Based on research conducted by Asia Business Law Journal, the following are Korea’s top 100 lawyers (including foreign legal counsel/advisors/consultants practising in Korea).
Click here to read the editorial report that accompanies the A-List.
Biographies and contact details, where provided, were written by the lawyers themselves and have not been independently verified.
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Ahn Yong Seok Lee & Ko Tel: +82-2-772-4341 Email: yongseok.ahn@leeko.com |
| Key practice areas: Competition & antitrust, compliance, corporate & commercial, corporate governance, M&A |
| Yong Seok Ahn is a managing partner at Lee & Ko since March 2018. Ahn was in charge of competition law, M&A and general corporate practices at Lee & Ko before becoming a managing partner. Since joining Lee & Ko in 1989, he has represented many cases involving multinational companies which are related to Korean competition laws including cartel, merger filing, abuse of dominance and unfair trade practices before the Korean Fair Trade Commission. He continues to be very active in the field of M&A and has represented many multinational corporations in their acquisition of Korean companies. |
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John Bang Peter & Kim |
| Key practice areas: Arbitration/litigation, investments & BITs, trade law and WTO, M&A |
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Michael Chang Shin & Kim |
| Key practice areas: Project finance, acquisition finance, foreign investments (inbound/outbound), M&A, energy and resources |
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Chang Yong Jae Lee & Ko Tel: +82-2-772-4394 Email: yongjae.chang@leeko.com |
| Key practice areas: Banking & finance, litigation, project finance, real estate, securitisation & structured finance |
| Yong-Jae Chang is a senior foreign attorney in the Banking and Finance Group with over 20 years of broad professional experience which covers various areas of Acquisition Finance, Structured Finance, Project Finance, Private Equity, Real Estate, Asset Management, Islamic Finance, Capital Markets, Energy & Natural Resources, Mergers & Acquisitions and Cross-border Investment. He is highly regarded as one of leading lawyers in Korea by many leading legal publications and is particularly well-known for his expertise in banking, structured finance and cross-border transactions.
Chang regularly advises major international and Korean financial institutions and corporations (including asset management companies) and has represented his clients in numerous high-profile ‘cross-border’ transactions involving Korea and other jurisdictions, some of which received the prestigious “Deal of the Year” awards in Asia. Such notable transactions include the following (at the time of the relevant awards): Chang was educated in Korea and overseas and is qualified as a solicitor of England & Wales and Australia (New South Wales and Queensland). He is also qualified as a CPA in Australia. Chang maintains a keen interest, together with his extensive experience in cross-border transactions, to actively participate in those leading associations of international lawyers (such as the Inter-Pacific Bar Association (IPBA) and the International Bar Association (IBA)) and has served as the Chair of the Cross-Border Investment Committee and the Counsel Member and of the IPBA as well as an officer of a relevant committee of the IBA. He was also a special advisory member (for international affairs) to the Korean Bar Association and the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and is currently an advisory panel member for Asia Pacific Infrastructure Partnership. He has written many articles for leading international legal publications and has spoken at various international & national conferences and seminars. |
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Cho Sung Keuk Cho & Lee |
| Key practice areas: Aviation,Insurance & reinsurance,International trade & bilateral investment treaties,Litigation,Shipping |
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Cho Young Kyun Kim & Chang |
| Key practice areas: Project Finance, Power & Energy, Infrastructure, Aviation |
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Choe Jeong Yeol Yulchon |
| Key practice areas: Arbitration & ADR, data protection, intellectual property, litigation |
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Choi Dong Shik Kim & Chang |
| Key practice areas: Data protection; e-commerce, fintech, blockchain & cryptos; licensing & franchising; M&A; technology, media and telecommunications |
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Choi JH Choi & Kim |
| Key practice areas: Aviation, insurance & reinsurance, international trade & bilateral investment treaties, litigation, shipping |
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Choi Woo Young HMP Law |
| Key practice areas: Arbitration & ADR, intellectual property, litigation, restructuring & insolvency, taxation |
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Matthew Christensen Kim & Chang |
| Key practice areas: International arbitration & cross-border litigation, construction & engineering disputes, engineering & construction, energy, international practice |
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Anna Chung Shearman & Sterling |
| Key practice areas: Banking & finance, infrastructure, joint ventures, power & energy, project finance |
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Cecil Saehoon Chung Yulchon |
| Key practice areas: Competition & antitrust, compliance, litigation, technology, media and telecommunications, white-collar crime |
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Chung Eui Jong Bae Kim & Lee |
| Key practice areas: Capital markets, banking & finance, securitization & structured finance, project finance, restructuring & insolvency |
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Chung Jin Yeong Kim & Chang |
| Key practice areas: Arbitration & ADR, banking & finance, corporate & commercial, litigation, restructuring & insolvency |
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Chung Myoung Jae Kim & Chang |
| Key practice areas: Capital markets, corporate governance, inbound investment, mergers & acquisitions, private equity, venture capital & funds |
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Edward Dhong Yoon & Yang |
| Key practice areas: Anti-corruption & anti-bribery, competition & antitrust, compliance, labour & employment, technology, media and telecommunications |
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Do Gun Chul Bae Kim & Lee |
| Key practice areas: Real estate, project finance, M&A, inbound investment, outbound investment |
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Kurt Gerstner Dentons Lee |
| Key practice areas: Arbitration & ADR, aviation, litigation, product liability defence, intellectual property litigation |
