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Lee & Ko advised SW Shipping on its acquisition, by way of a business transfer, of H-Line Shipping’s business segment that transports coal for the power generation subsidiaries of Korea Electric Power Corporation. The asset transfer agreement covering vessels and other assets was signed on May 21, 2026.

As legal counsel to SW Shipping, Lee & Ko advised on all aspects of the transaction, including legal due diligence on the target business and the business transfer agreement. In particular, Lee & Ko efficiently addressed complex legal issues arising from the transfer of vessel assets and ship financing, thereby contributing to the successful execution of the agreement.
 

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.
 

Lee & Ko advised E&F Private Equity (“E&F PE”) in its acquisition of KES Environmental Development Co., Ltd. (the “Company”), the operator of the sole private waste landfill in the Seoul Metropolitan Area, from JV Partners (the “Transaction”). The Transaction was executed through acquisition by E&F PE of existing and newly issued shares of the Company, resulting in an acquisition of approximately 99.4% equity stake in the Company in the aggregate. The total transaction value, combining the purchase price for existing shares and subscription price for new shares, was approximately KRW 174 billion.

Lee & Ko successfully contributed to the completion of the Transaction by providing comprehensive legal services to the buyer, including structuring analysis, legal due diligence on the Company, negotiation and execution of the Share Purchase Agreement and Share Subscription Agreement, and transaction closing.

Lee & Ko’s IP & Technology Practice Group represented VSI, the holder of a patent for an “ionization device,” and reversed a first-instance judgment that had ruled entirely against the client, on appeal in a patent infringement damages lawsuit. Lee & Ko obtained a decision recommending settlement from the IP High Court providing for the payment of damages, thereby securing recognition of the counterparty’s liability for damages, and further successfully enforced the damages claim to recover the client's losses.

The client had filed a damages lawsuit before the Seoul Central District Court, but the court dismissed the claim in its entirety on the ground that the statute of limitations had expired. Lee & Ko then took on the case at the appellate stage before the IP High Court and conducted the litigation.

With respect to the first-instance judgment, which held that the date of the preliminary injunction decision marked the commencement of the short-term statute of limitations, Lee & Ko argued that, given the inherent uncertainty of patent disputes, the injured party cannot be expected to recognize that damage has occurred until the invalidation and scope-of-rights confirmation proceedings have been finally resolved. Lee & Ko further argued that, although a preliminary injunction seeking to prohibit infringement differs in its substance from a damages claim, since both arise from the same underlying legal relationship—namely, the infringement of the patent—the exercise of rights through the preliminary injunction application also interrupts the statute of limitations for the damages claim, and that because this interruption continues for as long as the preliminary injunction remains in effect, the limitations period had not expired by the time the lawsuit was filed. Although the case presented an issue with no precedent, by carefully connecting the reasoning on the material scope of limitations interruption with the progress of the invalidation and scope-of-rights confirmation cases, Lee & Ko secured a determination from the IP High Court that the statute of limitations had not expired. The counterparty accepted the court’s determination and agreed to its recommendation for settlement.

As a result, the settlement decision on legitimate damages was finalized before the IP High Court, bringing the litigation to an early conclusion and successfully securing payment of the damages, so that the client successfully achieved the objectives of the litigation. This case is highly significant in that, in a situation where the client had been at risk of not having its legitimate claim recognized due to the expiration of the statute of limitations and even of having to bear the counterparty’s litigation costs, the client’s losses were recovered by presenting a refined counterargument that a preliminary injunction application also interrupts the statute of limitations for the related damages claim.

Lee & Ko represented Volta Energy Solutions S.à r.l. (“VES”), a Luxembourg company, in the sale of its 100% equity interest in Circuit Foil Luxembourg (“CFL”), a copper foil manufacturing and sales company located in Luxembourg, to an institutional private equity fund (“PEF”) managed by Skylake Equity Partners (“Skylake”). VES is a subsidiary of Solus Advanced Materials Co., Ltd. (a KOSPI-listed company), a key portfolio company of Skylake. This transaction was valued at approximately KRW 300 billion, with the Share Purchase Agreement executed on January 21, 2026, and the transaction closing on April 28, 2026.

This transaction involved the transfer of assets by VES, a portfolio company of Skylake, to another fund under the control of Skylake, thus resembling a type of continuation fund sale, and was executed within a tight timeframe following the termination of a prior sale agreement between VES and a Chinese buyer.

The transaction proceeded under an extremely demanding schedule from commencement to signing, while involving a multitude of considerations as a multi-layered cross-border transaction – the target company CFL and the seller VES were located in Luxembourg, CFL conducted operations through overseas subsidiaries in China and the U.S., and the ultimate controlling shareholders of both seller and buyer were located in Korea. In addition, the transaction required the examination and resolution of various complex legal issues, including ensuring the definitive termination of the prior sale agreement with the Chinese buyer to insulate the related risks, reviewing and preparing credit agreements and documentation on an expedited basis to secure bridge financing for acquisition financing, advising on foreign direct investment (FDI) filing procedures with the Luxembourg authorities, and resolving potential conflicts of interest arising from the nature of a continuation fund transaction between a Skylake portfolio company and another fund managed by Skylake.

Despite such complexity and tight timeline, Lee & Ko played a critical role in the successful execution of the Share Purchase Agreement and the consummation of this transaction by providing proactive support and practical advice based on its expertise accumulated through its continued support and representation since advising on the original acquisition of Solus Advanced Materials.
 

Lee & Ko advised on an asset transfer transaction involving the reciprocal transfer of LNG carriers and very large crude carriers (VLCCs) owned by H-Line Shipping and SK Shipping, together with the related contracts of carriage and financing agreements. The transaction involved dozens of large vessels and numerous related contracts, giving rise to a range of complex issues. Additional issues arose when armed conflict broke out in the Middle East immediately before signing.

Lee & Ko provided precise legal analysis and practical advice, enabling the parties to address the associated risks and execute the transaction documents successfully.
 

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.

 

In a case defended by Lee & Ko, the prosecution seized materials reflecting communications between the client, an asset management company, and its attorneys. In response, we filed an interlocutory appeal and obtained a decision from the Seoul Southern District Court recognizing attorney-client privilege.

Although the prosecution filed a re-appeal against the above decision, the Supreme Court held that the prosecution’s seizure had infringed the appellants’ constitutional right to the assistance of counsel. The Court further ruled that attorney-client privilege (“ACP”) constitutes an essential element of the constitutional right to the assistance of counsel, and that the seizure of legal advice documents and similar materials concerning a criminal case that were created between a suspect or defendant and their counsel may infringe the constitutional right to the assistance of counsel, and therefore, in principle, should not be permitted.

Until the amendment to the Attorney-at-Law Act, which passed the plenary session on January 29, 2026, Korea lacked an explicit legislative basis for attorney-client privilege, and a structural limitation persisted whereby documents and electronic information created in the course of providing legal advice were subject to broad investigation by investigative authorities. From the earliest stages of the search and seizure, Lee & Ko consistently argued that the seizure of materials reflecting communications between attorney and client was an unlawful measure contrary to the Constitution and the law, thereby bringing about a shift in judicial reasoning.

Through this Supreme Court decision and the 2026 amendment to the Attorney-at-Law Act, attorney-client privilege has become firmly established within our legal system as a doctrine grounded in a clear constitutional and legislative basis.

Lee & Ko’s Criminal Litigation Practice Group will continue to devote its best efforts to protecting clients’ defense rights, drawing on expertise and strategic responsiveness suited to the evolving legal environment.