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On March 12, 2026, Hahn & Company Air Services Holdings entered into a share purchase agreement with Korean Air, under which Hahn & Company agreed to sell its entire stake, representing 80% of the total issued shares, in Korean Air C&D Services Co., Ltd. (“KC&D”) to Korean Air for KRW 750 billion. The transaction is expected to close after June 2026. 

Lee & Ko advised Hahn & Company from the earliest stages of the transaction and led the deal throughout its entirety, providing comprehensive and timely advice across every phase. This included reviewing the transaction structure, preparing responses and materials for the buyer’s requests for information, developing negotiation strategy, and conducting legal analysis of the relevant issues in connection with the buy-side due diligence process, as well as drafting, negotiating, and executing the transaction documentation, including the MOU, NDA, and share purchase agreement. 

Given the circumstances of the parties, the transaction required a number of complex issues to be resolved within a tight timeframe. The parties held differing positions on key points of negotiation, including the purchase price adjustment, the refinancing structure for the acquisition financing, and special indemnification provisions, calling for careful and deliberate negotiation. Throughout this process, Lee & Ko worked closely with the client to understand its objectives, proposed practical alternatives and optimal solutions, and helped strike a balanced outcome in the negotiations, contributing to the successful execution of the agreement within a limited timeframe.
 

Lee & Ko successfully secured a full acquittal at both the trial and appellate levels for Mirae Asset Global Investments Co., Ltd. and Mirae Asset Life Insurance Co., Ltd. (collectively, “Mirae Affiliates”) in a criminal case alleging violations of the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act (“MRFTA”).

The prosecution alleged that the Mirae Affiliates unfairly allocated business to golf courses operated by an affiliate with a high ownership ratio held by a specially related party, thereby conferring undue benefits. The trial court rendered a full acquittal on January 16, 2025, and Lee & Ko prevailed again on appeal on October 24, 2025. The appellate ruling is particularly noteworthy given that related administrative litigation, after dismissal by the Seoul High Court, remains pending before the Supreme Court.

The principal issue in the criminal proceedings was whether the Mirae Affiliates possessed the requisite criminal intent to confer, or to tolerate the conferral of, undue benefits upon a specially related party through the use of group-owned golf courses.

Lee & Ko argued that establishing criminal intent with respect to abstract legal concepts under the MRFTA requires strict and careful proof. The firm emphasized that criminal liability should not be imposed where corporate group-level decisions reflect reasonable business judgment. Lee & Ko demonstrated that the use of group-owned golf courses formed part of a rational asset management strategy and that there was no intent or acceptance of conferring undue benefits.

Through meticulous review of documentary evidence and extensive witness examination, Lee & Ko successfully established the absence of criminal intent. The decision is particularly significant given the limited criminal precedent concerning the conferral of undue benefits to specially related parties. The appellate court clarified that criminal intent cannot be inferred solely from formal considerations, such as a high ownership ratio of a specially related party or the mere potential for indirect advantages in management succession, and underscored the need for caution in recognizing intent in the context of abstract statutory concepts under the MRFTA.

 

Lee & Ko advised Petrico Partners PE on the acquisition, through LAAA Investment (“SPC”), of a controlling stake in Kakao Games, a KOSDAQ-listed company, leading the transaction from the execution of the share purchase agreement, new share subscription agreement, and convertible bond subscription agreement on March 24, 2026, through to closing on June 19, 2026. The transaction consisted of (i) the SPC's purchase of 18,107,732 existing shares of Kakao Games from Kakao, the seller, for approximately KRW 248 billion, (ii) the SPC's subscription for 17,458,354 new shares issued by Kakao Games through a third-party allotment for approximately KRW 240 billion, and (iii) the SPC's subscription for approximately KRW 60 billion in unregistered, unsecured, privately placed convertible bonds issued by Kakao Games. Following closing, the SPC became the largest shareholder of Kakao Games, holding approximately 33.43%, with Kakao remaining as the second-largest shareholder, holding approximately 14.68%.

The transaction involved the acquisition of Kakao Games, a KOSDAQ-listed company, through an SPC jointly invested in with a strategic investor, requiring prompt coordination with the strategic investor on investment terms. The deal was also highly complex in structure, combining the subscription of new shares and convertible bonds issued by a listed company, which required careful review of the related legal issues and their reflection in both the transaction structure and the transaction documents.

Lee & Ko represented the SPC as buyer and successfully carried out a wide range of work across the transaction, including legal due diligence, drafting, review, revision, and negotiation support for the share purchase agreement, new share subscription agreement, convertible bond subscription agreement, and the acquisition financing loan and security agreements, negotiation of terms relating to W&I insurance, business combination filings, and coordination with the exchange on disclosure matters relating to the listed company.
 

Lee & Ko advised HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co., Ltd., the intermediate holding company for the shipbuilding business of HD Hyundai Group, on its USD 1.55 billion overseas exchangeable bond offering. The bonds are exchangeable into common shares of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. held by HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, and the offering was successfully completed amid strong interest from global investors in Korea’s shipbuilding industry. The transaction attracted significant market attention as a large-scale overseas exchangeable bond offering involving shares of a key listed subsidiary of one of Korea’s leading shipbuilding groups.

Overseas exchangeable bond offerings require comprehensive review of various Korean law issues, including disclosure requirements relating to the exchange property, determination of the exchange price, exchange procedures, foreign exchange regulations and capital markets regulations. Lee & Ko provided comprehensive legal advice to the issuer throughout the transaction, including Korean law review of the offering structure, review of transaction documents and the offering circular, and advice on disclosure and governmental approval matters. Following its advice on LG Chem’s USD 2 billion overseas exchangeable bond offering in 2025, Lee & Ko once again demonstrated its strong expertise in overseas equity-linked bond offerings by Korean companies through its successful representation in this large-scale transaction.

