The Financial Compliance Practice Group at Lee & Ko provides clients with a comprehensive range of legal services relating to regulatory compliance matters relevant to all types of financial institutions and financial transactions.
For decades, the Group has guided clients through the maze of intricate, complicated and rapidly evolving financial regulatory issues that must be dealt with in Korea, and we are proud of our record in facilitating our clients’ successful and efficient completion of necessary regulatory compliance procedures.
This record includes assisting numerous foreign financial institutions in successfully starting and developing business operations in Korea and obtaining the necessary licenses to do so.

Our services in this area include assistance with obtaining business licenses required under Korean law, completing business and financial product registrations, filing reports and obtaining various types of regulatory approvals in connection with financial business activities and transactions, establishing effective compliance systems required under Korean laws and regulations, and providing representation in connection with routine and extraordinary audits and inspections, as well as in connection with administrative disciplinary procedures initiated by regulatory authorities such as the Financial Supervisory Service.
With the help of our accounting experts, we also assist clients with various accounting issues related to the services of the Accounting Oversight Division of the Financial Supervisory Service.

Major Cases

The following are some of the many cases that have been handled by the Financial Services & Compliance Practice Group for banks in recent years

Advised Hanil Bank in connection with its merger with the Commercial Bank of Korea
Advised Seoul Bank in connection with the sale of Seoul Bank shares to HSBC Holdings BV
Advised Korea First Bank in connection with its asset sales to Newbridge Capital
Advised Woori Bank in connection with establishment of Woori Financial Holding company
Advised Hana Bank in connection with its acquisition of Seoul Bank
Advised Bank Mellat in connection with establishment of a branch
Advised Citibank in connection with its acquisition of Hanmi Bank - M&A Deal of the Year Award from International Financial Law Review (IFLR)
Advised Rabo Bank in connection with establishment of a representative office
Advised Hana Bank in connection with establishment of Hana Financial Holding company

For more information on the Group’s regulatory compliance practice in relation to securities and securities transactions, please see our Capital Markets Practice Group; in relation to asset management business activities, please see our Asset Management Practice Group; and in relation to insurance business activities, please see our Insurance Practice Group.