South Korean law firm One Law Partners has announced a merger agreement with IP boutique Minwho Law Group, which is expected to be completed on 1 October 2026.
The combined firm will retain the One Law Partners name and surpass the 100-lawyer mark for the first time in its history.
“This merger is a strategic move designed to provide more comprehensive and specialised legal services in a shifting market by combining Minwho’s expertise in IP and data privacy with One Law Partners’ extensive corporate network across corporate advisory, litigation, and public administration,” One Law Partners managing partner You-Jung Lee, told Asia Business Law Journal.
Kyunghwan Kim, managing partner of Minwho, said the merger would enable the combined firms to provide services across more practice areas.
“I decided to pursue this merger to combine Minwho’s specialised expertise with the established foundation of One Law Partners, enabling the delivery of comprehensive services across a broader range of practice areas,” said Kim.
Lee said formal discussions began in February 2026 and the parties had now finalised the key terms of the agreement.
“Given the strong alignment between the two firms, the agreement is highly unlikely to face any reversal,” said Lee.
One Law Partners is a mid-sized law firm in South Korea with 79 domestic-licensed attorneys. Minwho, established in 2010, comprises six partners and 13 associates.
Following the merger, the inclusion of foreign-licensed attorneys will bring the firm’s total lawyer headcount to more than 100.
Lee said the firm was actively considering further mergers to expand its footprint.
“One Law Partners is keeping the door open to future strategic collaborations or potential integrations with specialised boutique law firms and we will continuously expand our service capabilities,” she said.
