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Sungmin Kim is a partner in the Corporate and M&A Practice Group. His primary practice focuses on mergers & acquisitions (M&A), corporate governance, joint ventures (JV), cross-border investment and general corporate counseling. Since joining Lee & Ko in 2010, he has handled a broad range of transactional matters, including mergers, spin-offs, stock and asset acquisitions, and joint-ventures. He particularly has extensive experience in M&A of financial institutions and start-up companies.
Mr. Kim also has expertise in the areas of Fin tech, Startups and Capital Market Regulation & Compliance, where he represents various domestic and foreign companies. He is also currently the head of the Startups Team at Lee & Ko.
Prior to joining Lee & Ko, Mr. Kim served as a military prosecutor for the Korean Army and legislative officer at the Legislative Task Force Team on Improvement of Defense Procurement System for the Ministry of Defense, where he managed amendment process of the Defense Acquisition Program Act and other defense-related laws and regulations.
Mr. Kim received his LL.M. degree from UCLA School of Law in 2015 and worked at Mayer Brown LLP (Chicago office) as a Foreign Attorney (2015-2016). He is a member of the Korean Bar and the California State Bar.
Representative Cases
[Mergers & Acquisition]
Hanwha System’s investment into Luxrobo
Sale of SK Lubricants by SK Innovation
Acquisition of Korean Air's in-flight catering and duty-free business by Hahn & Company
Acquisition of Eastar Jet Co., Ltd. by Jeju Air Co., Ltd.
Acquisition of PAG YT Korea Holdings Limited (Young Toys) by Mirae N consortium
Merger of SK Broadband Co., Ltd. And Tbroad Co., Ltd.
Spin-off and sale of its PG business by LG Uplus
Sale of Serveone Co., Ltd. by S&I Corporation Affinity Equity Partners
Sale of Woongjin Foods Co., Ltd. by Hahn & Company
Acquisition of ZKW Holding GmbH by LG Electronics Inc. and LG Corp.
Acquisition of Giosis Pte. Ltd. by eBay International AG
Sale of Daesung Industrial Gases Co., Ltd. by the Goldman Sachs Consortium
Sale of LG CNS' ATM business
Sale of DS POWER
Acquisition of shares in Rezzler by Kamur Partners
Acquisition of interests in Tang Cang Cai Mep International Terminal(TCIT) in Vietnam by Hanjin
Acquisition of NanoH2O by LG Chem, Ltd.
Acquisition of foreign duty-free shop operator by Hotel Shilla Co., Ltd.
Sale of Himart Co., Ltd. by EUGENE Corporation
Sale of Woongjin Foods Co., Ltd. by Woongjin Co., Ltd.
Sale of Officedepot Korea Co., Ltd.
Sale of NextFloor Corporation shares to Line Games Corporation
Privatization of Woori Financial Holdings Co., Ltd.
Woori Financial Group's acquisition of Kumho Investment Bank
P&A of seven insolvent banks by Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation
Sale of SsangYong Cement Industry Co., Ltd. by Korea Asset Management Corporation (KAMCO)
Merger of Wirye Energy Service and Narae Energy Service
Merger of Daesung Group Partners Co., Ltd. and Daesung Industrial Co., Ltd.
Merger of Cheil Industries Inc. and Samsung SDI Co., Ltd.
Spin-off of SK Telecom and E-mart
Split merger between SK M&C and SK M&S
Transfer of Cheil Industries Inc.'s fashion business to Samsung Everland Inc.
Acquisition of Hanjin Shipping Co., Ltd.'s Inter-Asia Lane business by Hanjin
LIG Group corporate restructuring (capital increase, merger, etc.)
Other various listed company mergers, spin-offs, split mergers, etc.
Affirma Capital’s acquisition of Series B CCPS and Convertible Bonds of Beam Mobility Holdings
[Joint Ventures]
Joint Venture between SKC, Daesang Corp., and LX International Corporation
Establishment of an electric vehicle parts production JV between LG Electronics Inc. and Magna Metalforming GmbH
Establishment of a polypropylene (PP) production JV between SK Gas Ltd. and Polymirae Company Ltd.
Establishment of a virtual reality (VR) related JV between Survios, Inc. and oneIMMERS Co., Ltd.
Establishment of a stem cell related JV between Dongwha Pharm.Co.,Ltd. and Kangstem Biotech Co., Ltd.
Establishment of a Fintech related JV between Hana Financial Group Inc. and SK Telecom Co., Ltd.
Establishment of a chemicals related JV by company L
Establishment of a semiconductor related JV by company H
Advised other various domestic and foreign JV investments
Establishment of new Internet Bank between Viva Republica Inc., and other ten investors, including Standard Chartered Bank Korea Limited and KEB Hana Bank.
[Start Up]
Advising Chinese platform start-up company K
Advising domestic game start-up companies N and F on various issues
Advising smart car related start-up company O
Advising craft beer related start-up company T
Advising ICO related start-up companies A and B
Advising domestic P2P platform companies H and P
Advising domestic Fin-tech start-up company B
Advising domestic social advertisement company I on investment and management right disputes
Advised other various domestic and foreign start-ups
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Education
2015 UCLA School of Law - LL.M.
2009 Seoul National University, Graduate School of Law
2007 Judicial Research & Training Institute, Supreme Court of Korea
2005 Seoul National University, College of Engineering - B.E. in Civil, Urban, and Geo-system Engineering
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Work Experience
2010-Present Lee & Ko
2015-2016 Mayer & Brown LLP, Chicago office
2007-2010 Judge Advocate Officer, Korean Army
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Admissions
2007 Admitted to bar, Korea
2015 Admitted to bar, State of California
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Languages
English and Korean
Awards and Recognitions
2023 ALB(Asian Legal Business) recognized as KOREA SUPER 30 LAWYERS 2023
2020 - 2024 IFLR1000 recognized as Highly Regarded Lawyer in the Corporate and M&A area
2020 - 2024 Legal 500 Asia-Pacific edition recognized as Next Generation Lawyers in the Corporate and M&A area
2017, 2019, 2021 Legal Times recognized as Leading Lawyer in the Corporate and M&A area
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Publications / Presentations / ETC
Chambers Global Practice Guides – Joint Venture 2024 : South Korea – Law & Practice (Co-author, Chambers & Partners, 2024)
'Impact of COVID-19 on M&A transactions and related legal issues', Volume 103, BUSINESS FINANCE LAW JOURNAL, Center of Financial Law of Seoul National University (September 2020)
'2018 Korean M&A Deal Trends (Lee & Ko M&A Forum, 2018)
'International Comparative Legal Guide to: Corporate Governance 2018 Korea' (ICLG 2018)
Practical Issues in Out-bound M&As (CJ Humanvile, 2018)
Practical Issues in JVs and Shareholders Agreements (In-house Congress Seoul 2016)
'Legal Issues on the Restructuring and Liquidation of Distressed Affiliates', Volume 59, BUSINESS FINANCE LAW JOURNAL, Center of Financial Law of Seoul National University (May 2013)
'Relation between Copyright Act and Fair Trade Act Focused on Resale Price Maintenance in Textbook', Volume 6-4, LAW & TECHNOLOGY, Center for Law & Technology of Seoul National University (Jul 2010)
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