Lee & Ko's White Collar Crime Practice Group offers unparalleled legal advice and practical solutions to businesses and individuals facing allegations of criminal wrongdoing. The professionals of the Group take pride in utilizing their unique expertise and experience in securing the most satisfactory outcome for their clients in criminal and quasi-criminal, regulator proceedings. The professionals of the Group are the leaders in the field. Former judicial officers, former criminal prosecutors, former American criminal prosecutors, and the lawyers with law enforcement background from the Korea National Police Agency are among them.

Lee & Ko's White Collar Crime Practice Group is solution-oriented. The Group understands the high-risk, high-stake, and high-stress nature of being a target of criminal investigation. To best protect and serve its clients’ interests, the Group operates around taskforces. An individual taskforce is comprised of professionals with relevant expertise and experience, and each taskforce flexibly expands and shrinks as often as necessary as the matter progresses. Using this approach, the Group can promptly deliver comprehensive legal solutions to clients throughout all stages of representation in the most economically viable manner.

Lee & Ko's White Collar Crime Practice Group distinguishes itself from others by focusing on clients’ individual needs, and exploring all possible options to meet clients’ needs. This approach includes aggressively pursuing offensive tactics on behalf of clients against wrongdoers. The Group knows how to identify, locate and secure inculpatory evidence to facilitate said compulsory initiation of a criminal investigation, and eventually, a criminal prosecution. Working closely with various government agencies, the Group is highly experienced in representing clients in the aforementioned process.

Overall, Lee & Ko's White Collar Crime Practice Group is confident that it can provide clients with comprehensive and wide-ranging legal options to clients in the most reliable, effective and efficient manner. That is Lee & Ko’s promise.

Expertise

General Business Crimes

The professionals of the White Collar Crime Practice Group are experienced in handling commonly encountered criminal issues in a business setting, including a breach of fiduciary duty, embezzlement, fraud, defamation, and obstruction and interference with business operations. The Group is also familiar with criminal disputes in many industries, encompassing, among others, education, food, environment, medical and trade, just to name a few.

Securities

Insider trading and securities fraud cases require special knowledge and understanding of securities related laws and particular practices of specific industries. The White Collar Crime Practice Group is well versed and experienced with relevant laws and practices, including investigations by the Financial Supervisory Service, the main government agency, and resulting criminal prosecutions.

Trade Secrets & Intellectual Property

Trade secrets and intellectual property are perhaps the most significant assets of a modern business. The White Collar Crime Practice Group has extensive knowledge and experience in prosecuting and defending claims of trade secret misappropriation and intellectual property infringement.

Information & Telecommunication

With technological advances, more emphasis is placed on protecting private information entrusted to businesses. Working closely with Lee & Ko’s Technology, Media & Telecommunication Practice Group, the White Collar Crime Practice Group provides comprehensive legal solutions to protect and enforce privacy rights.

Antitrust & Competition

The enforcement of antitrust and anti-competition laws in Korea may involve an administrative review, a criminal investigation, or both. Therefore, the outcome of an administrative review significantly affects the outcome of a subsequent criminal prosecution. The White Collar Crime Practice Group works closely with Lee & Ko’s Antitrust & Competition Practice Group to provide a full range of legal services to clients in connection with administrative reviews and subsequent criminal prosecutions, if any.

Tax & Customs

The White Collar Crime Practice Group works in concert with Lee & Ko’s Tax and Customs Practice Group, which is known for its expertise and resources, and provides complete advice and guidance to clients from a tax audit stage to the criminal prosecution.

Construction & Real Estate

Lee & Ko’s Construction & Real Estate Practice Group is involved with most of the reconstruction and redevelopment projects in Korea. The White Collar Crime Practice Group works closely with the Construction & Real Estate Practice Group, and provides strategic legal services relating to potential criminal issues that may arise at various stages of reconstruction and redevelopment projects.

Anti-corruption & Compliance

In pursuit of transparency, the anti-corruption enforcement in Korea is getting stricter, and related laws and regulations are constantly evolving, giving increased investigative powers to the responsible government agencies. As such, the need for close monitoring of internal corporate activities and business practices are growing in order to comply with anti-corruption laws and regulations. The White Collar Crime Practice Group provides comprehensive legal solutions relating to anti-corruption laws and regulations, assisting them in drafting internal corporate policies, advising clients on compliance issues, and representing them in government investigations and prosecutions.

Labor

Competent legal representation in labor-related criminal matters demands firm understanding of labor laws and customary practices of a particular industry. The White Collar Crime Practice Group collaborates with Lee & Ko’s Labor & Employment Practice Group to provide legal counseling on criminal issues relating to labor matters.

