Country Legal Counsel

Background

Our client is a globally recognized leader in floating LNG infrastructure, having delivered multiple world-first projects — including the first small-scale FSRU in West Africa, the first LNG bunkering barge in the U.S., and the first modular floating LNG terminal in the Philippines. Backed by a strong group structure and a growing pipeline of EPCIC contracts across Asia, the Middle East, and the Americas, the company is at an inflection point of organizational maturity.

As the business scales its international project portfolio, the company is now building its global legal function from the ground up — with a CLO hire underway in the U.S. and this Korea-based Legal Counsel role forming the second pillar of that structure. The successful candidate will report directly to the incoming CLO, establishing a genuinely close working relationship from day one and playing an active role in shaping how the legal function operates globally. For a lawyer seeking both substantive complexity and real organizational influence, this is a rare early entry point into a company on a strong international growth trajectory.

Key Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end contract lifecycle management for FSRU and LNG infrastructure projects, including EPCIC, EPC, and supply agreements with shipyards, subcontractors, and offtakers
• Advise on the legal implications of milestone-based and progress billing structures (including back-to-back billing arrangements between project entities), ensuring contractual protections are aligned with actual delivery risk
• Draft, review, and negotiate commercial contracts with a particular focus on delivery, acceptance, warranty, and payment terms typical to large capital equipment and floating assets
• Report directly to the CLO (U.S.-based) and serve as the primary Korea-side legal interface — supporting alignment on group-level legal strategy, cross-border transactions, and corporate governance matters in English
• Identify and manage legal risk across multi-jurisdictional projects, coordinating with external counsel in relevant countries as needed
• Support corporate secretarial and compliance matters for Korean and international entities within the group

Key Qualifications

• Korean bar admission required; additional qualification or familiarity with international commercial arbitration (ICC, LCIA, SIAC) strongly preferred
• 7–12 years of legal experience, with meaningful exposure to one or more of the following: shipbuilding contracts, offshore/marine EPC, energy infrastructure (LNG, FSRU, or similar), or heavy capital equipment supply agreements
• Practical understanding of milestone-based payment and progress billing structures — either from a project finance, EPC contracting, or shipbuilding background
• Business-level English fluency sufficient for direct, substantive legal communication with the CLO and international counterparties (written and spoken)
• Experience in a top-tier law firm, in-house at a shipyard, EPC contractor, or energy developer preferred
• Candidates from leading Korean shipbuilders (e.g., HHI, DSME, Samsung Heavy) or major energy EPC firms with in-house legal exposure are of particular interest
• Self-directed and comfortable operating as a founding member of a lean legal team, with the judgment to calibrate legal risk in a fast-moving, project-driven environment