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Lee & Ko has been recognized once again in the 2026 Chambers Global Guide, securing Band 1 rankings in six practice areas and confirming its top-tier law firm status. As for the individual rankings, 37 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  
 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, Ho Joon Moon, Hyeong Gun Lee, Yong Joon Yoon, Daehoon Koo
 Dispute Resolution: Arbitration: Saemee Kim, Zachary Sharpe, Sanghoon Han, Grace Yoon
 Dispute Resolution: Litigation: Pyoung Keun Song, Dajoo Jung, Seon Tae Kim, Jae Heon Park
 IP: Jae Hoon Kim, Un Ho Kim, Keum Nang Park, Hyeon Gil Ryoo, Vera Eun Woo Lee, Hankil D. Kang, Hwansung Park, Jaewoo Kwak
 International Trade: Kichang Chung, Hyunsoo Joo, Young Gee Park, Young Jae Cho, Heysoo Kim 
 North Korea - general business law: Hyung Sub Lim (Foreign Expertise based abroad in South Korea)


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 named “Best Overall Law Firm” at the Korea Law Awards 2025, hosted by Asia Business Law Journal (ABLJ). The “Best Overall Law Firm” distinction is awarded to the firm that has earned outstanding evaluations across all practice areas. In addition, Lee & Ko was recognized in a total of 23 categories, including AI, Aviation, Competition & antitrust, Mergers & acquisitions, Private equity & venture capital. This achievement further reinforces Lee & Ko’s position as Korea’s leading full-service law firm, providing seamless one-stop legal services across a broad range of industries. 

ABLJ specifically highlighted Lee & Ko’s advisory role in the acquisition of DIG Airgas by Air Liquide, one of the world’s largest industrial gas suppliers, a transaction valued at approximately KRW 4.6 trillion. The deal raised a number of complex issues, including refinancing of existing shareholder loans and acquisition financing, post-merger integration (PMI) considerations, and withholding tax obligations on capital gains realized by foreign sellers. The transaction is regarded as the largest deal announced in Korea in 2025, underscoring Lee & Ko’s capability to handle large-scale, high-stakes cross-border matters. International clients have also praised Lee & Ko’s global competitiveness, noting that the firm “maintains exceptional specialist teams across every practice area and explains Korean legal issues in a manner that incorporates cultural context, enabling foreign clients to pursue their business activities in Korea with confidence.” 

ABLJ, a leading legal publication in the Asia-Pacific region, has evaluated Korean law firms since 2021 based on surveys of lawyers at domestic and international law firms and corporations, as well as practice-area performance data submitted by Korean law firms.

[Categories]
 Best Overall Law Firms
 AI
 Anti-corruption & anti-bribery
 Aviation
 Banking & finance
 Blockchain & Digital Assets
 Capital markets
 Competition & antitrust
 Corporate & commercial
 Data compliance & cybersecurity
 Defense
 Energy & natural resources
 Entertainment & sports
 ESG
 Healthcare & life sciences
 Inbound investment
 Infrastructure & project finance
 Insolvency & restructuring
 Insurance & reinsurance
 Mergers & acquisitions
 Outbound investment
 Private equity & venture capital
 Structured finance & Securitisation

Lee & Ko was selected as Tier 1 law firm in Korea across 16 fields according to ‘The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2026’. Furthermore, 44 Lee & Ko attorneys were selected as ‘Hall of Fame’, ‘Leading Partners’, ‘Next Generation Partners’, and ‘Leading Associates’ in their respective fields.


Antitrust and Competition
Banking & Finance
Capital Markets 
Corporate and M&A  
Dispute Resolution  
Fintech and financial services regulatory  
Insurance 
Intellectual Property
International Arbitration
Labour and Employment
Projects and Energy  
Real Estate  
Regulatory: white-collar, compliance and investigations
Shipping
Tax
TMT


