Recent Developments

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.

The 2025 edition of Chambers FinTech Guide has awarded Lee & Ko the highest ranking, Band 1, in the legal category.

In its commentary, Chambers and Partners noted Lee & Ko as a premier law firm in South Korea, hailing its robust corporate and capital markets expertise and proven track record in advising and representing major financial institutions and FinTech startups across a broad spectrum of issues, such as digital payments, virtual assets, and internet banking. It further featured input from clients to highlight Lee & Ko’s exceptional ability to navigate regulatory compliance challenges and manage potential risks. 

It is worth noting that Lee & Ko’s Digital Finance Team advised and secured Galaxia Moneytree’s designation as an innovative financial service for issuing blockchain-based trust beneficiary certificates for aircraft engine leases, marking the first successful case by a law firm since the announcement of security token guidelines by Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC). Well-versed in matters related to the Electronic Financial Transactions Act, the team also provided counsel to major clients such as Samsung C&T, Shinsegae, Lotte Shopping, and HYBE on the registration of their prepaid business and successfully represented virtual asset companies, including DSRV and BDACS, in filing and obtaining a virtual asset service provider (VASP) license this year. 

Currently, Lee & Ko’s digital finance professionals handle legal affairs to provide regulatory assistance to global virtual asset companies such as Worldcoin, BitGo, and NTT Docomo for their entry into Korea. On the domestic front, they offer expert legal guidance to the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in Korea, namely, Dunamu (Upbit) and Bithumb, as well as major Korean companies like LINE NEXT, Shinsegae, Com2us, and SK Networks, in response to cryptocurrency regulatory authorities. In criminal cases, the team handles various high-profile cases involving virtual assets in Korea, such as the Terra-Luna and Haru Invest cases, demonstrating its unparalleled and in-depth expertise in the overall discipline of virtual assets. Furthermore, its competence extends to advising clients on obtaining innovative financial service status with a focus on integrating AI technologies into the financial sector, as showcased by a comprehensive legal review of Hana Bank’s use of AI-generated images.

Hyunkoo Kang, a partner at Lee & Ko specializing in financial regulatory compliance, has been recognized as a notable practitioner in the individual category. Drawing upon outstanding expertise, Mr. Kang advises his clients on various FinTech and financial regulatory matters related to payment models, blockchain, and cross-border e-wallet services, among others. 

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

Lee & Ko was selected as the only “Law Firm of the Year” in Korea at the Korea Law Awards 2023 hosted by the Asia Business Law Journal (ABLJ). In addition, Lee & Ko was honored with the most awards among Korean law firms as the firm was selected as one of the “Best overall law firms”, an award awarded to law firms with excellent reviews in all categories out of a total of 34 categories evaluated by ABLJ, and was awarded in a total of 25 categories including practice areas such as Corporate & Commercial, M&A, Banking & Finance, Litigation, In/Outbound Investment, Patent, Taxation, TMT, Fintech etc. 

The Asia Business Law Journal selected Lee & Ko as the law firm of the year, highlighting its success in a USD 700 million ICC arbitration case and in critical cases involving KEPCO, KHNP and Westinghouse which established Lee & Ko’s renowned position as the leading arbitration firm in the nuclear sector. 

According to ABLJ, one of Lee & ko's clients also evaluated that “Lee & Ko adeptly identified the key issues in the case, elucidated the loopholes in the opposing party’s argument, and effectively persuaded the court through compelling written and verbal articulations”.

Asia Business Law Journal, a regional law journal in Asia, has been conducting surveys on lawyers from domestic and foreign law firms and companies, and has been evaluating domestic law firms since 2021 based on performance data by category submitted by domestic law firms.

In the '2023 Korea’s Top 100 Lawyers' researched by Asia Business Law Journal, 23 lawyers from Lee & Ko have been selected, marking the largest number among domestic law firms.

The list of Korea’s Top Lawyers selected from Lee & Ko is as follows:
 

Banking & Finance:	Yong-Jae Chang, Woo Young Jung
Capital Markets:	Hyunjoo Oh, Jin Hong Kwon
Competition/Antitrust:	Yong Seok Ahn, Hwan Jeong
Corporate/M&A:	Sanggon Kim, Kyu Wha Lee, Hyeong Gun Lee
Dispute Resolution: Litigation:	Won Seok Ko, John Kim
Dispute Resolution: White-Collar Crime:	Yong Seok Park
Employment:	Sang Hoon Lee
Insurance:	Jin Hong Kwon, Jinyoung Jung
IP:	Jae Hoon Kim
Projects & Energy:	Hun Ko, Dong Eun Kim
Shipping:	Jinyoung Jung, Woo Young Jung
TMT:	Hwan Kyoung Ko, Kwang Bae Park

Asia Business Law Journal (ABLJ), an Asian regional law magazine, conducts research on thousands of domestic and foreign in-house counsel as well as lawyers at international law firms to select the Top 100 lawyers in Korea every year. 
 

Lee & Ko was ranked Band 1 in the Legal sector of the Chambers FinTech Guide 2024. 

In its commentary, Chamber and Partners evaluated Lee & Ko as one of the premier law firms in South Korea with strong corporate and capital markets expertise which has successfully represented large financial institutions as well as FinTech startups, advising on various issues including digital payments, virtual assets and internet banking. Clients evaluated the firm’s guidance through regulatory concerns in the financial sector and risk management as its strengths. 

Following last year, Lee & Ko has achieved outstanding results in various legal areas related to FinTech this year. The firm has won the case regarding the injunction to suspend the effect of Wemade’s decision to terminate transaction support of Wemix by receiving a decision to dismiss on behalf of Dunamu, Coinone and Korbit, and successfully supported the funding through issuance of 20 billion won of Series B Redeemable Convertible Preference Shares by FinTech startup Payhere despite difficult market conditions. In addition, Lee & Ko has supported the FTC’s approval of the combination of enterprises regarding the establishment of JV, a specialized personal credit rating business by the three telecommunication companies SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus, performed the Financial Security Institute’s cyber risk management research service related to digital assets, advised on the NFT-related projects by leading companies such as Dunamu, LG Uplus and LG Electronics, supported and advised on Woori Bank’s acquisition of MyData licenses, and advised Musicow on a legitimate business structure for the related rights business. 

The Chambers FinTech Guide, announced by Chamber and Partner, one of the world’s leading legal ranking directories in UK, identifies and ranks the most outstanding law firms and in more than 50 countries.

Being widely recognized for its outstanding capabilities in FinTech, Lee & Ko was ranked Band 1 by the Chambers FinTech Guide 2023.

In its commentary, Chambers and Partners highlighted, “Lee & Ko is one of the premier law firms in Korea, with strong corporate and capital markets expertise. The firm has successfully represented large financial institutions as well as FinTech startups, advising on various issues, including digital payments, initial coin offerings and internet banking, and has covered a broad range of sub-industry verticals in the FinTech industry, from digital assets to payments, and other areas like banking-as-a-service and robo-advice.” 

Lee & Ko is highly regarded for its expertise in various legal areas, handling a wide range of matters for its clients, such as advising Meta Platforms on regulatory implications of its plan to offer NFT services, advising LG Electronics’ blockchain/NFT business, advising on the global expansion of SK Telecom’s Metaverse platform (ifland), providing advisory service and registration support for virtual asset service providers such as Upbit and Korbit, advising on Defi platform-related issues, and assisting Danggeun Market’s entering the Canadian Market. 

The Chambers FinTech Guide, announced by Chambers and Partners, one of the world’s leading legal directories in UK providing global rankings for the industry, identifies and ranks the most outstanding law firms and lawyers in more than 50 countries.