In a lawsuit seeking to cancel approximately KRW 59 billion in corporate income taxes with respect to joint tax liability incurred as a result of a spin-off, Lee & Ko’s tax team successfully prevailed in all claims on behalf of Dongbu Metal Co., Ltd. (“Dongbu Metal”) on September 25, 2015. The tax authority imposed taxes against Dongbu Metal, a company newly established as a result of Donbu HiTek’s spin-off, under the theory that Donbu Metal should be jointly liable for taxes imposed against Dongbu Hitek regarding the taxation of goodwill generated from a merger (this case was also represented by Lee & Ko). The core issue of this case involved the tax authority’s ability to impose taxes on a jointly liable party when the authority in fact failed to send a tax assessment notice within the statutory period. Lee & Ko’s tax team won on all issues before the Seoul Administrative Court and such court ruling resulted in overruling the previous tax rulings for which the tax authority relied on during the current litigation.