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Lee & Ko

16TH FLOOR, WEST WING POSCO CENTER BUILDING, 892, DAECHI-4-DONG, KANGNAM-GU, SEOUL 135-777, SOUTH KOREA
Tel:
Work +82 2 191 3000
Fax:
Fax +82 2 569 6333
Email:
Seoul, Seoul

South Korea : Antitrust and competition

Within Antitrust and competition, Lee & Ko is a first tier firm,

Lee & Ko’s widely respected team recently advised Seagate on its successful acquisition of Samsung’s hard disk drive business, which involved merger filings in several jurisdictions. In another matter, Hwan Jeong and Jin Hwan Chung are advising Dong-A Pharmaceutical in an appeal before the Seoul High Court, seeking to annul a corrective order by the KFTC. Yong Seok Ahn and Min-Ho Lee are also recommended.

South Korea : Banking and finance

Within Banking and finance, Lee & Ko is a first tier firm,

Lee & Ko’s team is ‘excellent’ for loan syndication, export finance, project finance, and ship financing. It recently acted for Korea Development Bank and other Korean lenders on financing of Fila Korea’s $700m acquisition of Acushnet. It also advised Hyundai on a significant ETA financing, and handled a number of ECA-backed and strategic leveraged financing matters. Practice head Woo Young Jung and Dong Seok Woo are recommended.

South Korea : Capital markets

Within Capital markets, Lee & Ko is a first tier firm,

Lee & Ko has experience in cross-border IPOs, and in 2012 advised Wanli International Holdings on its listing on the Korea Exchange. The team also advised KDB on a $750m bond issuance that included some Japanese elements.

South Korea : Corporate and M&A

Within Corporate and M&A, Lee & Ko is a first tier firm,

Lee & Ko’s ‘excellent’ team has ‘good practical knowledge of the regulatory environment’. In 2012, it acted for discount store Shinsegae on its horizontal spin-off into E-Mart. New clients include 3M and Rolls-Royce. Kyu Wha Lee and Hyeong Gun Lee are ‘technically strong’ and ‘understand the needs of Western clients’, and the ‘very professional’ Young-Joon Yoon is also recommended. Young Jae Cho joined from the Korea Trade Commission, and the arrival of IP and entertainment expert Chung Hwan Choi boosted the team.

South Korea : Dispute resolution

Within Dispute resolution, Lee & Ko is a second tier firm,

Lee & Ko has been building momentum with a number of hires, including that of former assistant attorney-general Yong Seok Park, and former High Court judges Seong Won Chang and Hun Myung Jung. Recent highlights include acting for the claimant in Samsung v Apple; for Kolon Industries in a $919m trade secrets case against E.I. du Pont; and for POSCO in its $1.2bn dispute with Nippon.

South Korea : Employment

Within Employment, Lee & Ko is a first tier firm,

Lee & Ko ‘consistently performs above expectations’. Its government-related expertise came to the fore in 2012 when it successfully defended Korean Air against a claim by the Ministry of Employment and Labour for repayment of subsidies for vocational development training. Wan Joo and Se Ry Lee are recommended, as is Sang Hoon Lee, who ‘gives advice based on industry knowledge’.

South Korea : Insurance

Within Insurance, Lee & Ko is a first tier firm,

Lee & Ko was bolstered in 2012 by the arrival of senior adviser Thae Woong Jung, who is valued by clients for his knowledge of the regulatory environment, which augmented the firm’s existing expertise in this area. The team was instructed by Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance to review an amendment to the Insurance Business Act. The firm is also active on the M&A side; for example, it advised Korea Life Insurance on its KRW1 trillion acquisition of Tong Yang Life Insurance.

South Korea : Intellectual property

Within Intellectual property, Lee & Ko is a first tier firm,

Lee & Ko’s 90-lawyer team is headed by Jae Hoon Kim. Its impressive client roster includes a number of household names such as Samsung, ExxonMobil, Microsoft, and Lacoste. On the patent side, it represented LG Life Sciences in a case against Kimberly-Clark, while trade mark and unfair competition matters included acting for the plaintiff in Jack Daniel’s v Heo et al. The firm is representing LG in ongoing patent infringement litigation against Osram.

South Korea : Intellectual property: patents and trademarks

Within Intellectual property: patents and trademarks, Lee & Ko is a first tier firm,

Lee & Ko has a close referral relationship with sister patent firm First Law Offices Of Korea. Clients include Nokia, Intel, IBM, and Panasonic. Changse Leon Kim is recommended.

South Korea : Projects and energy

Within Projects and energy, Lee & Ko is a first tier firm,

Lee & Ko’s practice includes power plant projects, for which Tom Shin is recommended, and fossil fuel and renewables work – such as petrochemicals plants – and it also advises on railroads and other transport infrastructure projects. The team has seen an increase in multi-jurisdictional instructions, including projects in Vietnam, Chile and Peru. The firm recruited Young Jae Cho from Shin & Kim, who brought in Korean Resource Corporation as a client, and oil and gas expert Jin Kim, formerly general counsel of the Korea National Oil Corporation.

South Korea : Real estate

Within Real estate, Lee & Ko is a first tier firm,

Lee & Ko’s ‘top-quality’ team of four lawyers advises on the sale and purchase of office buildings, reconstruction, development, and real estate litigation. Junghwan Lee and Joong Hoon Kwak advised the owner of Kyungbang Times Square on disputes with contractors and tenants of the Mall at the beginning of its commercial operations; the client has since retained the firm on an ongoing basis.