Antitrust and Competition: Hwan Jeong, Suruyn Kim, Jung Won Kwon, Jeong Yoon Choi
Banking & Finance: Yeo Kyoon Yoon, Myoung Chul Kwak
Capital Markets: Hyunjoo Oh
Corporate and M&A: Hyeong Gun Lee, Sang Gon Kim, Ho Joon Moon, Kyungchun Kim, Sung Min Kim, Daehoon Koo
Dispute Resolution: Pyoung Keun Song, Seong Won Chang, Jae Heon Park, Yeon Woo Lee
Fintech and financial services regulatory: Seong Hwan Ju
Insurance: Jin-Young Jung, Jin Hong Kwon, Sae Um Kim
Intellectual Property: Un Ho Kim, Keum Nang Park
Intellectual Property: PATMA: Kyungjin Kim, Soo Yeon Park
International Arbitration: Sanghoon Han, Saemee Kim, Han-Earl Woo
Labour and Employment: Chang-Soo Jin, Sang-Hoon Lee, Jae Hoon-Choi, William Kim, Shawn (Seong Ho) Han
Projects and Energy: Hun Ko
Real Estate: Jin Wook Yang, Jee In Kim
Regulatory: white-collar, compliance and investigations:: Tae Yop Lee
Shipping: Jin-Young Jung, Yun Jeong Seo, Yang Ho Yoon, Young Jae Park
TMT: Hwan Kyoung Ko, Kwang Bae Park, Il Shin Lee

The Legal 500 Asia Pacific is annually published by Legalease, a global agency that evaluates the capacity of law firms all over the world based on various standards through a comprehensive review of submitted documents by law firms, interviews with lawyers specialized in each field, and feedback from over 300,000 clients.
 

Lee & Ko has once again been ranked Band 1, the highest tier, in the legal category of the 2026 edition of the Chambers FinTech Guide. In the individual category, Partner Il Shin Lee was newly ranked this year, while Partner Hyunkoo Kang continued his presence for a consecutive year.

Chambers and Partners named Lee & Ko a Band 1 ranking, its highest distinction, recognizing the firm as a premier law firm in Korea with deep capabilities in corporate advisory and capital markets and for its exceptional performance in advising and representing major financial institutions and fintech startups across a broad range of matters, including digital payments, virtual assets, and internet banking. Client feedback likewise emphasized its advice of the highest caliber, not only legally sophisticated but also closely aligned with business objectives and operational practices, along with its proactive and strategic response to evolving regulatory trends.

Lee & Ko’s Digital Finance Team has robust expertise in regulatory issues under the Electronic Financial Transactions Act, with a track record that includes advising Samsung C&T, Shinsegae, and Lotte Shopping on PG registrations, as well as HYBE on its registration as a prepaid payment instrument issuer. Latest regulatory assistance has centered on prepaid business operator registration for virtual asset exchanges, a development that, if completed, would constitute an industry first in Korea’s virtual asset market. The practice also advised Bithumb on its corporate spin-off and represented DSRV, BDACS, and HappyBlock in regulatory filings to secure licenses required for virtual asset service providers.

On the international front, regulatory engagement has been undertaken in connection with the entry into Korea of major global virtual asset companies, namely, Worldcoin, BitGo, NTT Docomo, Meta Earth, Wallet, and Acurast. Within the Korean market, professional regulatory advisory services are provided to leading virtual asset exchanges, such as Dunamu (Upbit) and Bithumb, and to major Korean companies, of particular note, LINE NEXT, Shinsegae, Com2us, and SK Networks, in support of ongoing engagement with cryptocurrency regulators. In addition, strategic guidance on multiple digital asset treasury (DAT) transactions has established substantial experience in the DAT sector, among which is the Bitplanet transaction, the largest of its kind in Korea to date.

Lee & Ko’s Digital Finance Team has also handled a range of virtual asset–related criminal cases, including matters involving Upbit, Terra-Luna, and Haru Invest, which are widely regarded as among the most high-profile virtual asset criminal proceedings in Korea. More recently, the practice has achieved notable regulatory and enforcement outcomes, including a substantial reduction in the anticipated administrative fine against Kakao Pay to KRW 5.9 billion and the conclusion of the Naver Financial investigation without sanctions. In parallel, clients have been advised in major civil disputes concerning token compensation issues between blockchain game companies and developers.

Meanwhile, recent performances include advice on innovative financial service designations for AI-driven financial services, such as Shinhan Financial Group’s AI platform and Wealth Guide’s generative AI-based financial counsel service, as well as continued regulatory sandbox advisory on innovative financial service designations for fractional investment in ship-finance equity interests. Lee & Ko’s Digital Finance Team has further driven legislative amendments to facilitate securities lending brokerage for Korea Securities Lending, contributing to the establishment of a new investment brokerage licensing provision under the Enforcement Decree of the Capital Markets Act, while simultaneously guiding overseas companies such as PayPal, Traveloka, and Ant Group on strategic market entry into Korea.

