The Legal 500

Kim & Chang is a dominant force in the market. Clients include domestic giants Hyundai and POSCO; it acted for the latter in its acquisition of 68% of the common stock of Daewoo International Corporation for KRW3.4 trillion. It also advised Korea National Oil Corporation on its £1bn-plus acquisition of Dana Petroleum, marking the first instance of a Korean corporation successfully acquiring a foreign corporation by way of a hostile takeover. KT Jung leads the team, which includes some 70 corporate and commercial partners, making it one of the largest in South Korea.

Lee & Ko ‘consistently exceeds expectations on all fronts’, fielding a 100-lawyer team with the capacity and expertise to handle a volume that regularly sees it topping M&A league tables in the region. In 2010 it completed 65 deals, many of them firsts of their kind; Sang Gon Kim and Jun Taek Lee, for example, represented six IT and media companies (O Media Holdings, ON Media, CJ Media, CJ Internet, Mnet Media and CJ Entertainment) on their merger, the first such deal in the Korean marketplace. Team head Kyu Wha Lee is ‘very commercial’, and Hyeong Gun Lee is ‘always clear, succinct and very responsive, with excellent client service skills’.

Bae, Kim & Lee LLC is ‘good on response times, Korean laws and practices, and legal due diligence’. 2010 highlights included acting for Lotte Group in its $130m acquisition of a majority stake in Lucky Pai Limited, the Cayman Islands holding company for the Lucky Pai network of home shopping channels. Ri Bong Han leads a 15-partner team that includes Byoung Ki Lee, who is ‘very hardworking’, and ‘dedicated, experienced’ associate Oh Ryung Lee.

Shin & Kim acted in 48 deals in 2010, placing it firmly in the upper echelon of deal activity in Korea’s burgeoning transactional landscape. The practice handles both inbound and outbound deals for a diverse set of Korean corporates and financial institutions. Highlights included acting for Hanwha Chemical Corporation in its $370m strategic equity investment in Solarfun Power Holdings. Seong Hoon Yi comes highly recommended, and clients ‘have a very good opinion’ of Sung Geun Kim, Jae Woo Im and Chang Weon Rhee. David Yang joined the team in 2010 from Yoon & Yang LLC.

Yulchon’s reputation for its ‘extreme dedication and commitment’ means it is among the ‘top choices’ for big-ticket corporate work in Korea. It acts for a heavyweight client roster of domestic giants and foreign corporates, with 2010 seeing it represent Korea Development Bank in its acquisition of RBS’ Uzbekistan subsidiary, and act for Samsung Electronics in the sale of its 50% interest in Samsung Thales for KRW208bn. Sai Ree Yun andHee Chul Kang jointly head the team, which includes the ‘experienced and knowledgeable’ Hee Woong Yoon, and Tehyok Daniel Yi, who is ‘among the best negotiators in cross-border M&A transactions’. Jin Kook Lee, Ki Young Kim and John Kim are also recommended.

Hwang Mok Park P.C.’s suite of pharmaceuticals and technology clients, including Dow Chemical Company, leaves it well placed to take advantage of the increase in work emanating from Korean companies’ appetite for these sectors. Sang Il Park leads the team, which recently advised VW Financial Services on the establishment of a subsidiary in South Korea.

Jipyong & Jisung has a steadily expanding profile in the transactional market, handling mandates for clients such as Korea Development Bank, POSCO and Daeshin Securities. Practice head Seong Kang acted for SK Group in its KRW250bn bid to acquire 40% of Medison from Consus Asset Management. Young-Tae Yang and Sang-Jun Kim are also recommended.

Kim Chang & Lee’s M&A track record includes advising on inbound and outbound transactions for domestic and foreign clients. Recent highlights include advising LG Household & Health Care in its purchase of 70.2% and 19.8% outstanding shares in The Faceshop Korea. Jong-Kyun Shin and Yong-Hwan Kim are the key figures.

Kim, Choi & Lim’s transactional workload is predominantly domestic, but the firm is handling a growing number of outbound mandates for its Korean client base. Highlights for 2010 included advising SK Networks in its investment in a Kazakhstan mining company. Won-Hyun Choi is the key figure.

Yoon & Yang LLC provides ‘a quality service’. It acted for KDB and Consus Asset Management in the establishment of a PEF and acquisition through that PEF of a 65.6% stake in Kumho Life Insurance for KRW480bn. Team head Sang-Goo Han is ‘a true specialist, and responds to clients quickly and efficiently’.

Barun Law is best known for its contentious capability, although recent years have seen it focus on developing its corporate transactional expertise through a team led by foreign attorneys Jae Seong Choi and Tom Pinansky. It acted for global logistics company YRC Worldwide in the sale of YRC Logistics Korea to Austin Ventures for $37m; and acted for Dong-A Pharmaceutical Co in a strategic alliance and business collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline.

Sechang & Co.’s core focus is shipping, but it also handles day-to-day commercial matters for a wider client base, including China Telecoms HK. Thomas YJ Kim is the key contact.