Recent Developments

Lee & Ko is pleased to announce the incorporation of former Minister of Employment and Labor, Mr. Ahn, Kyung-Duk (33rd Civil Service Examination), as a Senior Advisor and the establishment of a new dedicated Labor Compliance Team.

In response to the increasingly complex and diverse range of issues surrounding human resources, labor relations, and workplace safety, Lee & Ko has established the Labor Compliance Team with the goal of providing integrated and proactive legal services. The launch of this new team coincides with the onboarding of Mr. Ahn, Kyung-Duk, whose extensive expertise and leadership will serve as a cornerstone of the team’s capabilities. Mr. Ahn brings with him over 30 years of experience at the Ministry of Employment and Labor and related institutions.

The Labor Compliance Team will be anchored by the firm’s existing Employment & Labor Group (led by Mr. Jin, Chang-Soo) and the Occupational Safety Team (led by Mr. Bae, Jae-Deok and Lee, Sang-Hyun). In anticipation of potential issues and disputes across personnel, labor, and safety matters, the team will collaborate closely with Lee & Ko’s Criminal Defense Team (including Mr. Park, Yang-Ho and Lee, Joo-Hyun), and the Litigation Team (including Mr. Sung, Chang-Ho and Kang, Dong-Hyuk). Through this cross-disciplinary approach, Lee & Ko will provide comprehensive, one-stop legal solutions for the full spectrum of labor and safety-related challenges facing clients across all industries.

Mr. Ahn began his public service career in 1990 after passing the 33rd Civil Service Examination. He has held numerous key posts, including Director-General of Planning & Coordination and Labor Policy at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, Regional Commissioner of the Seoul Regional Employment and Labor Office, and Standing Commissioner of the Economic, Social & Labor Council. He later served as the 8th Minister of Employment and Labor of the Republic of Korea. His distinguished career and deep subject-matter knowledge are expected to significantly enhance the depth and sophistication of the services offered by Lee & Ko’s Labor Compliance Team.

Managing Partner Mr. Kim, Sang-Gon stated: “Lee & Ko has long distinguished itself by providing tailored legal services based on our unparalleled expertise and experience in personnel, labor, and safety-related matters. With the launch of the Labor Compliance Team, we aim to offer more comprehensive and multidimensional solutions to address the increasingly complex issues faced by companies. The addition of Senior Advisor Ahn, a leading authority in the labor and safety space, further solidifies Lee & Ko’s standing as Korea’s preeminent law firm in this field. We will continue to invest across all practice areas, including labor and employment, to ensure that we deliver the best possible legal services to our clients.”

Lee & Ko welcomes Mr. Lee Youn Seob, a former Deputy Minister for Planning and Coordination at the Ministry of Environment, as a senior advisor.

Mr. Lee holds impressive academic credentials, earning Bachelor’s degrees from the Civil Engineering Department at Hanyang University in Korea and the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering at Iowa State University in the United States, as well as a Master’s degree in Civil Engineering from Hanyang University. Since passing the 25th National Technical Civil Service Examination in 1990, Mr. Lee has dedicated more than three decades to serving in several key positions within the Ministry of Environment, including the Senior Administrator for the Secretary to the President for Environment (dispatched), Director of General Services, Director General of Environmental Policy, and Deputy Minister for Planning and Coordination.

Upon his retirement from public service, Mr. Lee transitioned to academia, where he lectured at both Kookmin University and Hanyang University as an adjunct professor and visiting scholar, respectively. He also took a role as a chairperson of the Environmental Monitoring Committee for SK Hynix and most recently as an environmental advisor at Samsung Electronics, where he oversaw ESG affairs.

With his remarkable 35 years of hands-on experience across various environmental disciplines, Mr. Lee is expected to bring unparalleled knowledge and practical insights to our Environmental Safety Team and further contribute to enhancing the team’s capabilities to provide advisory services on environmental matters.

Managing Partner Kim Sang Gon of Lee & Ko commented: “Our Environmental Safety Team offers tailored counsel on a wide range of environmental regulatory compliance matters, from conventional environmental litigation involving pollution to environmental permits and approvals, such as environmental impact assessments, integrated permits, etc. Given that there has been an increasing demand for expert guidance due to the growing prominence of ESG issues, our firm has recently enhanced advisory strengths within the Environmental Safety Team—one of the leading expert teams in Korea—by bringing on board Mr. Lee, a seasoned professional with substantial experience and profound expertise in the environmental sector. In addition, we are resolute in our goal to recruit and develop skilled professionals to ensure our commitment to providing exceptional legal services for our clients for years ahead.”

Lee & Ko is pleased to announce that Allen Ryu has joined the firm as a partner in the Corporate / M&A Practice Groups.  Mr. Ryu represents global companies and private equity firms in mergers and acquisitions and other complex corporate transactions.  

“Allen has a breadth of experience and is a highly regarded lawyer with longstanding relationships with major companies globally, and we are thrilled to welcome him,” said Sang Gon Kim, Managing Partner of Lee & Ko.  “Allen’s experience will bring additional depth to our top-tier capabilities, and our recruitment of Allen is aligned with Lee & Ko’s commitment to strengthen our cross-border M&A practice.” 

