Recent Developments

Lee & Ko has once again garnered top-tier recognition across all evaluated categories in the 2025 edition of the IAM Patent 1000. The firm earned the highest band ranking of “Gold” in both patent litigation and prosecution, along with additional distinctions as “Highly Recommended” in transactions and “Recommended” in trade secret litigation. This marks the 11th consecutive year that the firm has ranked in the Gold tier for litigation and the fourth year running as a Highly Recommended firm for transactions. Notably, 10 attorneys and patent attorneys at Lee & Ko have been listed as “Recommended Individuals” across all key practice areas—litigation, prosecution, transactions, trade secrets, etc.—in recognition of their exceptional expertise in the patent field. 

 
 Litigation: Un Ho Kim, John Kim, Jae Hoon Kim, Keum Nang Park, Hwan Sung Park, and Hayoun Chun
 Prosecution: Hyeon Gil Ryoo and Sungsoo (Sean) Hwang
 Transactions: Hayoun Chun and Yong Jin Cho
 Trade secrets: Hong Seon Kim

Lee & Ko’s IP Practice Group provides legal services catered to clients in response to various IP-related disputes in the United States, Europe, Japan, and other countries by leveraging its extensive overseas network while delivering optimal outcomes in IP-related consultancy and disputes through a nuanced understanding of both technology and law. A prime example of the group’s litigation excellence is its recent success representing Coway in a long-running patent infringement dispute with ChungHo Nais over ice water purifier technology. Following three years of protracted hearings, the Korean Supreme Court issued a final judgment in favor of Coway, bringing to an end the lengthy legal battle between the two companies that spanned 11 relentless years. Widely regarded as the longest-running patent litigation in Korea, this case began in 2014 when ChungHo Nais filed a complaint for patent infringement and damages against Coway. ChungHo Nais prevailed in the court of first instance, with the court acknowledging infringement claims and awarding significant compensation. Amid its multiple, though unsuccessful, patent invalidation attempts, Coway newly retained Lee & Ko in 2022 for the appellate phase, and stepping in at a pivotal juncture, the firm eventually secured a complete dismissal of all claims brought by ChungHo Nais, culminating a dramatic reversal and a landmark victory on behalf of Coway before the Supreme Court in this high-profile patent dispute.

Lee & Ko’s IP Practice Group also successfully represented Wonik PNE in a case involving the unauthorized patent registration of a secondary battery activation device developed by one of its employees in the course of performing official duties, by leading the case from filing a patent ownership transfer suit to securing a favorable ruling on behalf of Wonik PNE. In addition, the group is at the forefront of protecting companies from the leakage or misappropriation of their core technologies through its active engagement in trade secret litigation. As additionally evidenced by a recent court victory on behalf of Naver, where the firm obtained an injunction against unauthorized crawling of real estate listing data, Lee & Ko continues to reaffirm its strong track record across the full spectrum of IP law, including patents, trade secrets, and copyrights. This year’s newly awarded Gold ranking in the prosecution category further highlights its deep bench and outstanding expertise throughout all facets of IP matters.

IAM is a global patent publication released every year that conducts surveys and interviews with patent experts and law firms all over the world, and ranks the best law firms and experts in the patent field by country and sector, based on submissions and client feedback.

Lee & Ko has once again been recognized by Chambers Global in 2025 for its outstanding legal services. In its latest 2025 edition, Chambers Global ranked the firm as a top-tier law firm(Band 1) across 7 practice areas. As for the individual rankings, 34 attorneys of Lee & Ko have been recognized as leading lawyers for their remarkable performance in their respective practice areas.


Banking & Finance
Capital Markets
Corporate/M&A
Dispute Resolution: Litigation
Intellectual Property
International & Cross-Border Capabilities: South Korean Firms
International Trade


