Legal Director, Korea

Job Overview

- The Legal Director will provide commercial and corporate legal advice and support to AstraZeneca Korea.

- The Legal Director will report to the Country President, South Korea, with a dotted line reporting to the Asia Area Legal Director. Based in AstraZeneca office in Seoul, the Legal Director will be a member of the Country Leadership Team, and work under the functional direction and oversight of the Asia Area Legal Director.  The Legal Director will have the relevant experience and judgment to be able to work independently, to provide skilled, objective, professional, business-focused legal advice and will also need to work closely with the cross-functional teams and the Global Legal department, as necessary.

The range of work includes:

- Legal Advice and Contracting Support
Provide pro-active, value-added and practical legal advice and contracting support, including for: (i) distribution arrangements and business development matters; (ii) commercial, regulatory, policy shaping, market access, tendering, pricing and HR matters; (iii) patent and patent litigation matters (in collaboration with AZ IP experts); (iv) clinical study activities and (v) any other legal matter affecting AstraZeneca’s business and operations in South Korea.

- Litigation, Disputes, Investigations
Manage and provide legal advice to the business in connection with (i) litigation and disputes initiated by or against AZ; and (ii) any significant internal investigations and all external investigations, including dawn-raids as well as assisting markets in developing / implementing appropriate Standard Operating Procedures to effectively manage such investigations.

- Training
Develop and provide training to relevant stakeholders, covering key legal risk areas.

- Developments in the Legal Environment
Proactively: (i) monitor legislative and regulatory changes in areas relevant to the commercial business; (ii) monitor enforcement trends of key external authorities in such areas; (iii) provide value added analysis and advice to key stakeholders on the potential impact to the AZ business of such changes and trends in order to allow the business to make more accurate risk assessments and informed decisions.

- External Counsel Management
Retain and manage external counsels on legal matters. This includes ensuring that the business seeks appropriate guidance from external counsel, receives high-quality advice, and that each engagement is established and managed in a cost-effective manner. Support the Market Access and Government Affairs functions in liaising with/overseeing external counsels on environment-shaping matters.

- Risk Management
Assess, advise on and manage effectively, all manner of legal risks as they apply to the current business strategy and the activities undertaken by the company, as well as to the medium to long-term strategy and decision making.  Provide support in assisting with and closing any issues identified in any internal or external audits.

- PIPA
Data privacy and personal information protection matters, including compliance with the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) and related regulations, in collaboration with the Compliance team.

- Leadership and Strategic Partner
Serve as a member of the AstraZeneca Korea Leadership Team and act as a trusted strategic partner to the business by providing clear, pragmatic, and commercially focused legal advice. Demonstrate strong leadership, sound judgement and the ability to influence senior stakeholders to support effective and compliant decision-making.

Essential for the role

The successful candidate will have a recognized law degree and be a qualified lawyer with preferably at least 15 years of experience as a lawyer in a major law firm or a lawyer in an in-house counsel role, preferably in the life science industry. He or she will be required to work collaboratively as part of a team, while appropriately assessing and advising on legal risks and offering creative solutions to legal problems. More specifically, he or she will possess the following skills:

- Expertise in Managing Commercial Legal Matters
The successful candidate will demonstrate a track record of having managed the legal aspects of commercial matters of the type encountered in the pharmaceutical industry.

- Excellence in Managing Litigation and Investigations
The candidate will have a demonstrated ability to effectively manage litigation and investigations and to effectively manage external counsel in a cost-effective manner.

- Experience in Managing Corporate Risk
He or she will have shown excellence in assessing and managing corporate legal risk, including managing organizational compliance with the requirements of a regulated industry.
Working knowledge of Korean data privacy and personal information protection laws (including PIPA) and their application in the pharmaceutical industry.

- Business Acumen
He or she will possess strong business acumen, including understanding how the various functional areas are working within the strategic and operational parameters of the company.  He or she will be comfortable advising on complex or evolving issues while appropriately balancing legal and business considerations and identify practical ways to manage risks.

- Proactivity/Team Skills
He or she will have demonstrated an ability to act independently, yet work collaboratively with others to deliver outcomes, with an inquisitive versus critical approach, and to lead his or her corporate peers to ensure material risks are identified and assessed effectively and efficiently.

- Communication Skills
The successful candidate will possess excellent communication skills in English and Korean (oral and verbal).

- Global and Cross-Functional Mindset
The candidate will demonstrate the adaptability and openness required to work effectively within a multinational organization, collaboration across functions, geographies and time zones, and engage constructively with colleagues and stakeholders in Korea and internationally to support business growth and priorities of AstraZeneca Korea.

Desirable for the role

- Strong interpersonal and team leadership skills, demonstrating flexibility and a proven ability to deal with complexity under high intensity and time pressure situations.

- A flexible, team oriented attitude; highly motivated to contribute and collaborate to deliver AstraZeneca’s priorities.

- Ability to work independently and efficiently while prioritizing effectively to deliver high-quality results to meet the company’s expectations.

※ 채용 절차법에 따른 고지 사항
1. 제출한 서류는 채용 절차법에 따라, 일체 반환 의무가 없습니다.
2. 보훈대상자 및 취업보호대상자는 관련법에 의거하여 우대합니다.
3. 해외 여행 결격사유가 없어야 합니다.
4. 본 채용은 수시진행으로, 우수인력 채용 시 마감될 수 있습니다.

Date Posted
13-11월-2026
Closing Date
11-2월-2027

AstraZeneca embraces diversity and equality of opportunity.  We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse team representing all backgrounds, with as wide a range of perspectives as possible, and harnessing industry-leading skills.  We believe that the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be.  We welcome and consider applications to join our team from all qualified candidates, regardless of their characteristics.  We comply with all applicable laws and regulations on non-discrimination in employment (and recruitment), as well as work authorization and employment eligibility verification requirements.