New Regulatory Perspectives on AI and Digital Markets for Businesses

Walking through the South Lake Union neighborhood in Seattle, it’s easy to feel the invisible weight of the AI revolution. Between the sprawling campuses of Amazon and the satellite offices of the world’s most aggressive tech innovators, the city has become a living laboratory for the future of computing. However, as the novelty of generative AI matures into a permanent industrial infrastructure, a new kind of tension is emerging—not just about who has the fastest model, but about who is allowed to control the pipes, the chips, and the data. This global shift toward tighter regulation was highlighted this week by a significant move across the Pacific, where Law Firm Sejong (Shin & Kim) has launched a specialized “AI·Digital Competition Law Team,” the first of its kind among major Korean law firms.

While a legal development in Seoul might seem distant to a developer in Capitol Hill or a business owner near Pike Place Market, the implications are deeply intertwined with the Seattle ecosystem. We are seeing a synchronized global movement where regulators are no longer satisfied with general “AI Centers” or broad tech committees. Instead, they are pivoting toward highly specialized competition law frameworks. Law Firm Sejong’s decision to move away from the generalist approach adopted by other firms suggests that the era of “move rapid and break things” in AI is being replaced by an era of “move carefully or face the regulators.”

The Strategic Pivot to Competition-Centric AI Law

The launch of this specialized team, led by Attorney Chang-hoon Lee, signals a critical realization in the legal world: AI is not just a new tool, but a fundamental shift in market power. According to the announcement, the team is designed to address the complex, multifaceted competition issues that arise when AI intersects with digital infrastructure. This isn’t about simple copyright disputes; it’s about the structural integrity of the digital economy.

For those of us tracking the tech corridor from the University of Washington’s research hubs to the cloud giants of the Pacific Northwest, the specific focus areas of Sejong’s new team are particularly telling. They are targeting the “core infrastructure” of AI—specifically AI semiconductors and cloud computing. In a city like Seattle, where the cloud was essentially born, the concentration of computing resources is a primary point of failure or dominance. When a handful of entities control the GPUs and the data centers required to train a Large Language Model (LLM), the barrier to entry for smaller innovators becomes nearly insurmountable.

the team’s focus on “learning data and computing resource concentration” mirrors the concerns currently being debated by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) here in the United States. The risk is the creation of a “data moat,” where the companies that already possess the most data use AI to accelerate their lead, effectively locking out competition before it can even commence. This is the “second-order effect” of the AI boom: the technology meant to democratize information may actually be used to centralize power.

Navigating the Risks of Exclusivity and Strategic Alliances

One of the most nuanced aspects of Law Firm Sejong’s new initiative is its focus on “exclusivity issues during the deployment and distribution of AI models.” In the local Seattle context, we see this play out in the strategic partnerships between cloud providers and AI labs. When a dominant platform gives preferential treatment to a specific AI model, or when a model is only available through a specific, restrictive cloud environment, it creates a “walled garden” effect. This exclusivity can stifle the growth of independent software vendors who find themselves squeezed between the provider and the model.

Attorney Chang-hoon Lee, who brings over 20 years of experience in fair trade cases and holds leadership roles in the Korea Competition Law Association and the Platform Law Policy Association, is positioning his team to handle these “strategic investments and alliances.” For Seattle-based firms looking to expand into Asian markets, or Korean firms partnering with Washington-state tech giants, this specialization is vital. The regulatory lens is shifting; what used to be viewed as a “strategic partnership” is now being scrutinized as a potential move to monopolize an emerging ecosystem.

The integration of academic rigor—seen in Lee’s involvement with the Seoul National University Competition Law Center—suggests that the legal battlegrounds of 2026 will be fought with deep economic analysis. We are moving toward a period where “algorithmic fairness” is not just an ethical goal but a legal requirement to prevent anti-competitive behavior.

Local Resource Guide: Navigating AI Regulation in Seattle

Given my experience analyzing the intersection of technology and urban economic development, it’s clear that the “Sejong model” of specialized competition law will soon be the standard in the U.S. If you are a founder, a corporate executive, or an investor in the Seattle area, the generalist corporate lawyer may no longer be enough. As the FTC increases its scrutiny of AI-driven mergers and the DOJ looks closer at cloud exclusivity, you need a targeted support system.

If this global trend toward AI competition regulation impacts your operations in the Pacific Northwest, here are the three types of local professionals you should prioritize in your advisory circle:

Specialized Antitrust & Competition Counsel

Do not settle for a general business attorney. You need a practitioner who specifically focuses on the Sherman Act and the Clayton Act as they apply to digital markets. Glance for counsel who can perform a “competition audit” on your AI partnerships to ensure that your strategic alliances aren’t accidentally creating an exclusivity arrangement that could trigger a federal investigation.

AI Compliance and Algorithmic Auditors

As regulators move toward analyzing the “concentration of computing resources,” you need experts who can document and justify your data sourcing and compute usage. Seek out consultants who specialize in algorithmic transparency and can provide third-party verification that your AI deployment doesn’t unfairly disadvantage competitors or violate emerging fair-trade standards.

Tech-Focused IP Strategists

In the AI era, Intellectual Property (IP) and Competition Law are merging. You need a strategist who understands how patents and trade secrets can be used—or misused—to create anti-competitive moats. The ideal professional here is one who can balance the protection of your innovation with the need to remain “interoperable” in a way that satisfies regulatory bodies.

The launch of Law Firm Sejong’s AI·Digital Competition Law Team is a canary in the coal mine. It tells us that the “wild west” phase of AI is ending, and the era of structural regulation has begun. For the innovators of Seattle, the goal is no longer just to build the best AI, but to build it in a way that can survive the inevitable scrutiny of a global regulatory regime.

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