DLA Piper > Seoul, South Korea > Firm Profile

DLA Piper Offices

DLA Piper
32F, MIRAE ASSET CENTER1, WEST TOWER
26, EULJI-RO 5-GIL, JUNG-GU
SEOUL 04539
South Korea
Visit website 82 2 6270 8800 82 2 6270 8833

DLA Piper > The Legal 500 Rankings

South Korea > Corporate and M&A: foreign firms Tier 2

DLA Piper’s distinctive structure aligns lawyers with specific industry sectors, allowing clients to work with advisors who fully understand their unique challenges and sector-specific issues. Known for its expertise in cross-border M&A and strong presence in South Korea, the team is led by Daniel Lee, a managing partner with over 30 years of experience in complex cross-border transactions and international arbitration. Luke Gannon heads the Asia corporate practice, while Ted Yi focuses on cross-border M&A, joint ventures, and global corporate compliance for multinationals. Robert Song is valued for his work on complex international transactions, and Damian JH Moon brings particular expertise in advising high-tech clients on sophisticated cross-border deals. The team welcomed Jang Hyuk Yeo who joined from Greenberg Traurig LLP in November 2024.

Practice head(s):

Daniel Lee; Luke Gannon

Other key lawyers:

Ted Yi; Robert Song; Damian JH Moon; Jang Hyuk Yeo

Testimonials

‘We engaged DLA Piper to recover loans and equity in the US. Throughout our partnership, we were extremely satisfied with the level of support and assistance from DLA Piper. They showed keen familiarity with a wide range of industry-specific legal issues and helped us shape various commercial arguments based on their advice as the project progressed.’

‘In the ever-changing landscape of international business, DLA Piper remained vigilant to significant developments that could impact our project and provided us with timely input. Particularly, their ability to distill complex concepts into plain English demonstrated their strength in advisory and communication skills.’

‘The team draws on a tremendous amount of experience and superb knowledge of the relevant industries. They are incredibly responsive.’

‘Daniel Lee is a strategic thinker with a deep understanding of corporate law and practice.’

‘I was particularly impressed with the level of service provided by Robert Song. I understand that DLA Piper Seoul team members have experience as in-house counsel, which allows them to closely adopt the perspective of their clients. Without needing specific instructions, Song was already aware of our concerns and able to safeguard not only our legal interests but also our commercial interests. Ted Yi is also very responsive and has skillfully orchestrated the coordination across multiple offices.’

‘DLA Piper’s attorneys in Seoul have shown great qualities. They showed expertise in a wide range of industry-specific legal issues and helped us get a satisfying result.’

‘Daniel Lee is very sincere and dedicated to the clients’ needs. He communicates well with his colleagues and clients.’

‘DLA Piper’s main strength for us, a Seoul-based international conglomerate, is that it has a Korean office. Engaging with the Seoul office in our cross-border M&A deals is effective and convenient in multiple ways: (1) we were able to work with the law firm in the same time zone without unnecessary delays in work that inevitability is created due to time differences, (2) we were able to refer to the Seoul office of the tasks that need support in the Korean language, and (3) we were able to communicate with comfort with the Seoul office.’

Key clients

Korean Air Lines Co., Ltd.

Work highlights

  • Advised Korean Air Lines on successful EU Commission approval of Asiana acquisition.

South Korea > Intellectual property: foreign firms Tier 2

DLA Piper provides a comprehensive intellectual property service, adept at handling multi-jurisdictional matters for clients. The team frequently advises on trademark issues, prosecution, enforcement, copyright matters, and IP litigation. Daniel Lee, who leads the firm’s Korean practice, brings extensive experience in managing complex cross-border IP cases, ensuring seamless support across various jurisdictions. The firm's robust expertise in intellectual property law makes it a go-to advisor for clients facing intricate legal challenges on a global scale.

Practice head(s):

Daniel Lee; Edward Chatterton; Horace Lam

Other key lawyers:

Sangwon Sung

Work highlights

South Korea > Projects and energy: foreign firms Tier 3

DLA Piper’s Seoul office is highly regarded for advising Korea-based companies on overseas ventures across energy, renewables, oil and gas, power, and mining sectors. Country managing partner Daniel Lee is a key contact known for his strong relationships with Korean clients. Ted Yi focuses on major renewables projects, assisting companies in achieving decarbonisation objectives. Brian Youn is the lead partner for project financing transactions, further strengthening the firm’s capabilities in handling complex, cross-border matters.

Practice head(s):

Daniel Lee; Brian Youn

Other key lawyers:

Ted Yi; Robert Song; Damian JH Moon

Testimonials

‘Throughout our collaboration, the collective support and assistance from the DLA Piper team proved crucial. The advice covered a broad spectrum of practical tips in the energy sector, and they skillfully orchestrated the coordination across multiple jurisdictions. In summary, the level of service provided by DLA Piper was impressive, and I would not hesitate to engage them again and would welcome the opportunity to work with them again on future projects.’

‘I was particularly impressed with the level of service provided by Ted Yi and Robert Song. Without needing specific instructions, Yi was already aware of our concerns and able to safeguard not only our legal interests but also our commercial interests. Robert Song on Ted’s team is also very responsive and has skillfully orchestrated the coordination across multiple offices.’

