Recent Developments

Lee & Ko has once again been recognized as a Band 1 law firm in the Private Wealth Law category of Chambers High Net Worth 2026, published by Chambers and Partners. In the individual rankings, dispute resolution specialist Dong Ha Kim was ranked in Band 1 for the third consecutive year.

Lee & Ko recently secured a successful outcome in a USD 2 billion arbitration on behalf of a major shareholder of a Korean company. The firm also regularly advises on complex regulatory matters and represents chairpersons of leading Korean conglomerates in high-stakes disputes arising from corporate restructurings and reorganizations.

Drawing on its extensive expertise across a broad range of practice areas, Lee & Ko advises the owners and senior executives of major Korean conglomerates, as well as their families, on a wide range of legal and tax matters relating to the accumulation, management, transfer, and protection of personal wealth.

Dong Ha Kim, a leading dispute resolution practitioner at Lee & Ko, has been recognized as a Band 1 lawyer for the third consecutive year. Mr. Kim has extensive experience in both corporate advisory work and litigation. His principal areas of practice include commercial litigation, corporate law, healthcare, construction and real estate, government contracts, and family law.

Chambers High Net Worth is a leading international legal directory focusing on the private wealth sector and covers more than 55 jurisdictions, including Korea.

Su Jin Jung, a leading partner in Lee & Ko’s Litigation Group, has been named to Asian Legal Business (ALB) Asia Top Female Lawyers 2026, in recognition of her standing as a leading female practitioner in Asia and her success in major disputes, including the SK Telecom personal data breach case.

Ms. Jung joined Lee & Ko in 2023 after 20 years on the bench. Drawing on that experience, she has developed exceptional expertise across a broad range of complex disputes, including fair trade litigation, criminal cases arising from serious industrial and occupational accidents, personal data protection litigation, and corporate control disputes. She has secured acquittals in a series of such criminal cases, including the SK Multi Utility and SAMPYO Group cases, two of Korea's most significant serious accident cases, and the industrial accident case involving Samsung Electronics' Giheung facility. The SK Multi Utility case resulted in the first acquittal under the Serious Accidents Punishment Act involving an affiliate of a major Korean conglomerate, while the SAMPYO Group case attracted nationwide attention as one of the first major cases arising from a serious accident occurring after the Act took effect. She also leads a number of fair trade administrative litigation matters concerning abuse of market dominance, unfair trade practices, and violations of the Fair Transactions in Subcontracting Act. Ms. Jung further contributed to achieving a balanced resolution in dispute mediation proceedings before the Consumer Dispute Settlement Commission in connection with the SK Telecom personal data breach and has obtained timely and favorable decisions in several preliminary injunction proceedings arising from corporate control disputes.

Published by Thomson Reuters, a leading global provider of legal news and information, Asian Legal Business (ALB) is a premier legal publication covering the Asia-Pacific region. Each year, ALB selects its Top Female Lawyers from 13 jurisdictions across Asia, including Korea, Japan, India, Singapore, and Hong Kong, recognizing women lawyers who have achieved outstanding results over the course of their careers.

Vera Eun Woo Lee, a partner in Lee & Ko’s IP & Technology Group, has been named to Managing IP’s Top 250 Women in IP 2026. This recognition reflects her outstanding achievements in intellectual property law, including her successful representation of a major distribution company in a trademark infringement action seeking injunctive relief and damages.

Since joining Lee & Ko in 2004, Ms. Lee has advised and represented clients across the full spectrum of intellectual property matters, including patents, trademarks, copyrights, domain names, unfair competition, IP licensing, and employee inventions. She has also played a leading role in precedent-setting disputes involving novel issues arising from technological developments and evolving social trends.

Ms. Lee’s notable track record includes a landmark trademark infringement case on behalf of a major distribution company, as well as a wide range of complex and first-of-their-kind disputes involving copyright and unfair competition issues. These include a Supreme Court case that established important standards for copyright infringement involving game-related works, as well as cases concerning the scope of protection for copyrighted photographs and the unauthorized use of a long-standing mark.

Managing Intellectual Property, also known as Managing IP, is a leading publication in the intellectual property field. Each year, it recognizes senior female IP practitioners with outstanding accomplishments based on research and surveys of IP professionals worldwide.

Lee & Ko received a total of five awards at the Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific Awards 2026, including ‘Labour and Employment Firm of the Year,’ ‘South Korea Lawyer of the Year’ and ‘Client Choice – South Korea Firm of the Year,’ earning the distinction of being the most awarded Korean law firm at this year’s awards.

In the Practice Area Firm Awards category, which recognizes one leading law firm across the Asia-Pacific region in each of 11 practice areas, Lee & Ko was named ‘Labour and Employment Firm of the Year,’ underscoring the firm’s exceptional expertise in labour and employment law. Among its many notable achievements, Lee & Ko’s Labour and Employment Group successfully defended one of the world’s largest tyre manufacturers before the Supreme Court against serious allegations of illegal worker dispatch, thereby protecting the client’s business operations. The group also represented a major global automobile manufacturer in matters concerning an employer’s disciplinary authority and procedures.

