Yoon & Yang has bolstered its regulatory advisory and multinational corporate consulting services with the hiring of partner-equivalent senior foreign attorney Adrian Bae, who was previously general counsel and area head of external affairs at British American Tobacco (BAT).
“His extensive regulatory experience, particularly in compliance, regulatory reform engagement and competition/antitrust across highly oligopolised and regulated industries like tobacco and alcohol, is expected to provide substantial value for our clients,” Yoon & Yang, one of South Korea’s largest law firms, told Asia Business Law Journal.
Bae, who oversaw the legal affairs of the Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APMEA) North, also previously served as vice president of North Asian markets in Japan, South Korea and Greater China.
At Yoon & Yang, he is a member of the firm’s corporate advisory group and government relations consulting centre. The firm told Asia Business Law Journal that Bae will be focusing on, among other things, legal and regulatory compliance, international deals, regulatory reform strategy and engagement, as well as general legal advisory services for multinational companies.
Qualified in the Canadian province of British Columbia, Bae previously spent 17 years at BAT and was based in Tokyo from 2019 to 2024 when he left the company. Earlier in his career, Bae worked as an associate at Kim, Shin & Yu from 2001 to 2005, with the firm eventually merging with Yoon & Yang in 2006, where he handled international arbitration, general corporate and cross-border work.
In 2005, he became the head of the legal team in South Korea and Japan for Diageo, an international premium liquor company, before moving to the BAT group in 2007.
“We believe his experience and expertise accrued over 20 years is expected to strengthen Yoon & Yang’s capabilities in managing complex regulatory risks for multinational clients,” the firm said.
