Partner
TEL |
+82-2-772-4827 |
E-MAIL |
kyungchun.kim@leeko.com |
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Kyungchun Kim is a partner at Lee & Ko. His primary practice areas include Mergers & Acquisitions, Corporate Governance, Foreign Investment and Corporate Law. Additionally, he also handles matters in the areas of Hostile Takeovers & Defense, Securities and Joint Venture. Mr. Kim has represented many Korean global companies including Samsung, LG, SK, Korean Air, Lotte, Hanwha and Hyosung. Mr. Kim has successfully advised various landmark M&A transactions including Samsung Group’s sales of its chemical affiliates to Lotte Group (valued USD 2.5 billion), Spin-Off of Hyosung Corporation (spun-off into one surviving company and four newly incorporated companies) (valued USD 6 billion), Merger of Cheil Industries Inc and Samsung C&T Corporation (valued USD 8 billion), Merger of LG Chem Ltd and LG Life Sciences, Ltd (valued USD 1.1 billion), IMM Private Equity’s acquisition of Linde Korea (valued USD 1.3 billion), SKC’s acquisition of KCF Technologies (valued USD 1 billion) and SK Engineering & Construction’s acquisition of EMC Holdings (valued USD 1 billion), LG Chem’s spin-off of its battery business division and establishment of LG Energy Solution (valued USD 9.2 billion), H&Q Korea PEF’s sale of JobKorea (valued USD 0.8 billion), sale of Hyperconnect to Match Group (valued USD 1.7 billion), SK Materials Airplus’ sale of industrial gas business (valued USD 0.8 billion) and SK Inc.’s sale of SK Specialty (valued USD 2 billion). Also, he has advised and assisted numerous multinational corporations with foreign investment matters in Korea from the initial investment stages in addition to on-going operational matters. After his completion of LL.M. at NYU School of Law (2013-2014), he worked at Mayer Brown LLP (New York office) as a Foreign Attorney (2014-2015).
He was selected as one of the rising stars in M&A by the Korea Economic Daily in 2016, named among the 40 outstanding lawyers in the region who are under the age of 40 by the Asian Legal Business (ALB), a Thomson Reuters magazine in 2017, and selected as one of the next generation lawyers by the Legal 500 Asia-Pacific in 2019~2024. Moreover, he was selected as one of the Korean Super 30 Lawyers by the Asian Legal Business (ALB) in 2022.
Mr. Kim obtained his degree in Law (Magna Cum Laude) as well as a Master’s degree from the Seoul National University. In 2006, he was admitted to the Korean Bar and completed his training at the JRTI (Judicial Research Training Institute of the Supreme Court of Korea). In 2015, he was also admitted to the New York Bar.
Education
2014 |
NYU School of Law - LL.M. |
2012 |
Completion of Financial Law Course of Seoul National University School of Law |
2009 |
Seoul National University - LL.M. |
2006 |
Judicial Research & Training Institute, Supreme Court of Korea |
2003 |
Seoul National University - LL.B. |
Work Experience
2009-Present |
Lee & Ko |
2014-2015 |
Mayer Brown LLP (New York office) |
2006-2009 |
Korean Army - Judge Advocate Officer |
Expertise
Mergers & Acquisitions |
Corporate Governance |
Start-ups |
Foreign Investment |
Hostile Takeovers & Defense |
Corporate |
Corporate Restructuring |
Admissions
Admitted to bar, Korea(2006) |
Admitted to bar, State of New York (2015) |
Languages
Awards and Recognitions
2019~2025 |
Selected as 'Next Generation Partner' by the Legal 500 Asia-Pacific |
2019~2024 |
Selected as 'Leading Lawyer - M&A and Corporate Law' by Legal Times |
2022 |
Selected as “Korean Super 30 Lawyers” by the Asian Legal Business |
2017 |
Named in “40 Under 40” by the Asian Legal Business |
2016 |
Selected as 'Rising Star' in M&A by the Korea Economic Daily |
Publications / Presentations / ETC
- Chambers Global Practice Guides - Corporate M&A 2021: South Korea - Law and Practice section, Trends and Developments section (Co-author, Chambers & Partners, 2021~2024)
- Getting the Deal Through Corporate Governance 2021: South Korea (Co-author, 2019~2024)
- Legal 500 Country Comparative Guide Merger & Acquisitions: South Korea (Co-author, 2021~2023)