Woongryol Baek is the Head of Lee & Ko Vietnam Office. Mr. Baek’s practice spans all aspects of corporate law and corporate transactions involving Vietnam, Indonesia and other countries in Southeast Asia. Most recently, he has extensively worked on legal structuring and compliance issues for M&A transactions, intellectual property matters and labor/employment law issues relating to Southeast Asia region inbound and outbound work.

Prior to joining Lee & Ko and working in the firm’s Hanoi office, Mr. Baek worked at Logos Law firm in Seoul and served as deputy director responsible for managing the firm’s Vietnamese subsidiary, Logos Law LLC Vietnam, which was the first Korean law firm subsidiary established in Vietnam. Mr. Baek’s experience as a legal professional working in Korea and Vietnam has included advising and successfully representing clients in a wide range of business litigation and transaction matters. While working in Korea, much of his practice focused on foreign direct investment and franchise deals.

Mr. Baek’s experience in Vietnam includes many high-profile transactions, including representing Samsung SDS in its acquisition of CMC Corporation (a holding company of a second largest IT company in Vietnam), advising Lotte in the establishment of Lotte E-Commerce Vietnam (the first e-commerce subsidiary established by a Korean conglomerate in Vietnam), advising on the incorporation of CJ E&C Vietnam (the Korean parent company’s first overseas subsidiary), and advising on an M&A deal involving CJ Foods Vietnam as well as advising POSCO International in its restructuring of Indonesian subsidiaries using a Singaporean special purpose vehicle, participating in the feasibility studies for Jakarta’s LRT project, Bangladesh’s Meghna Bridge project and Qatar’s public school project, advising the Hyundai Group affiliates for the establishment of a joint venture in Thailand, and representing Korean quasi state-owned company in its dispute in Indonesia. More generally, Mr. Baek is frequently called upon to act as legal adviser to many different Korea-based companies in connection with various business investments and dealings in Vietnam, and has assisted many clients in all aspects of Vietnam-related incorporation procedures, including from the initial stage of incorporation to the last stage of winding up and liquidation of corporate operations.

Mr. Baek also currently serves as an advisor to the Korean-Vietnam FTA Consulting Center and recently served a 2-year appointment as legal counsel for the KOTRA IP-DESK, providing legal advice on IP issues in Vietnam, with a special focus on counterfeiting cases.