Jipyong LLC

Labor & Employment; Labor & Employment Disputes; Industrial Health & Safety; Medical Disputes; Divorce and Custody; Biotechnology, Pharmaceutical, Medical Device & Healthcare

Partner

Mr. Sung Soo Kim is a partner in Jipyong’s the Labor & Employment Team and mainly advises and represents clients in labor and medical litigations.

As an alumnus of the College of Medicine at Seoul National University, Mr. Kim is one of the very few attorneys in South Korea having a license to practice medicine. Based on his excellent understanding of both the legal and medical practices, Mr. Kim successfully represented clients in medical litigations in a variety of areas including internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics/gynecology, pediatrics, emergency medical service, and anesthesiology. One of Mr. Kim’s pinnacle achievements is the first-ever Supreme Court ruling on the types of ‘information that must be exchanged between hospitals when transferring emergency patients.’

Mr. Kim also acts as a legal advisor to top-tier Korean university medical centers and is an active lecturer and writer of medical law. Mr. Kim served as the president of the Korean Health Lawyer Association (KoHLA), the only association in Korea composed of lawyers specialized in health law.

Mr. Kim also has expertise in the areas of labor law and is a certified public labor consultant. Mr. Kim was able to win a Supreme Court case which ruled that ‘it is an unfair dismissal if the female employee of an in-company married couple is dismissed first when the company is going through a staff reduction’, and another Supreme Court case ruling that ‘the disciplinary discharge of a manager who sexually harassed his female subordinate is fair’.

Based on such a unique background, qualifications and experiences, Mr. Kim represents clients in civil/criminal cases involving employment and labor unions, industrial accidents and overwork-caused deaths and the administrative relief procedures through the National Labor Relations Commission, as well as providing legal advice on HR and labor related issues.

Mr. Kim was a non-standing member of the advisory committee of the Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency. He also served as a legal advisor to the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Seoul Metropolitan Government. Currently, he actively engages in various pro bono activities including the review of medical disputes for Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency, deliberation of health/medical policies for the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and deliberation of subsidies for the Seoul Metropolitan Government.

Mr. Kim is a member of the Korean Bar. Mr. Kim has a LL.M from Case Western Reserve University School of Law, a LL.B (summa cum laude) from Korea National Open University and a B.Sc in Medicine from Seoul National University.

2000-Present / JIPYONG LLC

2024-Present / Legal Advisor, Asan Medical Center

2021-Present / Vice Chair, Korean Association on Smoking or Health

2019-Present / Member, Anti-Smoking Policy Expert Committee under the Ministry of Health and Welfare

2018-Present / Member, Council for Improvement of Drinking Encouraging Environment, the Ministry of Health & Welfare

2017-Present / Member, Seoul Metropolitan City Regional Subsidies Deliberative Committee

2013-Present / Member, Advising Committee to National Health Insurance Service

2013-Present / Arbitrator, Korean Commercial Arbitration Board

2019-2025 / Director, Korea Health Welfare Social Cooperative Federation

2019-2021 / Patient Right Ombudsman, City of Seoul

2017-2020 / Legal advisor, Korea Medical Tourism Association

2016-2018 / Member, the Working-Level Committee for Examination of Candidates for Mine Victim and Their Family

2015-2019 / Member, Cigarette Box Warning Image Committee of the Ministry of Health and Welfare

2013-2015 / Member, Investment Council of the Korea Drug Development Fund

2012-2021 / Non-standing appraiser, Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency

2012-2016 / President, Korean Health Lawyers Association

2009-2021 / Director, Korean Association on Smoking or Health

2009-2017 / Legal Advisor, Ministry of Employment and Labor

2009-2016 / Legal Advisor, Seoul Metropolitan City

2006 / Member, Military Medical Service Development Promotion Committee, Ministry of National Defense

2005-2006 / Expert Advisor, Public Prosecutor-Police Investigation at National Human Rights Commission

Korean / English

2000 / Medical Doctor, Korea

1998 / Admitted to bar, Korea

1991 / Certified Public Labor Attorney, Korea

2007 / Case Western Reserve University (LL.M.)

2000 / Seoul National University (M.D.)

1996 / Korean National Open University (LL.B., summa cum laude)