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Han Bong Hee Yulchon |
| Key practice areas: Corporate & finance, mergers & acquisitions, acquisition finance, project finance, real estate & construction |
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Han Ri Bong Bae Kim & Lee |
| Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; compliance; corporate governance; M&A; private equity, venture capital & funds |
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Han Sang Jin Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton |
| Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial, joint ventures, mergers & acquisitions, outbound investment, private equity, venture capital & funds |
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Sean Hayes IPG Legal |
| Key practice areas: Arbitration & ADR, corporate & commercial, litigation, taxation, technology, media and telecommunications |
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Claudia Hong Shin & Kim |
| Key practice areas: Compliance; corporate & commercial; corporate governance; data protection; technology, media and telecommunications |
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Hong Suakbuam Yoon & Yang |
| Key practice areas: Competition & antitrust, compliance, corporate governance |
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Huh Young Man Kim & Chang |
| Key practice areas: Capital markets, corporate governance, mergers & acquisitions, private equity, venture capital & funds |
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Hwang Ju Myung HMP Law |
| Key practice areas: General corporate, employment law, international disputes, intellectual property, antitrust & competition |
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Hyun Chun Wook Kim & Chang |
| Key practice areas: Compliance, joint ventures, labour & employment, mergers & acquisitions, restructuring & insolvency |
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Jeong Hwan Lee & Ko Tel: +82-2-772-4940 Email: hwan.jeong@leeko.com |
| Key practice areas: Antitrust & competition, antitrust litigation, ESG |
| Hwan Jeong is a senior partner and the head of Antitrust & Competition group at Lee & Ko. His practice focuses on a broad range of antitrust & competition law matters including investigation of merger review, cartels, abuse of market dominance and unfair trade practices, and antitrust litigation.
Jeong has handled many high-profile antitrust cases in his 20+ years of practice, including the Korea Fair Trade Commission’s case against Microsoft in which he represented the commission. Additionally, he has handled many cartel cases such as an international FX cartel, an international auto parts cartel, an international capacitor cartel, an international airline cartel, an international LCD cartel, and an international DRAM cartel. He also has been involved in many global merger review cases, cross-border investments and general corporate transactions. He is a member of International Bar Association Antitrust Committee Unilateral Conduct Working Group. Jeong served as an Advisory Counsel for the Competition Policy Advisory Committee of the Korea Fair Trade Commission. He was an ad-hoc instructor at the Judicial Research and Training Institute of the Supreme Court of Korea, where he taught international contract law and was an ad-hoc instructor at the Seoul National University Law School, and the Korea University Law School where he taught antitrust law. He is a frequent speaker and has also written extensively on topics related to antitrust and competition law. He provides legal advice to the Korea Fair Trade Commission in connection with the amendment of Korean antitrust laws and regulations as an antitrust expert. |
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Jung Jin Young Lee & Ko Tel: +82-2-772-4351 Email: jinyoung.jung@leeko.com |
| Key practice areas: Insurance, maritime litigation, litigation & arbitration, construction litigation, real estate, international trade |
| Jinyoung Jung joined Lee & Ko in 1995 and has been practicing in maritime, aviation, insurance, international commercial disputes and energy commodity for 25 years. He deserves competitive reputation in his practice areas from the clients as well as in the market.
Throughout his professional career, he has been involved in a number of major cases, including the ‘MV Hebei Spirit vs Samsung Barge No 1’ case, the ‘Air China Aircraft Crash at Gimhae’ case, the ‘KAL Aircraft Crash at Guam’ case and the ‘Seizure by Somali pirate of MV Bright Ruby’ case etc. He also represented many foreign/domestic clients (Hanjin Shipping, Korea Line Corporation, Britania P&I Club, Steamship Mutual P&I Club, North China Shipping, Korea Air Line, Thai Airways, Cathay Pacific, Korea Exchange Bank, Natixis Bank, Calyon Bank etc) in the area of maritime, aviation and commercial disputes. Further, as the lead partner of energy group at Lee & Ko, he has been also advising major energy-related companies such as KOGAS, KEPCO, Korea District Heating Corporation, POSCO, Hyundai Steel and E1 Corporation etc with in-depth knowledge and experience in the energy commodity area. Especially he represented KOGAS in Sakhalin II LNG Project and in Mexico Manzanilo LNG Terminal Project, represented POSCO in LNG Tank Storage Service Project and represented STX Energy in Renaissance Project in Alabama, USA. He ever worked as a foreign associate at Richard Butler, London Office (2001) and at Richard Butler, H.K. Office (2002) to enhance his specialty in maritime area as well as to establish a good network with shipping-related firms in UK. He also took a secondment at Beaumont & Son to advance his competitiveness in aviation area. He was a lecturer in maritime law at the Judicial Research and Training Institute in 2008. |
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Jung Kyung Taek Kim & Chang |
| Key practice areas: Competition & antitrust, compliance, mergers & acquisitions, technology, media and telecommunications |
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Jung Woo Young Lee & Ko Tel: +82-2-772-4383 Email: wooyoung.jung@leeko.com |
| Key practice areas: Banking, ship/aviation finance, structured finance, insolvency & restructuring |
| Woo Young Jung is a partner of Banking & Finance Group at Lee & Ko with almost 20 years of practice experience in area of finance and general banking. During his long tenure as banking attorney, he has handled and advised on a wide variety of financing schemes, e.g. asset financing, project financing, securities, corporate rehabilitation and asset backed securitization, but always with a concentration on the area of shipfinance. He advises shipping companies and financial institutions (both local and offshore) on the acquisition of new buildings and secondhand ships, offshore oil and gas, cross border leases, tax leases under US, UK and France revenue regulations, the fund scheme and other structured financing, many of which have been bench mark deals in the Korean market.