Banking & Finance: Yeo Kyoon Yoon, Woo Young Jung, Yong-Jae Chang, Myoung Chul Kwak, Dong Seok Woo
Capital Markets: Hyunjoo Oh, Seunga Hyun, Jun Woo Cho
Capital Markets: Securitisation: Jin Hong Kwon
Corporate/M&A: Sanggon Kim, Hyeong Gun Lee, Ho Joon Moon, Yong Joon Yoon, Daehoon Koo, Hyung Sub Lim(Foreign Expert for North Korea)
Dispute Resolution: Arbitration: Saemee Kim, Sanghoon Han, Grace Yoon
Dispute Resolution: Litigation: Won Seok Ko, Pyoung Keun Song, Seong Won Chang, Dajoo Jung
IP: Jae Hoon Kim, Un Ho Kim, Keum Nang Park, Hyeon Gil Ryoo, Vera Eun Woo Lee, Jaewoo Kwak, Hankil D. Kang
International Trade: Kichang Chung, Young Gee Park, Young Jae Cho, Hyunsoo Joo, Heysoo Kim

Chambers Global Guide is a law firm evaluation publication released by Chambers and Partners, a leading global legal publisher based in England, which selects top law firms and top lawyers in the Asia-Pacific region each year based on a comprehensive analysis of data submitted by law firms, interviews with partner lawyers and clients, and recently accomplished work.

Lee & Ko has been honored with two prestigious accolades at this year’s Asia IP Awards, held in Manila on November 17, named the ‘Korea Patent Contentious Firm of the Year’ and the ‘Korea Trademark Prosecution Firm of the Year’. This achievement marks a milestone as the first Korean law firm to win in two categories at the Asia IP Awards and a testament to the outstanding performance of our IP Practice Group once again.

Drawing upon a deep understanding of cutting-edge technologies and a strong foundation in legal reasoning, Lee & Ko’s IP Practice Group has a proven track record of achieving optimal outcomes in advising and representing clients in domestic and international patent disputes. The Group provides clients with one-stop services across a broad spectrum of IP-related industries, including medicine, biotechnology, chemistry, semiconductors, electrical and electronic engineering, secondary cells, machinery, gaming, and entertainment. In response to international patent disputes in the U.S., Europe, Japan, and beyond, its efforts prioritize serving legal services tailored to clients through a robust network of leading global law firms. Beyond litigation, the Group is dedicated to offering an elevated level of support to deliver full-cycle solutions for patent and trademark matters, from the discovery and registration of patent and trademark rights to portfolio management.

The Asia IP Awards honor the best law firms from around the region for demonstrating the highest standards in trademark, patent, and copyright work over the last year. The winners are selected from a shortlist of five law firms by votes of more than 5,000 in-house counsels worldwide.

On November 11, 2024, Lee & Ko held the seminar titled ‘Changes to IP Landscape and How to Respond’ to celebrate 10-year anniversary of Lee & Ko Fall Seminar Series. The Seminar Series by Lee & Ko has now firmly established as the go-to event for legal industry to learn and discuss the latest trends in IP industry, spanning patent, trademark, copyright, trade secrets, and unfair competition.

For the first session, Mr. Jae Woo Kwak delivered talks for the Latest IP Trends Session, focusing on latest case precedents on punitive damages with recent amendment thereof. For the second session on Trade Secrets, Mr. Hong Seon Kim got up on the podium to discuss ‘responsive strategies for Legal Professional to Protect Company Technology.’ For the third session on Dispute Resolution, Mr. Hayoun Chun discussed utilization of various legal proceedings for IP enforcement.

Lee & Ko IP Group boasts over 130 professionals with expertise in various aspects of IP. In particular, former IP High Court judges and IPTAB examiners can provide invaluable advice to stakeholders, and most of the Group’s professionals has advanced degrees in science and technology to provide the most effective and prompt legal services in global IP disputes and advisory works alike.

Lee & Ko has been recognized as a top-tier firm in Managing IP's “2024 IP Stars” rankings in the categories of Trademark Disputes, Patent Disputes, Copyright & Related Rights, and IP Transactions. Particularly impressive is the firm’s performance in IP Transactions, where it has maintained the highest ranking for four consecutive years since the category was first introduced, further cementing its unparalleled expertise in this specialized field.

