Recent Developments

On 8 April 2024, Aju Economy introduced the employment and labor practice team at Lee & Ko. Aju Economy stated, "Attorney Chang-soo Jin leads Lee & Ko's employment and labor litigation arm," and explained, "[Mr. Jin] graduated from Seoul National University Law School and was a presiding judge before joining Lee & Ko in 2016. He specialized in labor-related civil trials at the Seoul Southern District Court for five years." Aju Economy added, "Lee & Ko has formed an employment/labor specialist team of more than 30 members and actively targets the employment law market.” Aju Economy further stated that "recently, Lee & Ko has been turning up the heat by actively recruiting experts, such as former Daegu District Prosecutor's Office Chief – Sanghyun Lee, who specializes in employment and labor cases.

On April 5, 2024, the Korea Economic Daily reported Attorney Sangmin Kim's remarks from Lee & Ko. Speaking at the monthly forum of Korea ESG Club on March 20, she advised companies to proactively develop due diligence systems for their supply chains, regardless of the reduced scope of the European Union's Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). She emphasized, "With the global expansion of mandatory supply chain due diligence, companies must establish and elevate their own due diligence systems to embody social responsibility and sustainability, thus attaining and sustaining trust from consumers and stakeholders."

On April 4, 2024, Digital Chosun reported that Attorney Hwan-kyoung KO from Lee & Ko was appointed chairman of the Law and Regulation Committee of the Supreme AI Strategy Council. Aiming to position itself among the top three AI-powered nations, the government initiated this council in collaboration with the private sector, including major corporations. The council, divided into six committees, will focus on expanding AI infrastructure such as talent and semiconductors, preempting future technologies through robust AI research and development (R&D), and formulating policies that ensure the safe utilization of AI, with an emphasis on ethical standards.

On April 4, 2024, E-Daily reported that Lee & Ko has recently scouted foreign attorney Mr. Hyungi Ryu, enhancing the expertise of its corporate advisory group. Mr. Ryu is widely recognized for his proficiency in corporate M&A and private equity investment deals, particularly notable are his involvements in Hyundai Motor Group’s JV transaction with Aptiv, the acquisition of Boston Dynamics, and Centroid Investment’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. 

On April 3, 2024, E-daily reported on Lee & Ko’s winning of the Specialist award – Pro Bono at the 2024 IFLR Asia Pacific Awards, hosted by IFLR, a global legal magazine specializing in finance. The firm received this specialist award in recognition of its contribution to winning an administrative lawsuit against the Incheon Airport Office of Immigration on behalf of refugees from Mali and Angola, seeking the cancellation of the decision not to refer refugee status for review. This case has become a significant precedent for the Korean government to conduct the refugee screening in accordance with due process. 

On April 1, 2024, the Bell announced that, in its League Table for the first quarter of 2024, Lee & Ko has topped the list for Merger, Spin-off and Join Venture advisory services, with four deals totaling a transactional volume of KRW 1.5424 trillion, representing an adjusted share of 57.50%. “Lee & Ko has reclaimed its top spot in this category for the first time in eight years since 2016,” the Bell noted, “Kim & Chang moved down to second place after holding the first-place position for five years.” The four transactions in which Lee & Ko has been providing advisory services include SK Energy’s spin-off of SK Entern (KRW 948.7 billion), Douzone BizOn’s merger with Douzone Holdings (KRW 269.1 billion), and the merger of Woori Asset Management and Woori Global Asset Management (KRW 220.3 billion).

On March 30, 2024, Hitnews reported on Lee & Ko’s inclusion of Dong Hyeok Kang, former senior judge at the Seoul Administrative Court. Hitnews highlighted that the recruitment of Mr. Kang has garnered attention due to his unique stance in the Bilberry Fruit Dried Ext. lawsuit, where he was the only judge ruling in favor of the pharmaceutical companies. 

On February 27, 2024, Chosun Biz reported that Lee & Ko held a general meeting of professionals and reappointed Executive Managing Director Mr. Sang Gon Kim as the Managing Partner of the firm. Accordingly, Mr. Kim’s term of office has been extended for another three years. Mr. Kim has been serving as the Executive Managing Director for two years, but was reappointed this time as three years have passed since his appointment as the Managing Partner. In addition, Attorney Mr. Hyeong Gun Lee, Member of the Management Committee and an expert in corporate advice and healthcare, has been newly appointed as the new Managing Partner to lead the corporate group and Attorney Ms. Hyun Joo Oh has been newly appointed as the first female member of the Management Committee. Ms. Oh is an expert in the areas of capital markets with more than 25 years of experience. 

On February 25, 2024, Market Insight, a specialized capital market publication of The Korea Economic Daily, compiled a ranking of Korean law firms’ performances in IPO legal advisory of newly listed public companies in 2023 and ranked Cho Joon Woo of Lee & Ko as the 5th best in the Power Lawyer category for senior lawyers with 11 or more years of experience.

Wins “Best Structured Finance at the 21st Korea IB Awards”

Lee & Ko won the award for Best Structured Finance at the 21st Korea IB Awards organized by Money Today.

Lee & Ko won the award for playing a pivotal role in Asiana Airlines' new aircraft acquisition process, attracting attention from the financial and aviation industries.
" Lee & Ko advised on Korean law for the lenders and the airline in the transaction, which saw Asiana Airlines use the aircraft periodic principal payment insurance (ANPI) product provided by a consortium of insurers to borrow from BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole CIB and ING Capital to acquire two new aircraft," according to Money Today.
 

On February 15, 2024, Law Times reported that Lee & Ko has scouted lawyers who worked as a judge. The firm recruited Dong Hyeok Kang, former senior judge at Seoul Administrative Court, Jun A Chang, former judge at Seoul High Court and Gi Sang Chung, former 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. 

On February 13, 2024, Aju News shared in its news article Lee & Ko’s attorney Mr. Un Ho Kim’s remark on a recent update regarding the Act on the Prevention of Unfair Competition and Protection of Trade Secrets.  Mr. Kim explained that, with proposed amendments to the Act now passed at the Cabinet meeting, “businesses should be mindful that damages awarded in intellectual property cases could increase significantly and so is the possibility of criminal punishment, and should establish meticulous measures to prevent infringement of intellectual property rights.”  He further commented, “in the event of an intellectual property dispute, the right holder needs to actively utilize the relevant provisions in the Act.”

On February 11, 2024, The Fact introduced Lee & Ko’s “Election Response TF Team”. It reported that “Lee & Ko’s Election Response TF Team is featured by providing quick advice from the preparation and campaign stage of the election in case of a problem caused by the candidate’s violation of the election law prior to the election”. Attorney Jung Hwa Han, who is in charge of Lee & Ko’s Election Response TF Team, stated that the team “consists of experts who have practical experience in elections while serving in the prosecution service and court” and that “the team is capable of providing a multi-dimensional and comprehensive response at all stages from the election preparation stage to the National Election Commission inspection stage, investigation stage and trial stage”.