He also advises, as a designated outside counsel, many of the government and government related authorities delegated to drafting and implementing the anti-money laundering legislation and other financial regulations, e.g. the Bank of Korea, the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the Export-Import Bank of Korea, the Korea Development Bank, the Korea Export Insurance Corporation, the Korea Highway Corporation and recently the Korea Finance Corporation, and makes active contributions. He has acted as an advisor of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, as advisory member of Korea Financial Intelligence Unit, and as outsider Director of Korea Line Corporation, a shipping Company. He also writes and lectures frequently on structured finance, shipfinance, ship investment company act at the Judicial Research and Training Institute, the Korea Securities Research and Training Institute and the International Bar Association, and publishes articles (with his prior publications including “Introduction to the Banking Practice of the Shipfinance” (2006) – BFL, Finance Center of Seoul National University, and “Asset-Backed Securitization in Korea” (2003) Asia Law and Practice). |
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Tony Dong Wook Kang Bae Kim & Lee |
| Key practice areas: Arbitration & ADR, banking & finance, litigation, M&A, white-collar crime |
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Yully Kang Jipyong |
| Key practice areas: Corporate, real estate finance, project finance, structured finance & derivatives, acquisition financing |
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Kim Beomsu KL Partners |
| Key practice areas: Arbitration & ADR, corporate & commercial, litigation, outbound investment, investor-state disputes |
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Kim CJ Choi & Kim Tel: +82-2-734-6374 Email: cjkim@choikim.com |
| Key practice areas: Bankruptcy & insolvency, insurance & reinsurance, international trade & bilateral investment treaties, litigation, shipping |
| Kim CJ is a founding partner of Choi & Kim, the leading maritime & insurance law firm in Korea. For over 30 years, he has handled major maritime, insurance and cross-border matters of both contentious and non-contentious nature. A PhD holder in commercial law, he has also authored extensive articles on a variety of topics including “Hanjin Shipping’s Bankruptcy,” “Duplicate Limitation Proceedings for Shipowners in Korea,” “Anti-suit Injunction in Arbitration,” “Window Dressing and D&O Policy.” He is advising the IOPC Fund for the Hebei Spirit case, the largest oil spill incident in Korean history. He currently serves as a mediation commissioner for the Seoul High Court and arbitrator for the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board. He was also in charge of the special government- initiated taskforce to investigate the tragic Sewol Ferry incident, the biggest marine casualty incident which later became one of the most politically controversial issues in Korea. |
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Kim Dong Eun Lee & Ko Tel: +82-2-772-4397 Email: dongeun.kim@leeko.com |
| Key practice areas: Banking & financial holdings, real estate, energy & natural resources, private equity, construction |
| Dong Eun Kim is leading the Project & Energy Practice Group and co-leading the Construction and Real Estate Practice Group. He has a wealth of experience and expertise in advising for over 20 years on all kinds of inbound and outbound transactions related to social overhead capital, energy and real estate development, construction, operation, financing, investment and restructuration. |
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Kim Dong Soo Yulchon |
| Key practice areas: Succession planning (family office), taxation |
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Kim Doo Sik Shin & Kim |
| Key practice areas: International arbitration, investor-state dispute settlement, WTO and FTA disputes, trade remedies, economic sanctions and export controls |
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Kim Ji Hyung Jipyong |
| Key practice areas: Dispute resolution, labour & employment, industrial health & safety, construction & real estate, criminal defence |
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John Kim Lee & Ko Tel: +82-2-772-4931 Email: john.kim@leeko.com |
| Key practice areas: Arbitration & ADR, competition & antitrust, intellectual property, litigation |
| John Kim is a trial lawyer specializing in Cross-Border Litigation and International Dispute Resolution.
As a Partner at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, Kim represented multinational clients from both the plaintiff and defense perspective at the U.S. International Trade Commission, the Eastern District of Texas, and the Northern District of California. Resident in Quinn Emanuel’s Silicon Valley Office, he also led strategic counseling teams on behalf of a diverse international client base to maximize leverage and create real-world solutions in multiple IP disputes and competition law matters. As Assistant General Counsel of Intellectual Property at Samsung Electronics in Seoul, Kim provided counsel on corporate-wide IP policy reform and the efficient management of antitrust and patent litigation risk profiles. He also conducted licensing and IP acquisition negotiations with several Global 500 entities. At Samsung, Kim managed over 100 world-wide litigation and licensing matters for Samsung’s Semiconductor, Telecommunications, Display, and Digital Media business units. Kim has also been involved in negotiating patent licenses in the semiconductor, consumer electronics, and software industries and he has represented clients regarding standard-essential patent licensing issues before tribunals and competition authorities around the world. Kim combines his corporate experience with his law firm experience to provide a wide range of clients with legal advice and counseling grounded in the practical realities of global businesses. |
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Kevin Kap You Kim Peter & Kim |
| Key practice areas: Arbitration/litigation, investments & BITs, trade law and WTO, project finance, mergers & acquisitions |
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Michael Kim Kobre & Kim |
| Key practice areas: Bankruptcy & insolvency, litigation, private client, private equity, venture capital & funds, white-collar crime |
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Kim Sae Youn Kim & Chang |
| Key practice areas: International arbitration & cross-border litigation, construction & engineering disputes, corporate & M&A litigation, product liability & consumer claims |
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Kim Sang Gon Lee & Ko Tel: +82-2-772-4362 Email: sanggon.kim@leeko.com |
| Key practice areas: Mergers & acquisitions, hostile takeovers & defence, corporate governance, private equity, corporate restructuring |
| Sang Gon Kim is a partner at Lee & Ko. Since joining the firm in 1994, he has concentrated his practice in general corporate and business law, focusing on mergers and acquisitions.
