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1
RECENT
INSIGHT
Deals & Cases
Overruling of Corrective Orders Against Naver and Gmarket for Breaching Personal Information Protection Regulations
Press & Releases
[Maeil Business Newspaper] Lee & Ko’s dream team of all versatility, including accounting, interpretation, and legal spaces, successfully scored wins in fund redemption and cryptocurrencies lawsuits
3
NEW
HIRES
Donghyun LEE
Donghyun Lee started his legal career at Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) in 2015. At FSS, he focused on financial compliance relating to securities, banking and financial holding companies, asset management, insurance, and digital finance. He also handled review of examination reports and sanction documents on financial institutions and provided legal advice on a wide range of financial regulation matters.
Mr. Lee joined Lee & Ko in 2024, and advises clients on various issues related to financial compliance of financial institutions.
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Mr. Lee joined Lee & Ko in 2024, and advises clients on various issues related to financial compliance of financial institutions.
Donghyuk KANG
Donghyuk Kang advises clients on various litigation and legal issues relating to administrative litigation, corporate criminal litigation, domestic litigation, construction & real estate litigation, and healthcare & pharmaceutical litigation. Prior to joining Lee & Ko in 2024, Mr. Kang spent 22 years as a judge on several courts from 2002 to 2024.
During his term on the bench, Mr. Kang handled wide variety of cases in major courts such as the Seoul Administrative Court, the Seoul Central District Court, the Uijeongbu District Court, and the Gwangju District Court, so he is well versed in trial practice. Mr. Kang was in charge of numerous socially meaningful and high-profiled cases, especially during his time as the Presiding judge of the Seoul Administrative Court's collegiate division.
Mr. Kang also served as the Director of Judicial Procedure at the National Court Administration, and Director of Operations Support Division, Sentencing Commission of Supreme Court of Korea. Within such career, Mr. Kang has extensive experience and perspective in not only litigation but also judicial administration of various cases including criminal trials.
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During his term on the bench, Mr. Kang handled wide variety of cases in major courts such as the Seoul Administrative Court, the Seoul Central District Court, the Uijeongbu District Court, and the Gwangju District Court, so he is well versed in trial practice. Mr. Kang was in charge of numerous socially meaningful and high-profiled cases, especially during his time as the Presiding judge of the Seoul Administrative Court's collegiate division.
Mr. Kang also served as the Director of Judicial Procedure at the National Court Administration, and Director of Operations Support Division, Sentencing Commission of Supreme Court of Korea. Within such career, Mr. Kang has extensive experience and perspective in not only litigation but also judicial administration of various cases including criminal trials.
Allen Hyungi RYU
Allen Ryu is a senior foreign attorney in the Corporate and M&A Practice Groups, with expertise in mergers and acquisitions, foreign direct investment, corporate governance and private equity issues. Allen advises a wide range of clients, including private companies and private equity and venture capital firms, in connection with all forms of transactions including buyouts, joint ventures, carve-outs, minority investments, pre-IPO financings, restructurings and spin-offs, as well as general corporate counseling. He also advises clients regularly on CFIUS and other foreign investment reviews. Allen focuses on technology companies across various sectors, including automotive and mobility, TMT, energy, fintech, software, aviation, online game and entertainment industries. Allen’s representative transactions include some of the most complex and largest transactions involving Korean buyers or sellers. Prior to joining Lee & Ko, Allen was a senior foreign counsel at a leading Korean law firm.
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Sungyoon CHO
Sungyoon Cho is a partner in our Criminal Defense Team who had spent nearly 15 years in the Prosecution Service. Throughout most of her career as a prosecutor, Ms. Cho served at various departments across different regional offices dedicated to special investigations, focusing on matters related to banking, tax, antitrust and fair competition and public safety. She worked for the Anti-Corruption Investigation Department II at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, handled issues related to banking, tax and antitrust at the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office, and contributed to the Special Investigation Department at the Daegu District Prosecutors’ Office. She also worked at the Anyang Branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office, concentrating on public corruption, corporate finance, public safety and serious accident issues, and at the Ansan Branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office, where she oversaw cases involving banking, tax, antitrust & competition and the environment.