Lee & Ko successfully represented NICE Credit Information ("NICE CI"), the Vietnamese entity of NICE Information Service, in obtaining a Credit Information License from the State Bank of Vietnam. This license is the 4th Credit Information License ever issued by the State Bank of Vietnam, and it carries particular significance as the first Credit Information License granted to a 100% Foreign Invested Enterprise. With this license, NICE CI has secured the legal basis to become the only foreign invested enterprise in Vietnam authorized to provide credit information services.

Following the filing of the license application around July 2025, the license approval was granted in an unusually short period of time. Since the filing, Lee & Ko Vietnam team has supported the licensing process on a range of practical matters, including analysis of Vietnam law, regulatory trends concerning the credit information business, and IT infrastructure requirements. Throughout the process, Lee & Ko Vietnam team maintained close communication with both the client and officials of the State Bank of Vietnam and responded promptly to the requests.

Vietnamese financial institutions have not yet developed credit information infrastructure or data based risk management systems comparable to those in Korea. NICE CI's successful entry into the Vietnamese market is expected to bring credit information services to the market based on objective data, such as early warning systems (EWS) and fraud detection systems (FDS). This is expected to help strengthen the risk management capabilities and infrastructure of the Vietnamese financial sector going forward.

The Lee & Ko Vietnam team previously advised IBK Industrial Bank of Korea on its application to establish a local subsidiary in Vietnam, as well as Korea Development Bank's Hanoi branch in obtaining its final license. Building on this track record, the Lee & Ko Vietnam team has now also successfully completed this matter for NICE Information Service, securing Vietnam's first Credit Information License granted to a foreign invested enterprise This further demonstrates Lee & Ko Vietnam team's practical expertise, local network, and ability to handle matters swiftly in support of Korean financial institutions expanding into the Vietnamese market.
 

Douzone Bizon, one of Korea's largest software developers, is known for its ERP software as well as its mobile solutions, cybersecurity, and groupware services. The seller decided to transfer control of the company to a buyer capable of growing it into a global software developer.

The transaction combined a controlling stake sale with a voluntary delisting effected through a tender offer, presenting a number of intricate legal and structural challenges. Recent amendments to the Korean Commercial Code, which expanded directors’ fiduciary duties and strengthened protections for minority shareholders, required the transaction to carefully balance the interests of both controlling and minority shareholders. The involvement of multiple sellers with differing priorities also meant that the deal structure was the subject of extended discussion and was revised on several occasions

Throughout the process, Lee & Ko coordinated the interests of the sellers, proposed an efficient transaction structure, and led the drafting and negotiation of the transaction documents. Following receipt of the requisite government approvals earlier in the year, the transaction closed on March 26, 2026.
 

Lee & Ko advised LS MnM on its investment of USD 400 million (approximately KRW 590 billion) in PT Teluk Metal Industry (“PT TMI”), an Indonesian company operating a newly established nickel smelting business, through a combination of new share subscriptions and shareholder loans.

The transaction forms part of LS MnM’s broader expansion into the battery materials business. LS MnM's decision to acquire an interest in PT TMI in Indonesia was aimed at securing a stable production base for nickel sulfate, a key material used in the cathode of secondary batteries. The transaction was subject to a particularly elevated degree of complexity compared to typical deals, given the extensive regulatory issues involved under Indonesian law relating to foreign investment, environmental compliance, plant establishment, and industrial complex construction. Addressing these regulatory issues required a phased investment structure involving common shares, preferred shares, and shareholder loans, together with a series of related commercial agreements negotiated between the parties.

 

Lee & Ko’s Antitrust & Competition Practice Group successfully represented a prominent Korean insurance company in criminal proceedings concerning alleged bid rigging in connection with insurance contract bids issued by the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH). Following the acquittal by the trial court, Lee & Ko successfully defended the acquittal on appeal.

Despite the existence of leniency applications submitted by certain participants, Lee & Ko carefully analyzed the credibility and reliability of the statements and evidence. The appellate court concluded that there was insufficient evidence to establish the existence of collusion. This case is particularly noteworthy as the acquittal was upheld not because of a lack of intent, but because the Prosecutor’s Office failed to sufficiently prove there was a collusive agreement.

This outcome demonstrates Lee & Ko’s command of complex evidentiary issues, rigorous factual analysis, and comprehensive defense strategy in the trial and appellate court proceedings. Lee & Ko systematically challenged the evidence, including leniency statements, by scrutinizing their admissibility and credibility and persuasively highlighting the limitations. The acquittal reflects the Antitrust & Competition Practice Group's depth of expertise in complex cartel defense, from evidence analysis to appellate advocacy.

Lee & Ko has advised the Korean consortium (as borrower) comprised of Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd., POSCO Eco & Challenge Co. Ltd. and Hyundai Engineering Co., Ltd., in connection with the consortium’s Syndicated Discounted Repurchase Facility financing for the construction of the Panama Metro Line 3. 

The financing was structured as a securitization of government payment certificates (Certificados de No Objeción, or CDNOs) via three separate facilities provided by KEXIM, IDB Invest (the private sector arm of the Inter-American Development Bank), and a syndicate of seven international banks covered by K-Sure.

The funding will be used by the consortium to extend the Panama Metro Line 3 under the Panama Canal and further demonstrates the trust that international financiers place in the technical expertise of Korean contractors exporting their skills and know-how worldwide.