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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 has been ranked as a Tier 1 law firm in Korea in nine practice areas by ‘Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific 2026’, a leading publication focusing on dispute resolution and litigation. 

Notably, Lee & Ko was also recognized as a Recommended Firm in the newly introduced Government and Regulatory category, further demonstrating the firm’s exceptional capabilities and competitiveness across a broad range of dispute resolution and regulatory matters. 


 Commercial and Transactions  
 Competition/Antitrust 
 Construction 
 Insolvency 
 Intellectual Property 
 Labor and Employment 
 Product Liability and Recall 
 Tax 
 White Collar Crime 

In addition, 54 Lee & Ko attorneys were selected as either ‘Litigation Stars’ or ‘Future Stars’ for their outstanding achievements in their respective fields.


- Litigation Stars
 Competition/Antitrust: Jangwoo Park, Jeong-Ho Sun, Pyoung Keun Song, Hwan Jeong, Suruyn Kim
 Commercial and Transactions: Won Seok Ko, Jae Heon Park, Dajoo Jung, Jin Soo Han, Chang Ho Seong, Kiri Yi
 Construction: Myung Jong Kim, Seon Tae Kim, Chanik Jang, Yang Rak Kim, Jae Sung Yoo
 Government and Regulatory: Taeyop Lee, Kwangbae Park
 Intellectual Property: Un Ho Kim, Keum Nang Park, Hayoun Chun, Heon Lee
 International Arbitration: Sang Hoon Han, Eun Young Park
 Insolvency: Wan Shik Lee, Jung Hyun Lee, Jiwoong Lim
 Labor and Employment: Young Jin Kim, Hyunseok Song, Sang Hoon Lee, Chang Soo Jin
 Tax: Tom Kwon, Sung Hwan Kim, Ok Hyun Ma, Kyung Tae Kim, Steve Minhoo Kim, Jung Ho Ryu
 White Collar Crime: Jae Deog Bae, Jin So, Taeyop Lee, Younsub Jang, Jangwoo Park

- Future Stars
 Competition/Antitrust: Byong Ki Chung
 Construction: Gangcheol Chu, Janghee Yoon, Joo Hye Hong
 Intellectual Property: Jaewoo Kwak, Hyeon Gil Ryoo
 International Arbitration: Grace Yoon
 Labor and Employment: William Kim, Se young Kang, Yong Su Oh
 Product Liability and Recall: Dajoo Jung, Soo Yeon Oh
 White Collar Crime: Ki Jung Sung, Kyeong-seop Yoon

Benchmark Litigation conducts its annual rankings based on in-depth analysis of law firm submissions, as well as interviews with legal practitioners, clients, and litigation experts.
 

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: Soo Yeon Park
International Arbitration: Sanghoon Han, 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 reaffirmed its position as Korea’s leading law firm, being recognized as a top-tier firm across all 24 industry sectors and practice areas in asialaw 2025. This marks the fifth consecutive year that Lee & Ko has achieved this distinction, an accomplishment unmatched by any other domestic law firm, many of which received top rankings only in select areas.

This recognition reflects Lee & Ko’s breadth of expertise, market-leading capabilities, and client trust across all key areas of legal practice in Korea and the Asia-Pacific region.

In addition, 44 Lee & Ko professionals were honored as Senior Statesman, Elite Practitioner, Distinguished Practitioner, Notable Practitioner, or Rising Star, highlighting the firm’s depth of individual talent and professional excellence.


Industry Sectors 
 Aviation and Shipping
 Consumer goods and Services
 Industrials and Manufacturing
 Insurance
 Pharmaceuticals and Life sciences
 Technology and Telecommunications
 Banking and Financial services
 Energy
 Infrastructure
 Media and Entertainment
 Real estate

Practice Areas
 Banking and Finance
 Competition/Antitrust
 Corporate and M&A
 Intellectual Property
 Labour and Employment
 Regulatory
 Tax
 Capital Markets
 Construction
 Dispute Resolution
 Investment Funds
 Private Equity
 Restructuring and Insolvency


