South Korean semiconductor giant SK Hynix debuted on the Nasdaq via American depositary receipts (ADRs) on 10 July 2026, raising USD26.5 billion. Shin & Kim advised SK Hynix as domestic counsel, while Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton acted as international lead counsel.
“This transaction marks the first ADR listing by a publicly traded South Korean company in more than two decades, ending a hiatus that dates back to the early 2000s,” Yong Jin Park, one of the lead partners for Shin & Kim, told Asia Business Law Journal.
Park said this transaction also stood out as the largest IPO by a South Korean company across both domestic and international markets in terms of the deal size. On a global scale, it was understood this would rank as the second-largest IPO in history after SpaceX’s historic USD75 billion listing, he added.
Shin & Kim advised on the ADR listing transaction, which included reviewing both the confidential and public Form F-1 registration statements filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm also managed consultations with the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service in South Korea, a step Park said was “the most difficult and crucial process of this ADR”.
Apart from Yong Jin Park, the Shin & Kim advisory team comprised partners Seongkoo Cheong, Jungwoo Lee, Hae-Seong Ahn and Hyung Joon Park, alongside senior associates Miryung Yang and Hyunwoo Kim, and adviser Siwoun Jin.
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton fielded a cross-border team including partners Jinduk Han and Insoo Park in Seoul, as well as partners Adam Fleisher and Shuangjun Wang in New York.
Advising the underwriters – led by BofA Securities, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan – were Kim & Chang and a cross-border Paul Hastings team. The Paul Hastings team comprised co-chairs of the Seoul office Iksoo Kim and Dong Chul Kim, partner Gil Savir in New York, and of counsel Ryan Brewer in Washington.
Yong Jin Park said this transaction was poised to establish an exemplary precedent for South Korean enterprises planning future ADR or overseas DR listings, serving as a case study for major domestic issuers.
“The advisory work was challenged by a lack of clearly defined regulatory practices and a shortage of available precedents, stemming from the historical rarity of overseas DR or ADR issuances by Korean firms,” said Yong Jin Park.