Kim has handled a wide variety of M&A transactions in the financial and petrochemical industries. His experience in friendly takeovers includes Representation of SK Telecom in the acquisition of Hana Card in late 2009, which was the first case of consolidation between a mobile telecom business and credit card business; CJ Group (the largest cable TV program provider in Korea) in its acquisition of On Media (the second largest program provider in Korea); Citibank in its acquisition of KorAm Bank; the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation in its sale of Korea First Bank to Newbridge, LG Chem’s spin-off of its battery business division and establishment of LG Energy Solution, and Hahn & Co’s acquisition of in-flight catering and duty-free business of Korean Air. Additionally, Kim has established his position as a leading lawyer in the field of hostile M&A, having represented parties of major hostile takeover cases in Korea, namely Karl Icahn’s takeover attempt of KT&G, Sovereign’s takeover attempt of SK Group, and KCC’s takeover attempt of Hyundai Group. Not only that, Kim also spearheaded the trend of Korean conglomerates’ restructuring into a holding company structure through share transfers among affiliates by representing virtually all of the major conglomerates in this process, including the LG Group, SK Group and CJ Group. Kim’s singled out by clients as being “always quick to respond to our queries, while providing an unmatched level of comprehensiveness and detail” on M&A as well as general corporate mandates. |
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Kim Sang Man Shin & Kim |
| Key practice areas: Capital markets, derivatives, asset management & investment funds, financial market investigation and enforcement |
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Kim Young Kim & Chang |
| Key practice areas: Arbitration & ADR, environment, intellectual property, litigation |
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Ko Won Seok Lee & Ko Tel: +82-2-2191-3047 Email: wonseok.ko@leeko.com |
| Key practice areas: M&A and management rights disputes, construction litigation, construction, real estate, banking, family law & inheritance law |
| Won Seok Ko is reputed as one of the leading litigators in Korea with extensive experience. He primarily practices in finance, family law & inheritance law, general corporate and administrative litigation.
Ko received his LL.B from college of law, Seoul National University in 1984, and he also studied at Judicial Research and Training Institute, Supreme Court of Korea. He was a visiting scholar from Stanford law school from 1997 to 1998. He is a member of the Korean Bar Association, and the Seoul Bar Association. Prior to joining Lee&Ko, Ko served as a judge in various courts, including Seoul District Court Northern Branch, Seoul Civil District Court, Seoul District Court Eastern Branch, Seoul High Court. He was also the Research Judge at Supreme Court of Korea from 1999 to 2001. In 2002, he became a professor at Judicial Research and Training Institute, Supreme Court of Korea, where he taught civil litigation. |
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Kwon Jin Hong Lee & Ko Tel: +82-2-772-4373 Email: jinhong.kwon@leeko.com |
| Key practice areas: Insurance, banking, real estate, project finance & infrastructure, structured finance |
| Jin Hong Kwon is a key senior partner in the Banking & Finance Group and the Real Estate Group while also serving as a Co-Head of the Insurance & Reinsurance Practice Group. In these roles, he specializes in the areas of insurance, project finance, real estate, and structured finance and securitization (including Asset Backed Securitization (ABS), Asset Backed Loans (ABL), and Asset Backed Commercial Paper (ABCP)), sale of non-performing loans, financial services & compliance and banking. His extensive representation of financial institutions covers major domestic and foreign insurers and reinsurers, banks, asset management companies, and others.