 Banking and Financial services: Woo Young Jung, Yeo Kyoon Yoon, Yong-Jae Chang, Hyunjoo Oh, Seunga Hyun, Myoung Chul Kwak
 Banking and Finance: Woo Young Jung, Yeo Kyoon Yoon, Yong-Jae Chang, Myoung Chul Kwak, Samsung Kim, Min Ha Song
 Capital Markets: Hyunjoo Oh, Seunga Hyun
 Competition/Antitrust: Yong Seok Ahn, Hwan Jeong, Hyun Chul Kim, Jeong-Ho Sun, Jeong Yoon Choi, Suruyn Kim
 Corporate and M&A: Kyu Wha Lee, Sanggon Kim, Ho Joon Moon, Hyeong Gun Lee
 Dispute Resolution: Won Seok Ko
 Energy: Dong Eun Kim, Hun Ko, Insoo Kim
 Infrastructure: Dong Eun Kim, Hun Ko, Insoo Kim, Samsung Kim, Min Ha Song
 Insurance: Gidon Nam, Jinyoung Jung, Jin Hong Kwon
 Intellectual Property: Un Ho Kim, Keum Nang Park, Jaewoo Kwak, Heon Lee
 Labour and Employment: Sang Hoon Lee, Chang Soo Jin, Hyunseok Song , William Kim
 Media and Entertainment: Kwang Bae Park
 Real estate: Jung Hwan Lee
 Restructuring and Insolvency: Wan Shik Lee, Eunjai Lee, Jung Hyun Lee
 Shipping: Jinyoung Jung , Gidon Nam
 Tax: Ok Hyun Ma, Sung Hwan Kim
 Technology and Telecommunications: Kwang Bae Park, Hwan Kyoung Ko, Samuel (Soon-Yub) Kwon, Yong Seok Ahn

asialaw, a global legal production, ranks law firms and individual practitioners across the Asia-Pacific region based on law firm submissions, client and peer interviews, and independent market research.

 

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
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 by 'Chambers Asia-Pacific Guide 2024’ in 13 practice areas. For the individual rankings, 65 attorneys were recognized as ‘Leading Individuals’ throughout all practice areas.

[Firm Rankings] 

South Korea
 Banking & Finance
 Capital Markets
 Corporate/M&A 
 Dispute Resolution: Litigation
 Dispute Resolution: White-Collar Crime
 Employment
 Insurance
 Intellectual Property
 International Trade
 Projects & Energy
 Restructuring/Insolvency
 Shipping Finance
 Technology, Media, Telecoms

North Korea
 General Business Law (Expertise Based Abroad)


[Ranked Lawyers]

South Korea 
 Banking & Finance: Yeo Kyoon Yoon, Woo Young Jung, Yong-Jae Chang, Myoung Chul Kwak
 Capital Markets: Hyunjoo Oh, Seunga Hyun
 Capital Markets: Securitisation: Jin Hong Kwon, Hyunjoo Oh
 Competition/Antitrust: Yong Seok Ahn, Hwan Jeong, Jeong-Ho Sun, Suruyn Kim
 Corporate/M&A: Kyu Wha Lee, Sanggon Kim, Hyeong Gun Lee, Ho Joon Moon, Yong Joon Yoon
 Dispute Resolution: Arbitration: Sanghoon Han, Grace Yoon
 Dispute Resolution: Litigation: Won Seok Ko, Pyoung Keun Song, Seong Won Chang
 Dispute Resolution: White-Collar Crime: Tae Ki Ghil, Taeyop Lee, Jae Man Yu, Youngsub Jang
 Employment: Chang Soo Jin, Hyunseok Song, Sang Hoon Lee, William Kim  
 Insurance: Jinyoung Jung, Jin Hong Kwon, Yang Ho Yoon
 Intellectual Property: Un Ho Kim, Keum Nang Park, Hyeon Gil Ryoo, Vera Eun Woo Lee 
 International Trade: Kichang Chung, Young Gee Park, Young Jae Cho, Hyunsoo Joo, Heysoo Kim  Projects & Energy: Dong Eun Kim, Hun Ko, Kwang Yul Kim, Jungmin Pak
 Projects & Energy: Dong Eun Kim, Hun Ko, Kwang Yul Kim, Jungmin Pak
 Real Estate: Junghwan Lee, Dong Seok Woo 
 Restructuring/Insolvency: Eunjai Lee, Wanshik Lee, Jung Hyun Lee
 Shipping: Jinyoung Jung
 Shipping: Finance: Woo Young Jung, Yunjeong Seo
 Tax: Kyung Tae Kim  
 Technology, Media, Telecoms: Kwang Bae Park, Hwan Kyoung Ko, Ju Bong Jang, Samuel (Soon-Yub) Kwon, Sunghee Chae 

North Korea 
 General Business Law (Expertise Based Abroad): 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.