Lawyer Park Min-chul to launch independent firm after 18 years at Kim & Chang

Lawyer Park Min-chul, who gained widespread recognition through JTBC's 'Divorce Camp', is leaving Kim & Chang Law Office after 18 years to establish an independent law firm under his own name. Having built extensive experience in corporate advisory and litigation at one of Korea's leading large law firms, his decision to choose independence over organizational stability suggests he will pave a new path as a legal professional focusing on cases closely related to individuals, such as divorce and entertainment law.

On the 3rd, Park directly announced his resignation by releasing a video titled "I resigned from Kim & Chang" on his YouTube channel, 'Lawyer Park Min-chul's Michigo'. The video captures the process of concluding his long career and saying goodbye to colleagues, as well as his final day at work.

He explained the change, saying, "It is the 22nd year since I started commuting to Gwanghwamun every morning, and the 18th year since I started commuting to Kim & Chang, but I will no longer be commuting here in the morning." The emotional weight was significant enough for him to describe leaving Kim & Chang not as a simple job change, but as "a farewell to a very large part of my life."

In particular, he cited his time in the Kim & Chang TMT (Technology, Media, and Telecommunications) team as a major turning point in his career. Legal advisory surrounding the technology, media, and telecommunications industries is a field that has grown in importance alongside the expansion of the digital economy. After accumulating long-term practical experience in this area, Park has also expanded his scope recently by explaining divorce cases and individual legal disputes to the public through broadcasting.

He even shed tears during his final farewell gathering before retirement. Junior lawyers cheered for his new beginning, evaluating him by saying, "There will never be another person like Lawyer Park Min-chul," and "He is a lawyer who doesn't seem like a lawyer, yet is the most lawyer-like lawyer."

For a legal professional, leaving an organization is more than just changing jobs; it involves restructuring a significant portion of one's daily life and the human network with whom they performed cases and accumulated expertise.

On his last day, Park greeted not only junior lawyers but also the building's cleaners and cafeteria workers he had encountered regularly. Afterward, he walked around the Gwanghwamun area, reflecting on the past 18 years. It was as if he were walking his final commute through a space where his professional expertise and personal relationships had intersected.

The reason he chose independence over moving to another organization was unexpectedly blunt. Park stated, "I am tired of hearing other people's stories," adding, "It has become a time when it is difficult to act according to others' instructions or guidelines." As a 22-year veteran lawyer, this is interpreted as a desire to unfold his accumulated experience under his own judgment and responsibility, rather than conforming to the methods of others.

After becoming independent, he plans to set up a law firm under his own name and focus on fields close to individual clients, such as divorce, entertainment, and general civil and criminal cases, moving beyond his existing TMT work. His statement, "I wanted to stand next to people rather than next to corporations," summarizes his future direction as a lawyer.

This aligns with the image he built through broadcasting. Park became well-known by handling legal consultations for couples in the midst of divorce crises on JTBC's 'Divorce Camp'. His ability to explain complex legal issues in relatively direct language and actively represent the client's position meshed with the show's narrative, forming his character as a "hardworking professional lawyer."

Since then, he has expanded his field of activity through shows such as tvN's 'You Quiz on the Block', SBS's 'Same Bed, Different Dreams 2: You Are My Destiny' and 'My Little Old Boy', and JTBC's 'Knowing Bros'. While there have been cases of legal experts appearing on broadcasts in the past, Park differentiated himself by not stopping at delivering legal knowledge but expanding his content to include his professional struggles and human side.

It is also noteworthy that his broadcasting activities became another asset for his independence. He revealed that he received an offer to appear on 'You Quiz on the Block' while preparing to open his own practice, and his recognition increased following the broadcast. Recently, he has continued to build his professional expertise as an individual brand by operating a YouTube channel.

What Park considers most important as an independent lawyer is ultimately trust with the client. He emphasized that no matter how hard a lawyer tries, they cannot control all the results of a case. Considering the essence of legal services is not a "product that guarantees winning" but representing the client's rights and interests during uncertain dispute processes, he believes building trust and explaining the process is as important as the outcome itself.

He explained, "Doing one's best is a given," adding that it is crucial to build a relationship so that even if an unexpected result occurs, the client can fully understand and accept the situation and the legal judgment. This can be seen as a plan to combine the expertise accumulated at a large law firm with the public communication skills gained through broadcasting into his independent legal services.

Regarding his "luck," he continued his characteristic candid way of speaking. Reflecting that while he was particularly unlucky in lotteries or prize drawings, he often saw good results in exams or work, he expressed hope that his future luck would follow his clients' cases and his new business rather than personal financial investments.

After 18 years of accumulating expertise under the name of the massive Kim & Chang organization, Park Min-chul has entered a stage where he must put his own name forward. He has chosen decision-making autonomy and personal branding over the organizational stability and professional infrastructure of a large law firm.

It will be interesting to see how his persona as a broadcaster known from 'Divorce Camp' and his expertise as a 22-year veteran lawyer will combine in the future. Attention is focused on whether this choice—expanding from the forefront of corporate law to divorce and entertainment cases that touch individual lives—will serve as the second act of Park Min-chul's career rather than just a simple resignation.