Over the course of the past few years and as, the Co-Head of the Insurance & Reinsurance Practice Group has counseled and continues to provide invaluable advice regarding compliance under the Insurance Business Act and its subordinate and related regulations along with management and structuring asset management programs and investments. In particular, he works on matters involving licensing and registrations; outsourcing and delegation; cross-border solicitation and transactions; data privacy related issues both onshore and offshore; contract drafting and negotiations; and other key issues involving insurance and reinsurance market participants in Korea. He is a trusted advisor for Samsung Life Insurance, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, Hyundai Marine & Insurance, ING Life, ABL Life, Chubb Life, MetLife, Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance, DB Insurance, AXA Direct, AIG, and Royal Sun Alliance, and Pacific Life Re. In terms of real estate and other financial related work, he enjoys a strong reputation as one of the most experienced specialists in the areas of Real Estate, Project Finance and Structured Finance & Securitization. He has proved his excellence in the area of real estate transaction by providing skillful and exemplary legal services on major real estate transactions such as purchase of the LG Twin Towers (Beijing, China), investment in the Mondrian Park Avenue Hotel (New York, USA), investment in the Boca Raton Resort & Club (Florida, USA), investment in the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach Resort & Spa (Hawaii, USA), investment in the Cosmopolitan Hotel (Las Vegas, Nevada, USA), sale of D-Cube City (Seoul, Korea), purchase of Yeoksam Icon (Seoul, Korea), purchase of the Jongro Place (Seoul, Korea), sale of Susong Tower (Seoul, Korea), investment in the Starfield Goyang (Goyang, Korea), purchase of Y-Tower (Seoul, Korea), sale and lease back of Homeplus (Korea), sale of Majesta City Office Building (Seoul, Korea). His project finance experience includes Salaciawaters Residence Development (Gold Coast, Australia) project finance, Dubai Bando U-BORA Towers Development (Dubai, UAE) project finance, Banyan Tree Club & Spa (Seoul, Korea) project finance, Sangam IT Tower project finance, Jeju International Convention Center Anchor Hotel project finance, Daegu Migliore Building acquisition finance and Pangyo Techno Valley project finance. As for his structured finance & securitization experience, he has successfully worked on cross-border securitization of Samsung Card’s future receivables, cross-border securitization of Shinhan Card’s future receivables, cross-border securitization of Lotte Capital’s lease claims, securitization of Korean Air Lines’ domestic future receivables, securitization of Korean Air Lines’ overseas future receivables, securitization of TriGem’s future receivables, securitization of Young Chang’s future receivables, securitization of Samsung Card’s card receivables and securitization of account receivables arising from sales of the 9th Avenue Shopping Mall. In the banking sphere, he consistently represents major banks including Shinhan Bank, Kookmin Bank, KEB Hana Bank and Woori Bank while also advising securities companies, credit card companies, mutual saving banks, and other financial institutions and related parties. Kwon has also served as a foreign attorney at the solicitor firm of Stephenson Harwood in the United Kingdom. |
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Kwon Taeck Soo Bae Kim & Lee |
| Key practice areas: Intellectual property; IP litigation & counseling; trade secrets & corporate information protection; entertainment, sports & game |
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Kwon Tae Il Kwon & Co |
| Key practice areas: Arbitration & ADR, corporate & commercial, litigation, outbound investment, investor-state disputes |
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Kwon Young Mo Lee & Ko Tel: +82-2-772-4446 Email: youngmo.kwon@leeko.com |
| Key practice areas: IP litigation, trade secret, company information protection, unfair competition, IP strategy consulting |
| Young Mo Kwon, a partner at Lee & Ko, is recognized as one of the leading IP trial lawyers in Korea with a wealth of experience to back his reputation and a solid technical background making him more unique and distinctive among other IP practitioners. Since starting his practice in 1987, he has focused on the enforcement of IP rights with a particular emphasis on patents and technology licensing.
His extensive representation of multinational and domestic corporations covers all major technical fields including electrical, mechanical, chemical, pharmaceutical, bio, computer and other industries. Most notably, he successfully defended one of the largest Korean conglomerates in a landmark case, initiated by a global corporation (in Korea and in the U.S.) alleging infringement of a patent for polyester tire code. In addition, he successfully defended one of the largest biogenetics company in a claim of infringement of a genetic engineering patents for BGH, which is the first biogenetics case ever filed before Korean courts. His success record continues with his defense of the largest corporate group in Korea in a claim of infringement of a patent for a drilling ship device for multi-tasking exploratory or developmental drilling and his defense of a medium-sized Korean company in a multi-jurisdictional patent litigation brought by a global semiconductor probe card manufacturer in connection with semiconductor probe card assembly, where his victory created favorable outcome in other jurisdictions. He has been awarded with many accolades in Chambers Asia, Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC, AsiaLaw and Who’s Who Legal for his involvement in many of Korea’s most critical precedents and notable cases. |
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Daniel Lee DLA Piper |
| Key practice areas: International arbitration |
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Lee Eui Hoon C&S Patent and Law Office |
| Key practice areas: Patent |
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Lee Haeng Gyu Jipyong |
| Key practice areas: Capital markets, corporate governance, M&A, private equity, venture capital & funds |
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Lee Hoin Kim & Chang |
| Key practice areas: Banking & finance, capital markets, labour & employment, securitization & structured finance |
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Lee Hyeong Gun Lee & Ko Tel: +82-2-772-4379 Email: hyeonggun.lee@leeko.com |
| Key practice areas: M&A, healthcare, corporate governance, foreign investment, defense Industry |
| Hyeong Gun Lee is a partner at Lee & Ko. His practice is primarily focused on general corporate and business laws, especially mergers and acquisitions. Prior to joining Lee & Ko in 1997, he worked as a foreign associate at McDermott, Will & Emery in New York and Sinclair Roche & Temperley in London.
Lee has handled a wide variety of M&A transactions including public and private company mergers, stock purchases and asset sales. He has also represented clients in a number of joint ventures. Some of his representative clients include Ford, GE, Hana Financial Group, Mars Incorporated, Hanwha Group, Korea Development Bank, and LG Group. Lee holds an LLM from Columbia University School of Law and an LLB from Seoul National University. He is admitted to the Korean and New York State Bars. |
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Lee Kyung Don Shin & Kim |
| Key practice areas: Real estate, construction, asset financing, M&A, foreign investments (inbound/outbound) |
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Lee Sang Hoon Lee & Ko Tel: +82-2-772-4345 Email: sanghoon.lee@leeko.com |
| Key practice areas: Labour & employment |
| Sang Hoon Lee is the head of Lee & Ko’s Employment and Labor Practice Group, and renowned international legal publications such as AsiaLaw, Chambers Asia, Legal 500 and Who’s Who Legal have consistently recognized Mr. Lee as one of the top employment and labor lawyers in Korea.
