Partner
Young Jin KIM
Labor & Employment
Expertise
Recently reviewed Professionals
A seasoned expert in employment/labor law and practice, Mr. Young Jin Kim served as a judge for 14 years at all levels of the country’s judiciary system, including Seoul High Court before joining Lee & Ko’s Labor & Employment Practice Group as a Partner in 2023. Mr. Kim honed his skills as an employment/labor law practitioner during his years at the Research Division of the Korean Supreme Court where he focused his research on labor disputes. He is also well versed in employment/labor law trial practice, having served as a judge at Seoul High Court where he was primarily assigned to adjudicate labor/employment disputes. Mr. Kim boasts experience in the administrative function of the Korean court system as he served as a director at National Court Administration where he worked closely with the National Assembly of Korea.
Education
| 2022 | Seoul National University, School of Law - Ph.D in Labor Law |
|---|---|
| 2016 | Columbia Law School - LL.M. |
| 2012 | Seoul National University, School of Law - M.A. in Civil Law |
| 2006 | Judicial Research & Training Institute, Supreme Court of Korea |
| 2004 | Seoul National University - B.A. in Law |
Work Experience
| 2023-Present | Lee & Ko |
|---|---|
| 2022-2023 | High Court Judge, Seoul High Court (Labor) |
| 2019-2022 | Research Judge, Supreme Court of Korea (Labor) |
| 2018-2019 | Judge, Daejeon District Court |
| 2017-2018 | Director of Planning 2 at Planning and Coordination Office, National Court Administration |
| 2013-2017 | Judge, Daejeon District Court |
| 2011-2013 | Judge, Seoul Eastern District Court |
| 2009-2011 | Judge, Seoul Central District Court |
| 2006-2009 | Military Judicial Officer |
Languages
| Korean and English |
Awards & Recognitions
| 2025 | Recognized as a "Litigation Star" by Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific (Labor and employment) |
|---|
Publications / Presentations / ETC
- Annotation on Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act (2nd Edition), Labor Law Practice Research Committee (2023)
- The Issues on the Effectiveness of the Wage Peak System (No. 62), Judicial Devleopment Foundation (2022)
- Research on Serious Accident Punishment Act (Vol. 1) (2022)
- Procedural Duty of Fair Representation of Bargaining Representative Union in the Process of Collective Bargaining (No. 55), Judicial Devleopment Foundation (2021)
- Annotation on Registration of Real Estate Act, LAWnB-ONJU (2019)
- Whether the condition under Article 11 of the Provisional Registration Security Act is applicable to the primary registration that is based on a provisional registration of collateral that was created in violation of the liquidation procedure, Discussions on Civil Law: Principles and Practice, Dissertation Publication Committee in Celebration of Professor Jin Soo Yoon’s Retirement (2020)
- Calculating Appropriate Amount of Compensation per Type of Unlawful Activities, National Court Administration (2017)
- Recent Trends in Preliminary Injunction for Non-Compete Covenant, Gyeryong Law (2014)
- On a Garnishee's Ability to Use its Monetary Claim against the Debtor to Set off a Garnishment, Journal of Private Case Law Studies No. 35 (2013)
- Issues and Projections re: Bankruptcy under the Jurisdiction of the Daejeon High Court, Report on National Rehabilitation/Bankruptcy Judge Forum,Suwon District Court (2013)
- Study on the Legal Issues of the Advertisement on Lotting-out, Seoul National University (2012)
- (Former) Coordinator at Labor Law Practice Research Committee, Supreme Court
- (Former) Member of Military Personnel Appeals Commission, Republic of Korea Army Headquarters
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[Weekly Dong-Ah] Lee & Ko’s Labor Compliance Team Offers Comprehensive Services to Companies Concerned About the “Yellow Envelope Act” 2025.09.15Newsletter
The National Assembly passed Amendments to the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act (a.k.a. the “Yellow Envelope Act”) 2025.08.29Press & Releases
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Represented Yonsei University and succeeded in a preliminary injunction case concerning an alleged leak of entrance exam questions for the 2025 admissions process 2025.01.03Press & Releases
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Industrial Relations Response Seminar in the Second Half of 2023 2023.08.25Press & Releases
[Korea Economy] Lee & Ko’s Employment and Labor Practice Group enhances its strong reputation as a “fixer” of problems, boasting a continuous streak of litigation wins in employment-related cases involving restructuring, wage peaks, and employee status of non-regular workers. 2023.04.24Press & Releases
[JoongAng Ilbo] [Law Firm] Traditional ‘Litigation Powerhouse’…Leading the Legal Industry with its Extensive Experience and Expertise – Lee & Ko’s Litigation Practice Group 2023.03.23