‘We engaged DLA Piper for a wide range of matters including civil, criminal and enforcement in the area of the renewable energy industry. Throughout our partnership, we were extremely satisfied with the level of support and assistance from DLA Piper. In the ever-changing landscape of international business, DLA Piper remained vigilant to significant developments that could impact our project and provided us with timely input.’

‘DLA Piper effectively guided us through the complexities of the matter with respect to energy facilities by providing a comprehensive analysis, reviewing various documents and notices and advising on associated risks that may arise from our company’s projects. They also maintained a proactive stance, constantly monitoring relevant regulations and notable updates in the industry to ensure that our decisions reflected the constantly evolving market trends.’

‘During our collaboration, we are always most impressed with not just the assistance from any one individual but the collective team effort and support we have received. In this particular project, one major characteristic was that issues were multijurisdictional. DLA was essential in providing crucial advice that covered a broad spectrum of issues. As always, when working with DLA, one of the key merits is the skilful orchestration of working with multiple jurisdictions.’

‘I can state with confidence that Daniel Lee is always looking for ways to better serve his clients. Having worked in-house himself, he knows what a major corporation needs and when they need it. His understanding of our needs is so extremely helpful when dealing with issues and deadlines. ’

Work highlights

  • Advising a major Korean company on its US$10 billion project to build EV battery manufacturing plants in the U.S.
  • Advising a large global steel manufacturer on a greenfield project to build a renewable hydrogen plant in Australia.

DLA Piper > Firm Profile

Global co-chairs: Jon Hayes and Frank W Ryan
Co-chief executive officers: Charles Severs and Frank W Ryan
Number of partners: 1,500+
Number of lawyers: 6,000+
Offices: Lawyers located in more than 60 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific.

Please see https://www.dlapiper.com for further information about the firm.

Firm Overview:

Tenacious and driven, DLA Piper people translate legal complexities into commercial clarity: providing the right minds at the right time to help clients to navigate both risk and opportunity. Our lawyers deliver pragmatic actionable solutions to your pressing business challenges, in every part of the globe, so you can understand, decide, and act.

Our people are as adept at spotting opportunities as they are in protecting you against risk. Our culture encourages fresh thinking, to anticipate what’s next, supported by continuous investments in legal and business technology.

The result is joined-up legal counsel and informed commercial advice across multiple geographies and all sectors: creative solutions that draw on an international platform with the power to scale up and down, flexing to meet any client aspirations. We measure success one relationship at a time, serving you locally and in any location: we bring the world closer for our clients.

Main Areas of Practice:

Corporate: DLA Piper’s corporate lawyers support the world’s leading enterprises, emerging startup companies and financial institutions in their development and investment activities. From mergers and acquisitions and venture capital to private and public equity and debt offerings, the firm assists clients through all stages of their transactions to ensure successful deal outcomes.

Employment: DLA Piper’s employment practice advises clients worldwide on employment legislation, helping them meet their workforce objectives.

The firm partners with its clients, wherever they do business, to find solutions and manage risk in relation to their employment, incentives and pensions legal challenges and objectives. The firm assists with acquisitions, outsourcings, expansions or reductions-in-force, local or international employee relations, data privacy or data protection, local, cross-border or collective litigation, local or multi-jurisdictional compliance, risk management. Its clients range from startups to emerging multinationals and some of the biggest and best-known global brands in the world.

Finance: DLA Piper’s Finance group offers comprehensive, cross-border advice on financing, restructuring, and projects, leveraging one of the largest teams of dedicated finance lawyers globally. We support clients, including public and private companies, asset managers, financial institutions, and government entities, in realising their financial strategies across various sectors and markets. Often involved in pioneering deals, our work spans lending, debt securities, derivatives, energy and infrastructure projects, and handling distressed situations and insolvencies.

Intellectual Property & Technology: DLA Piper is one of the most widely recognised providers of a full range of commercial, intellectual property law, privacy, sourcing and technology law services for leading businesses worldwide. Its lawyers provide both litigation-related (contentious) and strategic commercial advice to a wide range of industry sectors, helping clients from emerging technology and pharmaceutical companies to established banks and financial institutions achieve their objectives wherever they do business.

Litigation & Regulatory: DLA Piper’s lawyers are skilled in litigation, arbitration, investigations and ADR and will deploy that experience to help devise the best strategies. The firm has the local knowledge to apply the regulatory, economic, political and cultural context to legal issues and develop case strategies. It regularly handles technically challenging and complex multi-jurisdictional matters.

DLA Piper’s International Trade, Regulatory and Government Affairs team provides advice at all stages of the regulatory process. Advising on regulatory law, the firm focuses on areas such as international trade, antitrust and competition, global governance and more.

Real Estate: DLA Piper’s market-leading real estate group offers a full range of real estate services, including single asset and portfolio acquisitions and dispositions, single asset and multi-property/programmatic joint ventures, fund formation, operating company investments, cross-border investments, REITs, financing, construction and design, leasing, zoning/land-use, environmental law, real estate litigation and tax.

Tax: DLA Piper provides advice on local and national tax, and a commercially integrated approach to cross-border structures and tax efficiency. It offers the full range of tax services that address the challenges of international commerce and business operations, including arranging operations to reduce effective global tax rates, transfer pricing, tax disputes and post-acquisition integration.


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