Since joining Lee & Ko in 2023, Ms. Cho has brought her practical investigation experience as a prosecutor to her advice to and defense of clients in various cases involving financial matters such as corporate corruption, banking, securities, tax, and antitrust and fair competition, corruption investigations including public corruption, as well as criminal cases arising from public safety and serious accidents.
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Since joining Lee & Ko in 2023, Ms. Cho has brought her practical investigation experience as a prosecutor to her advice to and defense of clients in various cases involving financial matters such as corporate corruption, banking, securities, tax, and antitrust and fair competition, corruption investigations including public corruption, as well as criminal cases arising from public safety and serious accidents.
Joonah JANG
Joonah Jang, Partner in the Litigation & Arbitration Practice Group, joined Lee & Ko in 2024 and specializes in both civil litigation and criminal defense matters. He has extensive experience in representing clients in a broad range of cases, including matters relating to corporate cases, construction and real-estate cases, banking, securities and finance related litigations, warrant and criminal trials.
Prior to joining Lee & Ko, Mr. Jang served as a judge for 20 years in the Korean judiciary. During his term on the bench, he has adjudicated a wide array of civil and criminal cases at various courts including the Seoul Central District Court and Seoul High Court. While working at the Seoul High Court, he was in charge of corporate, construction and criminal divisions and handled a number of socially meaningful cases. In addition to litigation experience, Mr. Jang gained extensive experience and perspective on, the administration of Korean judiciary branch while working as Director of Judge Personnel Affairs at the National Court Administration and Planning Judge at both the Incheon District Court and the Seoul High Court.
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Prior to joining Lee & Ko, Mr. Jang served as a judge for 20 years in the Korean judiciary. During his term on the bench, he has adjudicated a wide array of civil and criminal cases at various courts including the Seoul Central District Court and Seoul High Court. While working at the Seoul High Court, he was in charge of corporate, construction and criminal divisions and handled a number of socially meaningful cases. In addition to litigation experience, Mr. Jang gained extensive experience and perspective on, the administration of Korean judiciary branch while working as Director of Judge Personnel Affairs at the National Court Administration and Planning Judge at both the Incheon District Court and the Seoul High Court.
Kang bok LEE
Kangbok Lee is an expert in the field of digital forensics. Prior to joining Lee & Ko, he worked as a prosecutorial investigator and incident response team analyst at various Prosecutor’s Offices throughout Korea.
At the Gwangju High Prosecutors' Office, he was in charge of analyzing and reporting evidence for digital and mobile devices. At the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office, he handled cybercrime investigations such as hacking and security breaches.
Prior to joining the Prosecutor’s Office, he worked in the private sector at an IT security company where he was in charge of incident response analysis for financial companies and public institutions.
Based on his broad practical experience and expertise, he advises clients on digital forensics and security incident response, including hacking, compliance monitoring, and audit response.
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At the Gwangju High Prosecutors' Office, he was in charge of analyzing and reporting evidence for digital and mobile devices. At the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office, he handled cybercrime investigations such as hacking and security breaches.
Prior to joining the Prosecutor’s Office, he worked in the private sector at an IT security company where he was in charge of incident response analysis for financial companies and public institutions.
Based on his broad practical experience and expertise, he advises clients on digital forensics and security incident response, including hacking, compliance monitoring, and audit response.
Taeil AHN
Taeil Ahn is an asset management specialist. Throughout his 30 plus years in investment management career, he served in key head positions for equity, fixed income, and alternative investments. Most recently, he was Chief Investment Officer of IBK Insurance. Majority of his career was with National Pension Service, the government agency overseeing the Korean national pension system with AUM of approximately USD 800 billion as of 2023. Based on his profound experience and knowledge, Mr. Ahn provides advisory services on current market issues and strategies to prepare for future changes in the asset management area.
