Recent Developments

On April 15, 2024, E-Daily featured an interview with Lee & Ko’s attorney Seok Pyo Hong. The firm has recently received the Specialist award – Pro Bono at the 2024 IFLR Asia Pacific Awards, hosted by IFLR, a global financial and legal magazine, in recognition of its contribution to winning a lawsuit involving a refugee case. Commenting on this achievement, Mr. Hong, overseeing the firm’s overall public interest activities, said, “This signifies that Lee & Ko’s contribution to public interest has been acknowledged as the most impactful among law firms across the Asia-Pacific region, including Australia.” He further noted, “The award carries considerable significance in that it is unprecedented for domestic law firms to be awarded for their pro bono activities.”

On April 3, 2024, E-daily reported on Lee & Ko’s winning of the Specialist award – Pro Bono at the 2024 IFLR Asia Pacific Awards, hosted by IFLR, a global legal magazine specializing in finance. The firm received this specialist award in recognition of its contribution to winning an administrative lawsuit against the Incheon Airport Office of Immigration on behalf of refugees from Mali and Angola, seeking the cancellation of the decision not to refer refugee status for review. This case has become a significant precedent for the Korean government to conduct the refugee screening in accordance with due process. 

On February 28, 2024, Law Times reported that Lee & Ko’s Pro Bono Committee delivered donations to four organizations such as “Heavenly Dream School”, an alternative school for North Korean defectors, “Together Goodwill Employment Support Center for North Korean Defectors” supporting North Korean defectors to settle in the society, “Open Door Youth Foundation”, a family community for children and youths abandoned due to abuse and “Myoungryun Orphanage”, a community living institution for children and youths. The donations delivered by Lee & Ko to these four organizations have been raised through the “Matching Grant Method” in which Lee & Ko Pro Bono Committee has additionally supported the same amount gained as the profits of “Lee & Ko Bazaar Sharing Love” hosted last year. 

On February 28, 2024, Edaily reported the successful completion of “Lee & Ko Friends” project, a program in which Lee & Ko attorneys and North Korean defector university students are matched one-on-one as a “Older Friend” and “Younger Friend”. The Lee & Ko Friends project, jointly run by Lee & Ko and social welfare foundation Together Goodwill’s employment support center for North Korean defectors, is a pro bono activity that helps North Korean defector university students to adapt as a healthy member of our society through daily meetings with Lee & Ko attorneys. Lee & Ko started the program as the first among domestic law firms in 2018 and completed its fourth term this year. As a successful pro bono activity model that grows and develops mutually beyond formal mentoring, the project is also leading to the participation of other law firms. 

On January 23, 2024, Chosun Biz reported Lee & Ko’s pro bono activity. About 30 people, including employees and their families of Lee & Ko, participated in the volunteer work of “Bread of Love Sharing Center” at the Seongdong Bread Sharing Center of the Seoul branch of the Korean Red Cross on January 20. The volunteers made bread such as Bean Past Hotteok and Chestnut Muffin, and delivered it to undernourished neighbors in the community through the Korean Red Cross. Seok Pyo Hong, administrator of the Pro Bono Committee, said “We hope this bread, which is clumsy but made with all our heart, will be a little help to the neighbors who are on the verge of undernourishment”. 

On December 12, 2023, Money Today featured the award acceptance of Lee & Ko’s attorneys: Da Joo Jung, Seok Pyo Hong, Moon Won Lee, Soo Bin Kim, Da Hye Kim, Sang Bin Kim, Yoo Lim Oh, and Beum Jun Kim. At the 6th Korea Legal Awards co-hosted by Money Today, the Korean Bar Association, and the Korea In-House Counsel Association, this team of attorneys received the grand prize for legal public service for their administrative litigation against the determination to deny the referral review for refugee status recognition rendered by the Incheon Airport Office of Immigration. During the ceremony, the media noted, “Lee & Ko sets the standard for refugee protection by filing an administrative lawsuit against the reasons for referral review denial under the Refugee Act, which has long been one of the obstacles for asylum recognition.”

