Seoul-based Yoon & Yang has hired four senior lawyers with extensive experience in international work, including Hee Woong Yoon, the former managing partner at Yulchon from 2019 to February 2025, who is set to assume the role of senior partner.
The other senior lawyers joining Yoon & Yang are Jay Shim, Sung Hyun Ryu and Hoanku Lee, who all formerly worked at Lee & Ko’s international tax team.
“Key global taxation issues are emerging, and multinational companies urgently require specialised advisory services to proactively mitigate tax risks and restructure their global investment frameworks,” Myung Soo Lee, senior managing partner at Yoon & Yang, told Asia Business Law Journal.
“The tax practice group at Yoon & Yang will develop the international tax sector as a new growth engine within the group.”
Shim most recently was the co-head of the tax practice at Lee & Ko, a position he held for more than a decade. Ryu, who worked with Shim and Hoanku Lee at Lee & Ko, served as a deputy director for the National Tax Service, the country’s tax agency, before joining Lee & Ko in 2012. Hoanku Lee also spent 17 years at Lee & Ko from 2008 to 2025, primarily focusing on international tax and customs.
While the Lee & Ko trio is focused on international tax, Yoon is widely recognised as a prominent figure in Korea’s M&A advisory market with more than three decades of experience in corporate law.
He was involved in large-scale and important cross-border deals such as London-based Standard Chartered Bank’s acquisition of Korea First Bank valued at USD3.2 billion. He also served as the lead partner in domestic deals exceeding KRW1 trillion, including Lotte Shopping’s acquisition of Hi-Mart, which was Korea’s leading home appliance retailer at the time.
“The recruitment of senior partner Yoon is expected to be a significant turning point for expanding Yoon & Yang’s corporate advisory and M&A capabilities, as well as for securing major transactions,” said Myung Soo Lee.
“Leveraging on accumulated experience and expertise, I plan to actively support our clients’ success and strengthen their leadership in the market,” Yoon said when asked by Asia Business Law Journal on his new goal after leaving Yulchon.