The Chambers FinTech Guide, one of the world’s leading legal ranking directories in the UK, released by Chambers and Partners, benchmarks and ranks leading law firms in the fintech sector across more than 50 jurisdictions worldwide.

Lee & Ko was ranked Band 1 by 'Chambers Asia-Pacific Guide 2026’ in 10 practice areas. For the individual rankings, 72 attorneys were recognized as ‘Leading Individuals’ throughout all practice areas.
 
 
 Banking & Finance  
 Capital Markets  
 Competition/Antitrust 
 Corporate/M&A  
 Insurance 
 Intellectual Property  
 International Trade 
 Projects & Energy  
 Shipping Finance 
 Technology, Media, Telecoms

 
 Banking & Finance: Woo Young Jung, Yeo Kyoon Yoon, Yong-Jae Chang, Myoung Chul Kwak, Dong Seok Woo
 Capital Markets: Hyunjoo Oh, Seunga Hyun, Jun Woo Cho 
 Capital Markets: Securitisation: Jin Hong Kwon
 Competition/Antitrust: Yong Seok Ahn, Hwan Jeong, Jeong-Ho Sun, Suruyn Kim, Miji Lee, Byong Ki Chung 
 Corporate/M&A: Sanggon Kim, Ho Joon Moon, Hyeong Gun Lee, Yong Joon Yoon, Daehoon Koo
 Dispute Resolution: Arbitration: Saemee Kim, Zachary Sharpe, Sanghoon Han, Grace Yoon
 Dispute Resolution: Litigation: Pyoung Keun Song, Dajoo Jung, Seon Tae Kim, Jae Heon Park 
 Dispute Resolution: White-Collar Crime: Tae Ki Ghil, Taeyop Lee, Youngsub Jang, Jin So, Jae Man Yu
 Employment: Sang Hoon Lee, Chang Soo Jin, Hyunseok Song, William Kim  
 Insurance: Jinyoung Jung, Jin Hong Kwon, Yang Ho Yoon
 Intellectual Property: Jae Hoon Kim, Un Ho Kim, Keum Nang Park, Hyeon Gil Ryoo, Vera Eun Woo Lee, Hankil D. Kang, Hwansung Park, Jaewoo Kwak, Hayoun Chun 
 International Trade: Kichang Chung, Hyunsoo Joo, Young Gee Park, Young Jae Cho, Heysoo Kim 
 Projects & Energy: Hun Ko, Dong Eun Kim, Kwang Yul Kim, Jungmin Pak
 Real Estate: Junghwan Lee, Dong Seok Woo 
 Restructuring/Insolvency: Eunjai Lee, Wanshik Lee, Jung Hyun Lee, Seok Pyo Hong 
 Shipping: Jinyoung Jung, Yang Ho Yoon
 Shipping: Finance: Woo Young Jung, Yunjeong Seo
 Tax: Kyung Tae Kim, Tom Kwon  
 Technology, Media, Telecoms: Kwang Bae Park, Hwan Kyoung Ko, Ju Bong Jang, Samuel (Soon-Yub) Kwon, Sunghee Chae, Tae Joo Kim 
 North Korea - General Business Law (Foreign Expertise based abroad in South Korea): Hyung Sub Lim 

Chambers Asia-Pacific 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.
 

Jaewoo Kwak, a partner of Lee & Ko’s Intellectual Property Group, has been selected for the Lexology Index: Client Choice 2026, in recognition of his expertise in the field of intellectual property and his exceptional client service.

Mr. Kwak is widely recognized as a highly versatile practitioner whose comprehensive and profound understanding of both technology and legal principles enables him to excel across a broad range of IP disputes and advisory matters. He achieved a dramatic turnaround and final victory in a decade-long, multi-billion-won patent battle involving ice water purifiers, and played a leading role in securing the Supreme Court decision in the unauthorized BTS photo book case, a landmark ruling that ultimately paved the way for the legislative recognition of the right of publicity in Korea.

He also possesses unparalleled expertise in international patent and trade secret disputes involving advanced technologies, as well as in complex e-discovery matters. More recently, he has garnered additional attention for his extensive work on AI-related and gaming-industry cases.

Since 2005, the Lexology Index: Client Choice has recognized lawyers around the world who demonstrate excellence in client care, based on evaluations from in-house counsel and a rigorous independent review process. Mr. Kwak’s selection reflects the continued trust placed in him by global and domestic clients, as well as his longstanding commitment to delivering the highest caliber of legal service.