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Ki Sang JUNG
Ki Sang Jung has 15 years of judicial experience in a variety of civil, criminal, and administrative matters at all levels of courts. In particular, he has experience in dealing with a number of important cases in the areas of taxation, administration, real estate, and construction, and is well versed in the trial practice of these areas.
Mr. Jung is well versed in both theory and practice and served as a member of the writing committee of the "Court Practice Guidelines (Administration)", which is used by judges as a practical guide, and the "Commentary on Administrative Litigation Act," which is considered an authoritative legal commentary on administrative litigation. He also co-authored Eminent Domain-A Complementary Perspective- at Cambridge University through a long research in real estate and construction laws.
Mr. Jung authored more than 10 books and 50 papers and received numerous academic awards, including Law Papers Award from the Korean Society of Law, which is one of the most prestigious legal award, in recognition of his achievements. He is widely recognized for his expertise and served as a thesis judge for a number of academic journals (Legal, Justice, Judicial, etc.) registered with National Research Foundation of Korea and conducted several national research to improve the real estate and construction sectors with the Korea Development Institute (KDI).
Furthermore, he has various experiences in judicial administration, including working as a planning judge of the Seoul Administrative Court and a professor of judicial training at the Judicial Research & Training Institute.
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Mr. Jung is well versed in both theory and practice and served as a member of the writing committee of the "Court Practice Guidelines (Administration)", which is used by judges as a practical guide, and the "Commentary on Administrative Litigation Act," which is considered an authoritative legal commentary on administrative litigation. He also co-authored Eminent Domain-A Complementary Perspective- at Cambridge University through a long research in real estate and construction laws.
Mr. Jung authored more than 10 books and 50 papers and received numerous academic awards, including Law Papers Award from the Korean Society of Law, which is one of the most prestigious legal award, in recognition of his achievements. He is widely recognized for his expertise and served as a thesis judge for a number of academic journals (Legal, Justice, Judicial, etc.) registered with National Research Foundation of Korea and conducted several national research to improve the real estate and construction sectors with the Korea Development Institute (KDI).
Furthermore, he has various experiences in judicial administration, including working as a planning judge of the Seoul Administrative Court and a professor of judicial training at the Judicial Research & Training Institute.
Yuseok KIM
Yuseok Kim is a partner with strong experience in the fields of general corporate, M&A advisory, healthcare and life science. He handles a variety of specialized cases in the fields of corporate, M&A, healthcare and life science.
He has wide range of experience in most types of M&A and restructuring transactions including not only typical types of transactions such as stock or asset deals, joint ventures, mergers, spin-offs but also relatively rare types of transactions such as comprehensive share swaps, establishing holding companies, in-kind contributions and squeeze out of minority shareholders. In particular, he participated in numerous M&A deals with respect to healthcare, F&B and pharmaceutical companies, which generally bring up complicated and complex issues regarding governmental approvals. In addition, he has rich experience in providing legal advice to many leading pharmaceutical and medical devices companies including AstraZeneca, Bayer, Berna Biotech (Crucell), Eisai, Johnson & Johnson, Janssen, GE Healthcare and Intuitive Surgical in connection with various transactions and compliance issues.
He started his legal career in 2008 when he first joined Lee & Ko as an associate. In 2020, he moved to a major company as Chief Legal Officer (CLO) where he was responsible for reorganizing governance structure of the conglomerate or enterprise group it belonged to, divesting its shipping business, selling major assets such as hotels, merging affiliates, and investing in various investments including real estate businesses. After returning to Lee & Ko in 2023, he provides differentiated legal services that exactly fit the needs of clients, combining the expertise he has accumulated over the years with his prior work experience as the Chief Legal Officer of a major Korean company.
