South Korean law firm Yoon & Yang has strengthened its regulatory capabilities with the addition of Adrian Bae as a senior foreign attorney in Seoul. Bae joins from British American Tobacco (BAT), where he most recently served as vice president for North Asia.

Bae will be a member of Yoon & Yang's corporate advisory practice group and government relations consulting centre, bringing experience in regulatory compliance and legal advisory for multinational companies.

During his 18-year tenure at BAT, Bae held several senior positions including general counsel of BAT North Asia and head of legal for global IDT, operations and R&D at the company's London headquarters. His experience spans regulatory reforms, market-specific brand marketing strategies, and management of industry-specific legal affairs.

Prior to BAT, Bae served as head of legal for Korea and Japan at Diageo, where he handled domestic and international marketing compliance. His early career includes stints at Korean law firm Kim, Shin & Yu (which later merged with Yoon & Yang) and Canadian litigation firm Feller Drysdale.

The move comes as Korean law firms increasingly focus on strengthening their regulatory capabilities amid growing demand from multinational companies operating in the region. The South Korean legal market has witnessed a rise in “moving private,” a trend that has seen judges, government lawyers and corporate counsel leave for private practice.

Yoon & Yang has been adding non-law firm attorneys this year in an effort to “transcend” traditional legal advisory roles in an effort to become a more comprehensive and specialised strategic business partner for its clients. The firm added construction, engineering and public procurement partner Jae Woo Jeon from Daewoo Engineering & Construction and labour partner Sam Park from Samsung Electronics. Yoon & Yang also added three former judges to its disputes bench in May.

The firm’s former M&A head Sung-Jin Kim moved to Yulchon earlier this year along with three other partners.