With over 25 years of experience, Lee has a proven track record of providing effective and practical advice to clients regarding the full range of matters involving the Korean employment and labour laws. Lee has advised clients on matters regarding both individual employment relationships (e.g., employment agreements, termination, wages, etc.) and collective labour relationships (e.g., collective bargaining agreements, strikes, crisis management, etc.). He has also successfully represented many multinational and domestic clients in matters pertaining to employment agreements, changes to work rules, sexual harassment investigations, employment discrimination litigations, general compliance matters, employee discipline and terminations, layoffs, wage and hours, leaves, severance pay, pension and benefit, non-competition, employee privacy, temporary or dispatched worker, unjust labour practice, labour unions relations, employee transfers, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate restructuring. For example, in Samsung’s sale of its HDD business (valued at US$ 1.5 billion) to Seagate, Lee was appointed by Samsung Electronics as its sole advisor for HR-related issues and contributed to the successful completion of the deal. Lee also played a key role in the successful injection of US$ 4 billion of government funds by the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation (“KDIC”) into six Korean banks during the Asian financial crisis in 2000. During negotiations among the KDIC, the banks and the labour union regarding the issues of restructuring and employee withdrawal from the union, he provided various legal advice to the KDIC, which enabled injection of government funds and revived Korean banks. Sang Hoon Lee heads the department and wins plaudits for his work in ordinary wage disputes, workforce reductions, employment matters relating to corporate transactions and internal investigations. |
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Lee Soowan AIP Patent & Law Firm |
| Key practice areas: Patent |
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Lee Tong Gun Shin & Kim |
| Key practice areas: M&A, private equity, foreign investments (inbound/outbound), restructuring and insolvency, management disputes and hostile M&A |
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Lee Young Ku Shin & Kim |
| Key practice areas: Restructuring and insolvency, bankruptcy & restructuring disputes, insurance disputes, finance disputes, management disputes and hostile M&A |
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Sean Sung Woo Lim Lee & Ko Tel: +82-2-2191-3008 Email: sean.lim@leeko.com |
| Key practice areas: Arbitration & ADR, corporate & commercial, intellectual property, international trade & bilateral investment treaties, joint ventures |
| Sean (Sungwoo) Lim is the co-head of the International Arbitration Practice Group at Lee & Ko.
Sean served as an inaugural member of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) Court of Arbitration amidst the 16 most prestigious arbitration practitioners around the world. He also served as Secretary General of the Asia Pacific Regional Arbitration Group (APRAG). Recently, he was selected as a member of the International Advisory Board of the Vienna International Arbitral Centre (VIAC). Domestically, Sean has acted as the Chairman of the foreign relations committee at the Seoul International Dispute Resolution Center (IDRC), part of the IRDC’s worldwide network. He also served as vice president of the Korean Arbitrators Association (KAA). He is currently the president of the Korean Council for International Arbitration (KOCIA); director of ICC Korea; president of the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board (KCAB) sports arbitration committee; and member of the KCAB international arbitration committee. In addition to his many years of experience conducting arbitration cases seated in various jurisdictions, including Hong Kong, London, Singapore, and New York, Sean has led many high-profile cases that have set major precedents in Korea. He is currently working on two investment treaty arbitration cases brought against the Republic of Korea. With decades of experience in leading complex multinational disputes, he has been consistently recognised as a leading practitioner in the area of international arbitration by various legal publications including Legal 500, Chambers & Partners and Asialaw. He is the only leading Korean practitioner who participated in all three major active projects related to arbitration practice in Korea: the Law Reform Commission for Amendments to the Korean Arbitration Act; the Law Reform Commission for Amendments to the Korean Arbitration Rules; and the Law Enactment Commission for Enactment of the Commercial Arbitration Promotion Act. Based on his decades of work in this field, Sean received an award in 2017 from the Ministry of Justice for his long-standing contribution to the development of commercial arbitration in South Korea. He was also selected as a “Dispute Resolution Star” for international arbitration by Benchmark Litigation Asia Pacific in 2019 and was recognised as “International Arbitration Practitioner of the Year” by Legal Times in 2018. Sean holds degrees from Seoul National University College of Law (LLB) and Cornell Law School (LLM). He is licensed to practise in Korea and New York. He recently published International Arbitration, still the only Korean treatise solely dedicated to international arbitration. His book has received wide acclaim from academics and practitioners alike both nationally and abroad. In addition, Sean is an adjunct professor at the Seoul National University School of Law where he teaches a course on international arbitration. |
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Lim Seung Soon Yoon & Yang |
| Key practice areas: Tax, family business succession, tax litigation and dispute |
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Moon Il Bong Yulchon |
| Key practice areas: Asset management, information communication dispute, financial regulation disputes, bankruptcy/rehabilitation disputes, labour/employment disputes |
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Nahm Ho Hyun Barun IP & Law |
| Key practice areas: IP |
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Oh Hyun Joo Lee & Ko Tel: +82-2-772-4690 Email: hyunjoo.oh@leeko.com |
| Key practice areas: Capital markets, capital markets compliance, capital market disputes, securities, derivatives, asset management |
| Hyunjoo Oh is a leading partner in the Capital Markets Group. She is an expert in the areas of securities, derivatives, capital market licenses, capital market legal compliance issues, foreign exchange regulations and the resolution of disputes in capital markets.