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He has wide range of experience in most types of M&A and restructuring transactions including not only typical types of transactions such as stock or asset deals, joint ventures, mergers, spin-offs but also relatively rare types of transactions such as comprehensive share swaps, establishing holding companies, in-kind contributions and squeeze out of minority shareholders. In particular, he participated in numerous M&A deals with respect to healthcare, F&B and pharmaceutical companies, which generally bring up complicated and complex issues regarding governmental approvals. In addition, he has rich experience in providing legal advice to many leading pharmaceutical and medical devices companies including AstraZeneca, Bayer, Berna Biotech (Crucell), Eisai, Johnson & Johnson, Janssen, GE Healthcare and Intuitive Surgical in connection with various transactions and compliance issues.
He started his legal career in 2008 when he first joined Lee & Ko as an associate. In 2020, he moved to a major company as Chief Legal Officer (CLO) where he was responsible for reorganizing governance structure of the conglomerate or enterprise group it belonged to, divesting its shipping business, selling major assets such as hotels, merging affiliates, and investing in various investments including real estate businesses. After returning to Lee & Ko in 2023, he provides differentiated legal services that exactly fit the needs of clients, combining the expertise he has accumulated over the years with his prior work experience as the Chief Legal Officer of a major Korean company.
Sang Hyun LEE
Sang Hyun Lee is a Partner specializing in criminal defense at Lee & Ko since 2024. Prior to this role, he dedicated nearly 20 years to the Prosecution Service, with his last career highlight as the Chief Prosecutor of the Gyeongju Branch of the Daegu District Prosecutors’ Office.
During his tenure at the Prosecution Service, Mr. Lee held various positions across different regional offices, starting as a Deputy Senior Prosecutor of the Public Security Department at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office and advancing to a Senior Prosecutor of the Public Security Department at the Ulsan and Daejeon District Prosecutors’ Offices, as well as the Public Security Division II at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office. As a Certified Class 2 “Blue Belt” Prosecutor in Labor accredited by the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office since 2021, he has been hailed as one of few professionals with excellence specializing in serious accident, labor, election, and political finance matters.
In addition, Mr. Lee has extensive experience and expertise in the fields of anti-corruption, public corruption, and violent crime investigations, including corporate-related fraud, embezzlement, breach of trust, violent crimes involving drugs, and public corruption matters, accumulated through his decade-long career working as a Prosecutor of the Special Crime Investigation Department at the Ulsan District Prosecutors’ Office, the Violent Crime Investigation Department at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, and as a Senior Prosecutor of the Criminal DivisionⅤ at the Daejeon District Prosecutors’ Office dedicated to special and violent crimes and public security investigations, as well as the Criminal Division III at the Seoul Western District Prosecutors’ Office dedicated to violent crime investigations.
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During his tenure at the Prosecution Service, Mr. Lee held various positions across different regional offices, starting as a Deputy Senior Prosecutor of the Public Security Department at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office and advancing to a Senior Prosecutor of the Public Security Department at the Ulsan and Daejeon District Prosecutors’ Offices, as well as the Public Security Division II at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office. As a Certified Class 2 “Blue Belt” Prosecutor in Labor accredited by the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office since 2021, he has been hailed as one of few professionals with excellence specializing in serious accident, labor, election, and political finance matters.
In addition, Mr. Lee has extensive experience and expertise in the fields of anti-corruption, public corruption, and violent crime investigations, including corporate-related fraud, embezzlement, breach of trust, violent crimes involving drugs, and public corruption matters, accumulated through his decade-long career working as a Prosecutor of the Special Crime Investigation Department at the Ulsan District Prosecutors’ Office, the Violent Crime Investigation Department at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, and as a Senior Prosecutor of the Criminal DivisionⅤ at the Daejeon District Prosecutors’ Office dedicated to special and violent crimes and public security investigations, as well as the Criminal Division III at the Seoul Western District Prosecutors’ Office dedicated to violent crime investigations.
Recent Accolades