Healthcare

The professionals of the White Collar Crime Practice Group understand that the healthcare industry is always evolving and challenging legal issues constantly arise. Working closely with Lee & Ko’s Healthcare Practice Group, the Group provides creative solutions to clients in connection with legal issues specific to the healthcare industry.

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Major Cases

Lee & Ko has successfully represented clients in many of the landmark cases that attracted nationwide attention in Korea.

Successfully defended former senior government officials (including the Chief Economic Adviser to the President and the Minister of Department of Finance), who were prosecuted on criminal charges arising out of the financial crisis in late 1990’s that forced Korea into a state of economic turmoil.

Successfully represented key government officials in a criminal case involving allegations that one of the largest conglomerates in Korea illegally funneled financial assistance to the North Korean government. It was part of the conglomerate’s long-term strategic plan, aimed at promoting reunification of the two Koreas. A number of key government officials and high-ranking executives of that conglomerate were indicted. The case attracted significant national attention due to the sensitive political nature and importance of the issues involved.

Successfully represented clients in criminal matters based on large-scale industrial disasters that made headlines in Korea, including (i) the collapse of a river bridge (the Sungsoo Bridge in Seoul) in 1994 that claimed lives of 32 people (the largest tragedy reported at the time), (ii) a subway fire in one of the largest cities (Daegu) in 2003, which claimed hundreds of lives, and (iii) the largest oil spill (Taean) in 2007 that resulted in serious threats to marine environments and caused severe economic harms to local residents.

General Crimes

Successfully defended a member of the National Assembly, who was accused of violating the Public Official Election Act.
Successfully defended a high-ranking public official against a charge of bribery.

Business Crimes

Successfully represented an international conglomerate in an anti-corruption case, involving allegations of bribery and creating slush funds.
Successfully defended the CEO of a major local pharmaceutical company against allegations of embezzlement.

Securities

Successfully defended the largest shareholder of one of the largest steel companies in Korea against allegations of misusing inside information.
Successfully defended the largest investment consulting firm in Korea against allegations of misusing inside information.
Successfully defended a director of one of the largest securities firm in Korea against allegations of misusing inside information.

Trade Secrets & Intellectual Property

Successfully represented the largest local manufacturer of special-type of gas used for the semiconductor manufacturing process in a trade secret misappropriation case.
Successfully represented an overseas manufacturer of a special-type of containers (used for dispensing chemicals) by initiating a trade secret misappropriation complaint against local competitors to commence a compulsory criminal prosecution.
Successfully defended former employees of an LED manufacturer in a trade secret infringement case.
Successfully defended the largest transit pass service provider in a patent infringement case.

Information & Telecommunication

Successfully defended the largest oil and gas company in Korea in a case involving improper disclosure of customer data.
Successfully defended a major broadband company in a case involving a failure to secure customer data.
Successfully defended a major credit card company in a case involving allegations of misusing customers’ financial information.

Antitrust & Competition

Successfully defended a construction company, being accused of forming a cartel for the sale of a large-scale condominium development project.
Successfully defended a construction company, being charged under criminal cartel law arising out of a subway construction project
Successfully defended a major LPG importer, being accused criminal cartel conduct, that could have resulted in the largest monetary penalty, if the allegations were found to be true.

Tax & Customs

Successfully defended a client against a large scale seizure, and avoided a monetary penalty in a case involving the importation of fertilizers where the imported products were misclassified (HS number), thereby lowering customs duties.
Obtained a "not-guilty" verdict for a client in a tariff evasion case by securing favorable evidence from overseas (China).
Successfully defended a client in a case involving an unreported importation of a flag of convenience vessel.

Construction & Real Estate

Successfully defended an executive of a housing redevelopment association against a charge of breach of trust in relation to miscalculation of the conversion ratio.
Successfully defended a president of a development company against a charge of breach of trust and fraud in relation to project financing.
Successfully defended a major construction company against a charge of violating the Building Act in relation to its construction of a large condominium complex.

Anti-corruption & Compliance

Provided legal counseling on compliance issues to a major Korean set-top box manufacturer.
Provided legal counseling on embezzlement and breach of trust issues related to a project financing matter to a major commercial bank.
Provided legal counseling on digital forensics analysis related to bank fraud to a public financing company.

Labor

Successfully defended a president of a bank against a charge of violating the Labor Standards Act in relation to the wage peak system.
Handled a lawsuit involving business disruption due to a walkout by contract workers.

Healthcare

Successfully defended a foreign pharmaceutical company against a charge of providing illegal rebates.
Successfully defended clients charged with violating applicable laws.