Oh has represented the most prestigious corporations, banks and financial institutions and earned a reputation as a brilliant negotiator and strategist in deal structuring. Chambers of Asia and Asialaw named Oh a leading lawyer in the area of Capital Markets. During the global financial crisis in 2008 and 2009, Oh acted as the sole legal counsel to the Bank of Korea for its bilateral currency swap arrangement with the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank (2008) and its multilateral currency swap arrangement with the central banks and finance ministries of ASEAN countries, China and Japan (2009). For her distinguished service to the country, she was honoured with official commendations from the Minister of Strategy and Finance on December 31, 2009 and December 31, 2012, respectively. Having advised on the issuance of Korean sovereign bonds, the first issuance of non-Korean CD, the first-ever issuance of synthetic exchangeable bonds and redeemable convertible preferred shares in Korea, Oh has been in the forefront of the debt capital market. She is recognized for her ability to structure complex transactions, such as those involving dual currency bonds, going-public bonds and option stripping of synthetic securities. During the mid-2000s when Korean companies were actively raising capital overseas by issuing equity-related bonds such as convertible bonds, exchangeable bonds and bonds with warrants, Lee & Ko’s Securities & Capital Markets Group consistently recorded the largest market share among Korean legal counsel in deals involving equity-related bonds. In the field of capital market compliance, Lee & Ko has advised both domestic and foreign financial institutions and helped them minimizing legal risk while maximizing business opportunities. Oh currently represents various local financial institutions and companies in relation to the termination of their derivatives transactions with Lehman Brother entities. She also represents major Korean banks in high-profile litigations involving their KIKO contracts with local export-import companies. As a leading authority in the area of derivatives and on behalf of the Korea Options, Swaps & Derivatives Association and the Korea Federation of Banks, she has drafted the Korean standard forms for derivatives transactions. She has engaged in various ISDA negotiations and documentations and advised a number of multinational clients in relation to structuring of derivatives products, including equity options and CLN/CDS/DLS. In addition, she has conducted compliance checks and obtained foreign exchange approvals for derivatives products. Oh has been an active participant at ISDA conferences representing Lee & Ko as a member firm of the ISDA. She is contributing her knowledge to the industry as an advisory member of the Financial Advisory Committee at the Financial Supervisory Service, an expert member of the Financial Disputes Mediation Committee at the Financial Supervisory Service, and a member of Advertisement Review Committee at Korea Financial Investment Association. |
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Oh Jong Han Shin & Kim |
| Key practice areas: Finance disputes, labour disputes, environmental disputes, international arbitration, management disputes and hostile M&A |
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Oh Keum Seok Bae Kim & Lee |
| Key practice areas: Competition & antitrust, corporate & commercial, corporate governance, compliance, litigation |
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Oh Yangho Bae Kim & Lee |
| Key practice areas: Technology, media and telecommunications; corporate & commercial; power & Energy; public policy & legislative support |
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Helen Pak Shin & Kim |
| Key practice areas: Project finance, asset financing, real estate, private equity |
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Park Eun Young Kim & Chang |
| Key practice areas: Anti-corruption & anti-bribery, arbitration & ADR, international trade & bilateral investment treaties, joint ventures, white-collar crime |
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Park Ghyo Sun Shin & Kim |
| Key practice areas: Product liability; patents, designs and trademarks; unfair competition &trade secrets; copyrights and entertainment; licensing and franchising |
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Park Jong Koo Kim & Chang |
| Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; corporate governance; joint ventures; M&A; private equity, venture capital & funds |
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Park Gwang Bae Lee & Ko Tel: +82-2-772-4343 Email: kwangbae.park@leeko.com |
| Key practice areas: TMT, data privacy & cybersecurity, fintech, startups, data protection litigation |
| Kwang Bae Park is a partner and leader of the TMT Group at Lee & Ko. He has consistently represented and advised the various telecommunications and IT companies for more than 15 years, with the focus on various issues in the field of all TMT areas, including mobile, fixed and satellite services, and regulatory issues in the internet services, such as issues on privacy, internet contents, and internet advertisement.
He advised and successfully represented SKT and SK Broadband before Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) and Korea Communications Commission (KCC) on serious anti-competitive risks and impacts of the KT-KTF merger upon the telecom market and telecom service users and remedies required for improvement. He advised and represented various clients in various litigation in the TMT sector, such as litigations for the monetization regarding ground-wave re-transmission between system operators (SOs) and ground-wave broadcasting companies, which is the most hotly-contended pending issue in the cable TV industry and litigations on interconnection fees between SK Telecom and KT. He advised and represented eBay Korea on the various regulations and liability as an operator of internet platform, internet advertising business, VoIP, e-Payment and open-market. He advised Google on localization of its services in Korea including privacy, regulations on internet service, and reviewed various business-related contracts and its standard terms and conditions He advised Korean Air Lines on its introduction of Asia’s largest ERP and MRO system from Oracle, which is the largest ERP outsourcing project in Asia in 2008 in terms of deal size. He has also provided extensive advice on the various contracts in TMT area, such as software licensing, content supply and system supply contracts. Further he has been extensively involved and assisted various clients in corporate transactions. |
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Park Sang Ki Nam & Nam |
| Key practice areas: Civil proceedings & criminal action, patent, litigation, commercialisation/IP Transaction, mediation/arbitration |
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Park Seung Moon Darae Law & IP Firm |
| Key practice areas: IP |
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Park Yong Seok Lee & Ko Tel: +82-2-772-4930 Email: yongseok.park@leeko.com |
| Key practice areas: Corporate, banking, securities, tax Litigation, criminal tax defense, IP |
| Yong Seok Park served as a public prosecutor for 28 years, until August 2011. During his career, he specialized in special investigation. His positions include: Chief, Deputy and Researcher of the Central Investigation Unit at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, Chief of the Special Investigation Team at the Seoul District Prosecutors’ Office and General Prosecutor of the Special Investigation Teams in multiple districts.
