finance and Economy. Following the establishment of the Financial Services Commission in 2008, he handled licensing and sanctions across banking, insurance, and small finance sectors, dealing with various financial infrastructure laws such as the Specific Financial Transaction Information Act, the Financial Real Name Act, the Electronic Financial Transactions Act, the Credit Information Act, and the Financial Consumer Protection Act.
Notably, while at the FIU in 2007, Ma led the drafting of the mutual evaluation report and local due diligence response during South Korea's accession to the OECD's Financial Action Task Force (FATF). In 2018, he was dispatched to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's Personal Information Protection Policy Division, where he conducted field inspections of personal information management and received a commendation from the Minister of the Interior and Safety for his verified achievements.
After being promoted to secretary in 2020, Ma led the establishment of subordinate regulations under the Financial Consumer Protection Act in the Financial Consumer Policy Division. He also served as the head of the Financial Services Commission's financial regulation sandbox team, overseeing the designation of innovative financial services and the establishment of exclusive operational guidelines, actively assisting fintech companies in entering the market. Recently, he directly supervised on-site investigations, including searches related to capital market unfair trading as the head of the joint response team for eradicating stock price manipulation.
Ma possesses unique expertise, having a comprehensive understanding of core tasks of financial authorities, from licensing and sanctions to policy planning, legislation, and on-site investigations. Based on this expertise, he plans to provide in-depth advisory services in various areas, including financial regulation sandboxes, digital finance, capital market unfair trading, credit information, anti-money laundering, financial licensing and sanctions, and financial consumer protection.
With Ma's addition, Hwa Woo has significantly strengthened its financial regulatory advisory lineup, covering practical licensing and sanctions, policy planning, legislation, and responses to mandatory investigations. By continuously recruiting personnel well-versed in all phases from policy formulation to investigation and sanctions, Hwa Woo's advisory capabilities in financial regulation are poised for a new leap forward.
Lee Myung-soo, managing partner of Hwa Woo, stated, "Ma Soon is a veteran who has experienced the entire process of financial regulation from policy planning to legislative amendments and on-site investigations at the Financial Services Commission. With this addition, Hwa Woo has completed a multi-dimensional advisory system that encompasses both practical and policy perspectives in financial regulation responses."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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