South Korea : Shipping

Within Shipping, Lee & Ko is a first tier firm,

Lee & Ko has a growing shipping law caseload, and recently represented Korea Line Corporation in several consolidated charterparty disputes involving 200 confirmatory proceedings with a combined value of $1.3bn. The firm also represented Orient Shipyard in a $21m arbitration. Jae Hwan Kim recently returned to the team after a period in the UK.

South Korea : TMT

Within TMT, Lee & Ko is a first tier firm,

Lee & Ko is ‘streets ahead’, owing to a ‘strong, responsive team of TMT practitioners who are committed to high-end work.’ In 2011, the group advised on SK Telecom’s spin-off of its non-mobile network operations into SK Planet. Team leader Kwang Bae Park has ‘extensive knowledge and experience’ and is a ‘pleasure to work with’, while Chung Hwan Choi is ‘well respected in the entertainment industry’. Hwan Kyoung Ko is also recommended.

South Korea : Tax

Within Tax, Lee & Ko is a first tier firm,

Lee & Ko’s department combines strength in tax consulting, tax disputes, and tax audits. It is assisting Hite, a large Korean beer company, in a $30m tax assessment dispute. Recent recruits include former director general of the tax department Kyo-Shik Kim, and former Supreme Court judge Byung-Joon Sohn, as well as a new nine-strong tax and customs investigations team.

Further information on Lee & Ko

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Legal Developments by:
Lee & Ko

Legal Developments in South Korea

Legal Developments and updates from the leading lawyers in each jurisdiction. To contribute, send an email request to

  • Proposed Regulations on Delegation of Information Processing and IT Facilities of Financial Companie

    On April 16, 2013, the Financial Services Commission ("FSC") proposed draft Regulations on the Delegation of Information Processing and IT Facilities of Financial Companies (the "Regulations"). Currently, the delegation of information processing and use of offshore IT facilities are permitted on a very limited basis pursuant to the Regulations on Delegation of Businesses of Financial Institutions.
    - Shin & Kim

  • The Supreme Court Rules that the Korea Fair Trade Commission’s Notice of Non-confirmation of Lenie

    For the first time in Korea, Shin & Kim’s Antitrust Practice Group obtained a landmark decision from the Supreme Court, which held that a notice of non-confirmation of leniency status issued by the Korea Fair Trade Commission (the “KFTC”) to a leniency applicant involved in unfair collusion (i.e., cartel) would constitute an administrative disposition, and thus, the leniency applicant would be able to immediately appeal such ecision of the KFTC through an administrative proceeding.
    - Shin & Kim

  • National Assembly Passes FISCMA Revision Bill

    On March 5, 2013, the Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly passed a bill (the “Bill”) proposing changes to the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act (“FISCMA”). The Bill introduces a clearing system for financial investment agreements and amends relevant provisions of the FISCMA to set out certain exceptions with respect to listed companies in accordance with the amendments to the Commercial Code which took effect in April, 2012. The proposed changes aim to establish sound market order while keeping pace with the needs of the rapidly changing financial industry.
    - Shin & Kim

  • South Korea: Strengthened Regulations on the Use of Personal Information by IT Service Providers

    The draft amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Network Act (the "Amendment") was recently announced, which sets forth details of the new obligations and scope of the amended Act on Promotion of Information and Telecommunications Network Utilization and Information Protection (the "Network Act") that focuses on reinforcement of privacy and data protection and is scheduled to take effect on August 18, 2012.
    - Kim & Chang

  • Implementation of the New Act on Security over Movable Property and Receivables

    The new Act on security over Movable Property and Receivables (“The New Act”), which became effective June 11, 2012, was enacted to address the public’s need for an improved mechanism to allow non-real estate assets to be provided as collateral.
    - Yulchon

  • Owner and Transferee Strict Liability for Soil Contamination Damages Ruled Unconstitutional

    In cases involving soil contamination, it is usually difficult to find liable parties when soil contamination damages are discovered, primarily because of the long-term nature of soil contamination.
    - Yulchon

  • South Korea: Enforcement of Asbestos Safety Management Act

    The Asbestos Safety Management Act (the "Asbestos Act"), which is designed to ensure safe and effective management of asbestos became effective as of April 29, 2012. In the face of growing public concerns over escalating risk associated with asbestos, the Asbestos Act was promulgated last year to effectively control and manage asbestos-containing products, potential asbestos-containing materials and asbestos construction materials. The main features of the Asbestos Act are as follows.
    - Kim & Chang

  • 2013 Proposed Tax Amendments

    On August 8, 2012 and August 9, 2012, the Korean Ministry of Strategy and Finance has announced the government’s proposed tax law amendments (“Proposal”) for 2013. Set forth below is an overview of the major items of the Proposal that may affect foreign-invested companies or foreign corporations conducting business in Korea. Please note that this is not an exhaustive list of the Proposal that may affect your organization.
    - Yulchon

  • Revised Korean Privacy Law Effective August 18, 2012

    1) The Korean government plans to apply these changes to information & communications service providers first through this Revised Act (defined below), and then subsequently expand the application to the offline sectors through updating each relevant law such as the Personal Information Protection Act.
    - Yulchon

  • South Korea: Establishment of Rules on Management of and Procedures for the Consent Decree System

    In connection with the consent decree system adopted on December 2, 2011, the KFTC introduced the Rules on Management of and Procedures for the Consent Decree System (the "Rules") on March 28, 2012.
    - Kim & Chang
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