As a representative partner at Lee & Ko, Park takes charge of criminal cases regarding Corporate, International transactions, Finance, Fair Trade and Trade Secret. In 2015, he was once selected as one of the best criminal lawyers by Chambers & Partners a global legal publisher providing legal market assessment. |
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Rim Chiyong Kim & Chang |
| Key practice areas: Bankruptcy & insolvency |
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Ro Young Jay Kim & Chang |
| Key practice areas: Banking & finance, capital markets, joint ventures, M&A, private equity, venture capital & funds |
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Seo Dong Woo Bae Kim & Lee |
| Key practice areas: M&A; inbound investment; outbound investment; corporate governance; private equity, venture capital & funds |
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Shin Sanghoon Bae Kim & Lee |
| Key practice areas: Competition & antitrust; compliance; e-commerce; fintech, blockchain & cryptos; licensing & franchising,Mergers & acquisitions; M&A |
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Son Won C&S Patent and Law Office |
| Key practice areas: Patent, trademark |
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Song Chang Young Sehan |
| Key practice areas: Banking & finance; capital markets; compliance; M&A; private equity, venture capital & funds |
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Chris Chang Hyun Song Shin & Kim |
| Key practice areas: M&A, private equity, corporate governance, foreign investments (inbound/outbound), corporate compliance & anti-corruption |
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Song Joo Hyun You Me Patent & Law Firm |
| Key practice areas: Intellectual property prosecution and litigation |
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Song Youngcheon Sehan |
| Key practice areas: Environmental law, investment in Korea, media and entertainment |
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Robert Wachter Lee & Ko Tel: +82-2-6386-6241 Email: robert.wachter@leeko.com |
| Key practice areas: Arbitration & ADR; intellectual property; joint ventures; licensing & franchising; technology, media and telecommunications |
| Robert Wachter is co-head of the International Arbitration & Cross-Border Litigation Group at Lee & Ko. He has acted as counsel, arbitrator or arbitral secretary in more than 75 international arbitration cases brought under all of the major arbitration rules, including the ICC, KCAB, VIAC, Swiss Chambers, SIAC, LCIA, SCC, JCAA and UNCITRAL arbitration rules.
Wachter has lectured as an adjunct professor at Seoul National University School of Law, the Supreme Court of Korea (Judicial Research and Training Institute), and Ewha Womans University. He also regularly participates in conferences and seminars on international arbitration. He has published various academic articles about international arbitration and Korean law. Wachter has been recognized as a leading practitioner by Chambers and Partners, Legal 500, Who’s Who, and Who’s Who-Future Leaders. |
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Kay Jannes Wegner Kim & Chang |
| Key practice areas: Arbitration & ADR, Defence, Infrastructure |
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Jay Young June Yang Kim & Chang |
| Key practice areas: Competition & antitrust; intellectual property; licensing & franchising; litigation; technology, media and telecommunications |
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Sky Sih Kyoung Yang Bae Kim & Lee |
| Key practice areas: M&A; private equity, venture capital & funds; inbound investment; outbound investment; financing regulation |
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Yim Young Chul Shin & Kim |
| Key practice areas: Cartels, excessive concentration of economic power, merger filings, abuse of market dominance, unfair trade practice |
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Yoo Kook Hyun Kim & Chang |
| Key practice areas: Anti-corruption & anti-bribery, compliance, data protection, defence, white-collar crime |
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Yoon Byung Chol Kim & Chang |
| Key practice areas: Arbitration & ADR, joint ventures, M&A, power & energy, taxation |
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Yoon Hee Woong Yulchon |
| Key practice areas: Corporate & finance, banking/general finance, fund/PE, financial regulation, M&A, corporate governance |
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Yoon Hi Sun Kim & Chang |
| Key practice areas: Banking & finance, bankruptcy & insolvency, outbound investment, project finance, restructuring & insolvency |
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Yoon Hoil Yoon & Yang |
| Key practice areas: Competition & antitrust, compliance, corporate & commercial, M&A, technology, media and telecommunications |
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Yun Sai Ree Yulchon |
| Key practice areas: Corporate Law (with an emphasis on M&A), taxation, mobility, antitrust & competition, governmental relations |
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Yun Seong Un Bae Kim & Lee |
| Key practice areas: Competition & antitrust, litigation, corporate & commercial, corporate governance, compliance |
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Ben Yuu Nam & Nam |
| Key practice areas: E-commerce; fintech; blockchain & cryptos; intellectual property; licensing & franchising; litigation; technology, media and telecommunications |
