Peter & Kim

International Arbitration

Dr Yunsoo Shin is a partner at Peter & Kim and a highly experienced specialist in international commercial disputes. She has been elected as a member of the ICC Court for the 2024–2027 term and has also joined the esteemed Task Force for the IBA Guidelines on Party Representation in International Arbitration. Dr Shin is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators, a Specialist Mediator at the Singapore International Mediation Centre, and one of the youngest Korean arbitrators active in the ICC International Court of Arbitration. She has acted as an international arbitrator at SIAC,HKIAC, ACICA, and KCAB, and as counsel in various international arbitration cases conducted under the rules of the ICC, SIAC, LCIA, HKIAC, and KCAB.

Her expertise covers both the common law and civil law traditions and a broad range of business transactions and commercial disputes involving M&As, general contract law, share purchase and asset purchase agreements, distribution agreements, construction, automobile manufacturing, OEM contracts, and license agreements, among various other subject matters. In particular, she is one of the most experienced young lawyers in Korea who has handled many multi-billion-dollar post-M&A disputes involving Korean chaebols.   

The Global Arbitration Review and Who’s Who Legal describe Dr Shin as a “top-notch advocate that will be one to watch in the coming years at the top of the Korean market” who possesses a “deep understanding of cross-border transactions, which makes her expertise sought after in complex post-M&A disputes.” She received the “Lawyer of the Year” in the best Korean arbitration practitioner category in 2024 by the Legal Times, “Woman Lawyer of the Year” in Korea award by Asian Legal Business (Thomson Reuters) in 2023, and has been nominated as a “Rising Star” under 45, a “Leading Lawyer” in the field of international arbitration in Korea by the Legal Times since 2021.   

Shin is dual licensed in the New York Bar and the Korean Bar, with in-depth knowledge and expertise in M&A disputes, finance, and corporate valuation. She is a graduate of Seoul National University (B.S., LL.B.), the Wharton School (MBA, in finance and business analytics), and Harvard Law School, where she earned her doctoral degree (SJD, in corporate governance and finance). Prior to joining Peter & Kim, Dr Shin practiced law at Bae, Kim & Lee LLC for 10 years, served as a fellow at Harvard Law School Program on Corporate Governance, and published journal articles on corporate governance and shareholder disputes in Delaware and Korea.  

Member, International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) International Court of Arbitration (2024–Present)  Ex Officio Member, ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR (2024-Present)  Member, Task Force for the IBA Guidelines on Party Representation in International Arbitration (2025-Present) Partner, Peter & Kim (2021–Present)  “Lawyer of the Year” as the best Korean arbitration practitioner, Legal Times (2024)   Arbitrator, Maxwell Connecther, Maxwell Chambers (2024–Present)    Woman Lawyer of the Year,” ALB Korea Law Awards, Thomson Reuters (2023)   Arbitrator, International Chamber of Commerce, Court of Arbitration (2021–2022)  Panel of Arbitrators (Fellow), Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (2023–Present)  List of Arbitrators, Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (2023–Present)   Reserve Panel of Arbitrators, Singapore International Arbitration Centre (2023–Present)   FCiarb (Fellow), Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (2025-Present) FSIArb (Fellow), Singapore Institute of Arbitrators (2023–Present)   International Arbitrator, KCAB International (2021–Present)   Specialist Mediator, Singapore International Mediation Centre (2022–Present)   ICC Advanced Arbitration Academy for Asia (2023–2024)   Task Force Member, Korea Construction Engineers Association (2022 – 2023)  Advisor, Special Committee on ESG, Seoul Bar Association (2022 – 2023)  Planning Advisor, Construction Vision Forum (2022–2023)  Fellow, Harvard Law School Program on Corporate Governance (2014 – 2020)  Academic Fellow, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania (2019 – 2020)  Associate and Senior Associate, Bae, Kim & Lee LLC (2008 – 2018)  Teaching Fellow & Summer Academic Fellow, Harvard Law School (2017 – 2018)  Judicial Clerk, Judicial Research & Training Institute, Supreme Court of Korea (2006 – 2008)

Korean, English

Korean and Seoul Bar Associations   New York State Bar    International Council for Commercial Arbitration    Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Committee, Inter-Pacific Bar Association   Business Law Section, American Bar Association   List of Arbitrators, HKIAC   FCiarb (Fellow), Chartered Institute of Arbitrators  FSIArb (Fellow), Singapore Institute of Arbitrators   Reserve Panel of Arbitrators, SIAC   Panel of Arbitrators (Fellow), Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration  Panel of International Arbitrators, KCAB International   Specialist Mediator, Singapore International Mediation Centre   Vice Chair, Harvard Law School Women’s Alliance (Korean Chapter) 

Harvard Law School (SJD in corporate governance and finance, 2020) The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania (MBA in finance and business analytics, with honours, 2020) Harvard Law School (LL.M., corporate governance concentration, dean’s scholar, requirements fulfilled, degree waived, 2014) School of Law, Seoul National University (LL.B., cum laude, 2006) Architectural Engineering, Seoul National University (B.S., summa cum laude, 2003)