Practice areas

Labour & employment; employment litigation

Introduction

Mr. 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, Mr. 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 labor laws. Mr. Lee has advised clients on matters regarding both individual employment relationships (e.g., employment agreements, termination, wages, etc.) and collective labor 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 labor practice, labor 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, Mr. Lee was appointed by Samsung Electronics as its sole advisor for HR-related issues and contributed to the successful completion of the deal. Mr. 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 labor 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.”top expert in Korean labour law” who is “not only knowledgeable in the field of employment but also very client-friendly.” He assisted the newly established Mydyer Korea with a number of employment issues, including the structuring of its HR department and employee engagement procedures, including the drafting of its employment agreements.”- Chambers and Partners, 2018

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