On December 5, 2023, Legal Newspaper highlighted the wholehearted participation of Lee & Ko’s Public Service Committee in this year’s Love Briquettes Sharing Campaign. The Committee sponsored 5,000 briquettes as part of a donation to the organization, Coal Briquettes for Neighbors in Korea, and 2,000 of these were directly delivered to 10 households residing in Guryong Village in Gangnam-gu, Seoul on December 2, with the help of 30 Lee & Ko employees and their family members. Attorney Won Seok Ko, the Head of the Public Service Committee, noted, “Lee & Ko’s Public Service Committee will continue to strive to spread the meaning of love and sharing wherever possible to people in need.”

On September 14, 2023, the online media outlet Dailian introduced “Lee & Ko Friends Program – Becoming Friend of North Korean Defector Students,” hosted by Lee & Ko. The program was described as an “initiative in which North Korean defector students and attorneys establish one-on-one mentorship relationships.” The participants in this program “have the opportunity to meet individually for five months, fostering meaningful connections and genuine relationships, rather than mere formalities,” the article highlighted. Lee & Ko attorney Seok Pyo Hong underscored the significance of the program, noting that “Although there are many youths in Korea who are lonely and alienated, North Korean defectors are particularly proud friends just by attending university.” As part of its commitment, “Lee & Ko attorneys are also delivering lectures on topics such as real estate or employment contracts, and we believe this is our role as a law firm, bearing considerable significance,” he added. 

On July 27, 2023, the Aju Business Daily reported a significant collaboration between Lee & Ko and the Korea Employment Agency for Persons with Disabilities (KEAD) to promote employment opportunities for persons with serious disabilities. By signing a Memorandum of Understanding, Lee & Ko plans to provide opportunities for promotion of employment of individuals with serious disabilities and strive to achieve mandatory employment, whereas the KEAD will suggest an employment model by analyzing tasks suitable for people with disabilities and provide multilateral employment services such as recruitment agency assistance and vocational training. In relation to the firm’s collaboration, Sang Gon Kim, an attorney and executive managing director at Lee & Ko, noted, “we will continue to dedicate to realize social values and promote environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) by expanding employment opportunities for persons with disabilities.”

On June 14, 2023, Edaily reported Lee & Ko’s receipt of an appreciation plaque from Compassion Korea, an international aid organization for supporting children in need. During its visit to Lee & Ko on June 13, the organization presented a plaque of appreciation for the firm’s consistent contribution and dedication. “Lee & Ko has been providing legal advice in more than 100 cases and the number holds even greater value in terms of positive influence, if not just in terms of economics,” the organization said. “We are deeply grateful for the firm’s immense effort and precious dedication that it has demonstrated over the past eight years.” Mr. Won Seok Ko, attorney and chairman of Lee & Ko’s Pro Bono Committee, said, “Lee & Ko will continue to strive for pro bono activities for the underprivileged such as children in poverty” 

On February 13, 2023, Chosun Biz reported that the law firm Lee&Ko successfully concluded its "Lee&Ko Friends" program. The program is a public service activity that Lee&Ko, in collaboration with the North Korean Defectors Job Support Center operated by the social welfare corporation, "Together Foundation," facilitates regular encounters between Lee&Ko's lawyers and North Korean defector students to help them adapt and become healthy members of our society. In the third session of Lee&Ko Friends, 11 lawyers from Lee&Ko and 11 North Korean defector students participated, and they had a total of five one-on-one meetings from September of last year to January of this year.

2022.9.16. Lee & Ko’s Pro Bono Committee (“Committee”) was introduced in Chosun Biz. Chosun Biz reported that the Committee has been providing pro bono legal services to refugees, the disabled, and women based on the slogan of ‘light in the world, love in the neighborhood.’ In particular, Chosun Biz introduced a case in which the Committee recently defended the Yemeni who was indicted for violating the Immigration Control Act and won an acquittal.