In the ‘Lawyer of the Year – South Korea’ category, Lee & Ko’s Taeyop Lee was recognized for his outstanding achievements and contributions. Before joining Lee & Ko, Mr. Lee served as a public prosecutor, gaining extensive investigative experience in special investigations, finance and taxation, customs and foreign exchange, intellectual property—including trade secrets—and the healthcare and food sectors. Drawing on this background, he now leads criminal defense and general litigation matters at the firm involving intellectual property and trade secrets, personal information protection, broadcasting and telecommunications, foreign exchange and customs, and healthcare. In particular, he has built a strong reputation for guiding clients through major corporate criminal matters involving finance, trade secrets and serious accidents, consistently securing favorable outcomes and delivering the highest level of protection for his clients’ interests.

Lee & Ko also received the ‘Impact Case of the Year’ award for its representation of HSBC Bank in a criminal short-selling case. In that case, the firm persuaded the court to adopt a reasonable interpretation of the short-selling provisions under the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act and secured a not-guilty verdict for its client.
In addition, Lee & Ko was named ‘South Korea Firm of the Year’ in the Client Choice Awards, which were announced in conjunction with the Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific Awards, while Foreign Attorney Steve Minhoo Kim was recognized as ‘South Korea Honourable Mention Lawyer of the Year.’ Based on client feedback and evaluations, the Client Choice Awards recognize excellence in client service. These accolades further demonstrate Lee & Ko’s differentiated client service and the high level of trust it has earned from its clients.

Benchmark Litigation is a globally renowned publication focusing on dispute resolution and litigation. Each year, it publishes rankings based on in-depth analysis of law firm submissions, as well as interviews with lawyers, clients and litigation experts.

Lee & Ko Attorney Jin Hun Kim has been selected for Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific’s ‘Top 40 Under 40 2026’ in recognition of his outstanding achievements, including his success in a claim valued at approximately KRW 106 billion brought on behalf of the Banpo Jugong Apt. Complex 1 — Districts 1, 2 and 4 — Housing Reconstruction Project Association against the Korea Land and Housing Corporation, seeking registration of transfer of ownership on the grounds of completed acquisitive prescription by possession.

Mr. Kim is a construction and real estate specialist whose practice focuses on litigation and advisory work relating to urban improvement projects, including redevelopment and reconstruction. He has built a strong track record of favorable outcomes across the full spectrum of project-related matters, including injunctions prohibiting general meetings, halting bidding procedures or suspending the performance of official duties; civil actions confirming contractor status and seeking damages; and administrative litigation to invalidate association establishment authorizations or rescind management and disposal plans.

He also achieved the distinction of having a constitutional complaint, filed on behalf of a housing reconstruction project association, referred to the Full Bench of the Constitutional Court — only the second such case since the mechanism was introduced. Most recently, he prevailed on behalf of the Banpo Jugong Apt. Complex 1 Housing Reconstruction Project Association in a claim valued at approximately KRW 106 billion for registration of transfer of ownership based on completed acquisitive prescription by possession. His expertise, capabilities and demonstrated track record have earned him a place on Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific’s ‘Top 40 Under 40 2026.’

Benchmark Litigation, published by Delinian, formerly Euromoney, is a globally renowned publication focusing on dispute resolution and litigation. Its ‘Top 40 Under 40’ list recognizes 40 outstanding lawyers under the age of 40 in the Asia-Pacific region based on extensive research and evaluation.

Lee & Ko Attorneys Keum Nang Park of the Healthcare Group have been named to Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific’s ‘Top 100 Women in Litigation 2026’ in recognition of their outstanding achievements in healthcare-related patent and regulatory disputes, as well as major competition law matters.

Ms. Park serves as Co-Head of Lee & Ko’s Healthcare Group, advising clients on intellectual property matters—including pharmaceutical and biotechnology patents—as well as a broad range of regulatory matters involving the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, and the Ministry of Environment. She brings deep and wide-ranging expertise across the healthcare industry, including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, cosmetics, food, dietary supplements and household chemical products. Ms. Park was named to this year’s list in recognition of her success in defending market exclusivity on behalf of the patent holder of a world-renowned cardiovascular blockbuster drug, prevailing in more than 100 patent suits brought by numerous generic manufacturers. Her selection also reflects her achievements in protecting patent rights in litigation involving a widely used blockbuster biologic for chronic inflammatory disease and a prominent blockbuster biologic for ophthalmic disease.

Benchmark Litigation, published by Delinian, formerly Euromoney, is a globally renowned publication focusing on dispute resolution and litigation. Its annual ‘Top 100 Women in Litigation’ list recognizes 100 leading female litigators in the Asia-Pacific region based on months of in-depth research and analysis.