Mr. Ryu is widely recognized for his expertise in advising complex corporate M&A and private equity transactions.  Some of his recent notable transactions include eBay’s sale of eBay Korea, Hyundai Motor Group’s JV transaction with Aptiv, Hyundai Motor Group’s majority investment in Boston Dynamics and Centroid Investment Partner’s acquisition of TaylorMade.  Drawing from his prior experience, Mr. Ryu’s practice at Lee & Ko will focus on facilitating outbound investments for Korean companies and managing inbound investments for global private equity firms.
“I am excited to join Lee & Ko and work alongside some of the most respected lawyers in the corporate practice,” said Ryu.  “With the incredible resources at Lee & Ko, I look forward to continue assisting clients on their important transactions and contribute to the firm’s continued growth and success.”

On February 15, 2024, Law Times reported that Lee & Ko has scouted lawyers who worked as a judge. The firm recruited Dong Hyeok Kang, formal senior judge at Seoul Administrative Court, Jun A Chang, formal judge at Seoul High Court and Gi Sang Chung, formal judge at Suwon High Court. Mr. Kang has great expertise in criminal affairs as he has been in charge of the court in several important criminal cases. Mr. Chang is one of the most elite judges in the court who has served several times as the Chief Justice of important courts several times, and is well-versed in corporate litigations. Mr. Chung has been in charge of administrative trials for many years in important courts, and has particularly excellent practical skills in construction and real estate affairs as he wrote a number of dissertations on tax, construction and real estate. 

Lee & Ko’s attorney Sang Gon Kim (aged 53) was appointed as its new executive managing director.
 
On February 25th, the managing committee held a meeting to appoint Mr. Kim as its executive managing director. 

This newly inaugurated executive managing director joined Lee & Ko in 1994 after graduating from Seoul National University College of Law and being admitted to the Korean bar in 1994 (a member of 23rd Judicial Research and Training Institute). Mr. Kim has established his position as a leading lawyer in the field of M&A and corporate restructuring. He has handled a wide variety of M&A transactions, whereby some of his more notable cases include a big deal between Samsung and Hanhwa, the Karl Icahn’s takeover attempt of KT&G, and the representation of major conglomerates including LG Group, SK Group and CJ Group in their restructuring into a holding company structure through share transfers. 

For the last thirty years, Mr. Kim spearheaded the firm’s growth by serving as a managing committee member since 2018, and in his role as the managing partner from 2021. His outstanding work capability and leadership has been highly applauded from other members of the committee, and this led to Mr. Kim being named the new executive managing director of the firm.
 
After the announcement of his appointment, Mr. Kim stated that, “I feel overwhelmed having to take on such an important role, but I will do my utmost best to keep Lee & Ko on the right path and compete with proficiency, as we have always done in the past.”
 
As one of the largest law firms in Korea, Lee & Ko employs about 780 professionals, including domestic and foreign lawyers, accountants, and patent attorneys, and maintains eight legal practice groups such as corporate, finance, dispute resolution, intellectual property rights, tax, fair trade, labor and criminal defense areas, as well as 80 legal professional teams providing legal advice. Earlier this month, Lee & Ko opened its Pangyo office, where Pangyo is considered home to many IT companies. 
 

We are pleased to announce the opening of our new PanGyo Office on February 14.  

PangGyo Office will be our first regional office to be set up within Korea.  We have already established our global footprint with offices in Beijing, Hanoi and Ho Chin Minh City, and our PanGyo Office will further take us closer to our clients and provide on-the-ground support to our clients doing business in this dynamic and ever-growing Korean market.

Dong Eun Kim, Managing Partner, will head up the PanGyo Office and Taejoo Kim will manage the office.  Other resident members will be Taejoo Kim (TMT), Jinku Kang (Corporate/M&A), Tae Jung Kim (Corporate/M&A), Hwan Sung Park (IP), Wooyoung Choi (IP), Junghwan (Justin) Maeng (IP), Seung Wan Hahm (Labor), Huijin Chae (Disputes), You Chull Jung (Financial Disputes).  They are a dedicated team of sector specialists known for their expertise and will provide comprehensive and focused response to our clients’ legal needs.

PanGyo Office will be supported by 780+ professionals in the firm’s Seoul Office to provide a seamless, one-office system service to our clients on corporate, M&A, banking and finance, capital markets, tax, fair competition, government regulations, healthcare, serious accidents, disputes and corporate criminal matters.

Lee & Ko has achieved a spectacular growth of 14.2% from last year and posted a revenue of KRW 365.8 billion for 2021.  We have firmly positioned ourselves as the second largest law firm in Korea thanks in large part to the trust and support from our clients.  

We have started 2022 with our representation in two of the major cases to make news in Korea this year: the Osstem Implant embezzlement case (one of the largest employee embezzlement case in history) and Sampyo quarry accident case, which is anticipated to be the first prosecuted case under the new Serious Accidents Punishment Act.   We have assigned a strong team of specialists to provide on-the-ground and expert advice to assist our clients to respond in a timely and efficient manner in these controversial cases.  Lee & Ko will continue to work closely with our clients and provide prompt and responsive advice that can be trusted.