Law firm B&H and the Korea Consumer Association signed a memorandum of understanding on April 15 to promote consumer rights. The signing ceremony was attended by Han Tae-hwa (한태화), B&H’s managing partner, Shin Yong-mook (신용묵), chairman of the Korea Consumer Association, Shin Hyun-doo (신현두), its president, and Jung Yong-soo (정용수), head of the Consumer Issues Research Institute.

The cooperation is significant in that B&H, which has years of know-how in resolving complex legal disputes, has joined forces with the Korea Consumer Association, which has led efforts to represent consumer rights and build a social safety net. In particular, the institute led by Jung, described as an authority on consumer dispute resolution standards and the consumer safety law, will be combined with Lexi.A, a legal AI developed by B&H. This provides a foothold for building a one-stop system spanning policy alternatives and practical legal relief.

Through the partnership, the two organisations will pursue three key projects. First, they will separate alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and class actions by case and build the best response scenarios. They will also integrate B&H’s legal AI Lexi.A into consumer legal services to help address information asymmetry. Another key task is to predict new types of consumer disputes in advance and propose preventive solutions.

Han, citing his experience investigating the humidifier disinfectant case during his time as a prosecutor, said it was too high a practical barrier for individual consumers to bear large lawsuits against companies. He added that, through close cooperation with the association, he would become a true legal helper consumers can rely on.

Jung, citing the world’s first basic law on artificial intelligence (AI) that was recently implemented, said he hopes expanded adoption of B&H’s legal AI will help appropriately resolve various disputes and grievances through ADR or lawsuits, and contribute to addressing structural problems.