Recent Developments

On September 25, 2023, Financial News reported on an article published by Hyun Koo Kang of Lee & Ko.  Hyun Koo Kang, Co-Head of the Digital Finance Team at Lee & Ko, published an article titled "Review of Major Issues and Improvements in Practice Related to STOs" in Volume 24, Issue 2 of the Securities Law Review published in August.  The article discussed major legal issues and improvements in practice related to security token offerings (STOs), which are the issuance and distribution of tokens that have characteristics of a security.

On September 25, 2023, The Bell published an interview with Jun Woo Cho of Lee & Ko.  "Jun Woo Cho is a capital markets lawyer and has been practicing for over 13 years since joining Lee & Ko in 2010.  He is the head of its IPO advisory practice," said The Bell.  Mr. Cho cited Samsung Biologics’s listing on the Korean Securities Market as his most memorable IPO, saying, "It was a lot of work, but it was also a great opportunity to learn."

September 20, 2023 - In an announcement featured in Law Times, Ju Bong Jang, a partner at Lee & Ko, has been recognized as one of 'ALB's Asia Top 15 TMT Lawyers' for the year. This prestigious accolade, awarded by Asian Legal Business (ALB), highlights Attorney Jang’s exceptional expertise in the Technology, Media, and Telecommunications (TMT) field. With over two decades of experience in TMT, Attorney Jang has demonstrated his capabilities in areas such as IT, broadcasting, telecommunications, data privacy, consumer disputes, mergers and acquisitions, and general corporate matters.

The Korea Herald Business reported on 18 September 2023 that Mr Yoo, an attorney of Lee & Ko, won the cross examination contest of the Remote Oral Advocacy Programme (ROAP) Asia 2023.  ROAP Asia is an advocacy competition for young and junior international arbitration practitioners in the Asia-Pacific region, and Mr Yoo is the first Korean attorney to win the cross examination contest.  Mr Yoo joined Lee & Ko’s international arbitration team in 2019.  He acts for clients in international construction and commercial arbitrations, and also advises on the enforcement and recognition of arbitral awards.

On September 13, 2023, News1 published an article on Lee & Ko attorney Hwan Sung Park’s panel participation in an upcoming debate to be held by the National Assembly. At the “National Assembly Debate Forum on Introducing K-Discovery for Patent Infringement Litigation,” to be held by the National Assembly and Korean Intellectual Property Office on September 14, Mr. Park, drawing on his years of hands-on experience, will present his opinions on issues relating to the proposed discovery system, including ways for minimizing leak of trade secret information in the course of factual investigation of experts and for excluding legal opinions from the scope of such expert investigation.

On September 11, 2023, Aju Business Daily reported on a comment made by Seyoung Kang, an attorney at the law firm of Lee & Ko. In the case of S-Oil, where one subcontractor employee died and nine workers suffered serious injuries due to a site explosion, the prosecution, in contrast to previous cases, pointed out only the Chief Safety Officer (CSO) as the managerial personnel for investigation, rather than the CEO. Seyoung Kang noted, "As a result of the S-Oil accident, there is a growing trend among companies to appoint CSOs or other executive directors as the actual managerial personnel," and further added, "This trend is not limited to large corporations; recently, it has been observed in mid-sized manufacturing and equipment companies as well as public institutions."

Legal Times reported that Ji Hyeong Park, an attorney at Lee & Ko, has been selected as the “Asia Top 15 Female Lawyers 2023” by Asian Legal Business (ALB) Magazine. Since joining Lee & Ko in 2012, Attorney Park has specialized in corporate advisory services, particularly in areas such as mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, and other corporate-related matters. ALB Magazine is a prominent legal publication in the Asia-Pacific region, and in its August issue, it recognized 15 exceptional female lawyers in Asia who have displayed outstanding achievements throughout their careers.

On August 17, 2023, the renowned legal publication in Korea, Law Times, spotlighted an opinion contributed by Hwan Kyoung Ko, a partner at Lee & Ko. In his opinion, Mr. Ko remarked, "As we commemorate the third anniversary of the introduction of the pseudonymized information system, it's noteworthy that the Korean government unveiled the 'Extended Use of Pseudonymized Information Plan' on July 21, 2023. This plan presents pivotal resolutions to the myriad challenges encountered in the realm of pseudonymized information system application." Exploring the plan's details, Mr. Ko commented, "The successful implementation of the Extended Use of Pseudonymized Information Plan holds immense potential. It promises to offer great benefits to both data subjects and businesses alike, especially in this rapidly advancing digital age, driven by technologies like artificial intelligence."

On July 28, 2023, the Herald Economy reported that Lee & Ko has been selected as a ‘Tier 1’ law firm in all eight categories by the recently published IFLR (International Financial Law Review) 1000 2023 edition. According to the article, “Lee & Ko has secured this exceptional status for more than 10 consecutive years and has been nominated once again this year as a Tier 1 law firm in all practices areas.” The firm’s nomination demonstrates “its position as a leading law firm in Korea with a high level of competence,” the article added.

On July 26, 2023, the Financial News reported Lee & Ko’s recent steps to enhance and reorganize its Virtual Assets Investigation Response Team. The team, led by Mr. Kwangbae Park, an experienced attorney who previously served as the Head of the Joint Investigation Department for Securities Crimes of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office, includes not only criminal lawyers but also several lawyers from the Digital Finance team and expert advisers, the Financial News explained. The news also added, “Lee & Ko’s expert teams, such as the Digital Finance team and Criminal Defense team, have collaborated efficiently and seamlessly to successfully carry out leading cases that involve financial and criminal regulations related to virtual assets.”

On July 24th, 2023, MONEYTODAY quoted Lee & Ko Partner Hwan Sung Park for its article. With big law firms, including Lee & Ko, setting up the organizational structure in relation to the introduction of K-Discovery and enhancing their response capabilities, Mr. Park stated, “Once K-Discovery is introduced, big law firms with the manpower and expertise will most likely be retained to handle the matters.”

On July 23, 2023, Lee & Ko’s Virtual Assets Investigation Response Team, led by Mr. Kwang Bae Park, was featured in the Korea Economic Daily. The Korea Economic Daily reported that “Lee & Ko plans to incorporate the Virtual Assets Investigation Response TF into the official structure as the Virtual Assets Investigation Response Team, as early as the end of this month,” and “assign leading lawyers in the field of virtual assets from the existing criminal and digital finance teams.”