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Lee & Ko received dual honors at The Asia Legal Awards 2026, winning ESG Deal of the Year and Projects Lawyer of the Year.

These recognitions highlight the firm's outstanding legal advisory capabilities in the ESG and projects sectors, as well as the individual achievements of Partner Kwang Yul Kim in the projects practice.

 

ESG Deal of the Year

The firm was honored with the ESG Deal of the Year award for its advisory work on the Taepyeong Salt Farm Solar PV Project, a landmark domestic initiative converting salt-affected agricultural land and disused salt pans into large-scale solar energy infrastructure. The accolade recognizes the collaborative expertise of Lee & Ko’s ESG Group, particularly its Projects & Energy Team and Environment Team.

Lee & Ko maintains a dedicated ESG Group comprising experienced professionals across key practice areas, including environment, industrial safety, renewable energy, compliance, corporate governance, and labor and employment, providing comprehensive legal solutions to navigate today’s increasingly complex ESG landscape.

In addition to the Taepyeong Salt Farm project, the ESG Group advised the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment (MCEE) on designing and implementing a pilot initiative for Korea's green chemistry framework, as well as establishing a sustainability assessment system for chemical substances.

The group has also advised on developing carbon reduction methodologies for agricultural greenhouse gas initiatives using methane-reducing microbial technology, assisting clients with regulatory compliance and broader ESG strategy.

 

Projects Lawyer of the Year

Lee & Ko Partner Kwang Yul Kim has been named Projects Lawyer of the Year.

With more than twenty years of legal experience, Mr. Kim is widely recognized for his counsel on major power and energy, project finance, infrastructure, and development matters. He regularly guides domestic and international corporations, funds, and financial institutions through cross-border investments, real asset transactions, development financing and capital markets compliance.

As head of Lee & Ko’s Projects & Energy Team, Mr. Kim continues to lead some of the region's most prominent projects across conventional and renewable energy, construction, and property development.

 

The Asia Legal Awards 2026

Hosted by Law.com International, a legal platform operated by global legal and business information company ALM Media, The Asia Legal Awards is an annual awards program recognizing leading law firms, practitioners, landmark transactions, and in-house legal teams across Asia.

Lee & Ko’s recognition as ESG Deal of the Year and Projects Lawyer of the Year at The Asia Legal Awards 2026 reflects the firm’s notable transaction work and the achievements of its practitioners in the projects sector.

Lee & Ko has been selected as one of the “2024 Asia Top 15 ESG Law Firms" by Asian Legal Business for the second consecutive year.

This selection highlights the achievements of a one-stop, full service provided by the firm’s ESG Group, an integrated network of its ESG-related teams dedicated to Environment, Occupational Safety & Health, Compliance, Corporate, Labor, and more. It is noted that the Group has garnered positive reviews for its commitment to advancing ESG regulations in Korea, reflecting its efforts in participating in various government service projects to address legal and institutional shortcomings within the ESG framework and devise proactive measures to bolster support for the ESG industry. In recent years, unwavering endeavors to help enhance the global competitiveness of Korean companies have also been made by the Group, offering preemptive measures in response to anticipating full-fledge due diligence legislation on supply chains, such as the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, on a global scale, as well as undertaking extensive ESG due diligence projects to analyze risks found in their business activities with human rights impact assessments, etc. and to identify areas for improvement. In addition, the Group has successfully represented companies in greenwashing investigations to safeguard their brand value and market trust, while remaining committed to addressing emergent negative connotations associated with greenwashing in society.
 
Asian Legal Business, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters, publishes legal industry magazines for the Asia-Pacific region and selects the top 15 law firms in the ESG field in Asia based on experience, expertise, and evaluations from clients and peers.

Lee & Ko was honored with six awards in four categories at the recent Asialaw Awards 2022 held on September 28, 2022, winning the most prizes among Korean law firms.

The six trophies awarded to Lee & Ko include South Korea Firm of the Year, Dispute Resolution Firm of the Year, and Regulatory Firm of the Year, as well as three Impact Deal & Case of the Year Awards in the fields of health care, serious disaster, and labor.

Following its success as being named the best law firm in all fields in Asialaw’s annual evaluation in September, Lee & Ko was once again named as best among its peers for its outstanding expertise at this year’s celebration, winning the most awards among domestic law firms. 

Asialaw Award is given by Asialaw, which is an affiliate of the global financial journal Euromoney.  Each year, the awards celebrate leading law firms across 11 practice areas, 7 industries and 23 jurisdictions in the Asia-Pacific region.