In the individual rankings, 12 attorneys and patent attorneys from the firm have been listed as "IP Stars," "Rising Stars," and "Notable Practitioners," showcasing their distinguished achievements in the patent field:


 Patent Star: Un Ho Kim, Jae Hoon Kim, Keum Nang Park, Hwan Sung Park
 Trademark Star: Jae Hoon Kim, Vera Eun Woo Lee
 Rising star: Min Soo Kim, Min Wook Kim, Sung Hoon Kim
 Notable Practitioner: Seong Tahk Ahn, Kyung Jin Kim, Yikang Kang

Leveraging its extensive network with leading international law firms, Lee & Ko’s IP Group delivers superior legal services tailored to meet the specific needs of clients in patent disputes across the United States, Europe, Japan, and other countries, and helps clients navigate the complex legal landscape by offering practical and effective solutions drawn from its deep technical and scientific expertise, along with its comprehensive knowledge of the laws and rules governing patent litigation. The Group’s practice encompasses all aspects of intellectual property, consistently achieving optimal outcomes in patent disputes and consultations across various industries, including pharmaceuticals, electrical and electronics, and secondary batteries. Some notable successes include its representation of OCI Holdings in a patent invalidation action, which led to a significant Supreme Court ruling on parameter inventions, successfully concluding a 7-year patent battle with a victory. It also provides robust support to Korean companies in U.S. patent infringement lawsuits, assisting clients at every stage of transactions and legal proceedings.

Managing Intellectual Property (Managing IP) is a leading publication in the field of intellectual property. It annually ranks leading IP law firms by country and practice area based on surveys and interviews with IP professionals worldwide.

Lee & Ko was selected as an outstanding law firm in all 24 sectors (below) of ‘Asialaw Profiles’ for four consecutive years. Lee & Ko was recognized once again for its high level of competence as a leading law firm in Korea as it set apart from other domestic law firms that have only received outstanding rankings in certain fields.

Additionally, 44 Lee & Ko professionals were named Senior Statesman/ Elite Practitioner/ Distinguished Practitioner/ Notable Practitioner/ Rising Star and these individuals were provided special recognition for their expertise in the field.


   Industry Sectors
Aviation and Shipping
Consumer goods and Services
Industrials and Manufacturing
Insurance
Pharmaceuticals and Life sciences
Technology and Telecommunications
Banking and Financial services
Energy
Infrastructure
Media and Entertainment
Real estate

   Practice Areas
Banking and Finance
Competition/Antitrust
Corporate and M&A
Intellectual Property
Labour and Employment
Regulatory
Tax
Capital Markets
Construction
Dispute Resolution
Investment Funds
Private Equity
Restructuring and Insolvency


Banking and Financial services: Woo Young Jung, Yeo Kyoon Yoon, Yong-Jae Chang, Hyunjoo Oh, Seunga Hyun, Myoung Chul Kwak
Banking and Finance: Woo Young Jung, Yeo Kyoon Yoon, Yong-Jae Chang, Myoung Chul Kwak, Samsung Kim, Min Ha Song
Capital Markets: Hyunjoo Oh, Seunga Hyun
Competition/Antitrust: Yong Seok Ahn, Hwan Jeong, Hyun Chul Kim, Jeong-Ho Sun, Jeong Yoon Choi, Suruyn Kim
Corporate and M&A: Kyu Wha Lee, Sanggon Kim, Ho Joon Moon, Hyeong Gun Lee
Dispute Resolution: Won Seok Ko, Saemee Kim
Energy: Dong Eun Kim, Hun Ko
Infrastructure: Dong Eun Kim, Hun Ko, Samsung Kim, Min Ha Song
Insurance: Gidon Nam, Jinyoung Jung, Jin Hong Kwon
Intellectual Property: Jae Hoon Kim, Un Ho Kim, Keum Nang Park, Jaewoo Kwak
Labour and Employment: Sang Hoon Lee, Chang Soo Jin, Hyunseok Song , William Kim
Media and Entertainment: Kwang Bae Park
Real estate: Jung Hwan Lee
Restructuring and Insolvency: Wan Shik Lee, Eunjai Lee, Jung Hyun Lee
Shipping: Jinyoung Jung , Gidon Nam
Tax: Ok Hyun Ma, Sung Hwan Kim
Technology and Telecommunications: Kwang Bae Park, Hwan Kyoung Ko, Samuel (Soon-Yub) Kwon, Yong Seok Ahn

Asialaw Profiles is published by Asialaw, which is an affiliate of the global financial journal Euromoney, and each year Asialaw Profiles ranks law firms and professionals in the Asia-Pacific region based on law firm submissions, interviews with lawyers and clients, and independent research and announces the results.