Kichang Chung is a senior foreign attorney at Lee & Ko. His major practice area is international trade litigation at the World Trade Organization (“WTO”) in Geneva, Switzerland. Kichang also advises on the legal and policy issues of the international trade. He received JD degree from Michigan State University College of Law where he served as Editor-in-Chief of MICHIGAN STATE JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL LAW. He also spent a year at Harvard Law School as Visiting Researcher.
Prior to joining Lee & Ko, Kichang had worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (now Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and then spent a year in the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. He represented the Korean government as a legal counsel before the Dispute Settlement Body of the WTO. He has handled WTO litigations where Korea was a party and a third party. These include the Beef dispute between Korea and Canada (DS391), the DRAMs dispute between Korea and Japan (DS312), and the Airbus/Boeing subsidy dispute between the US and EU (DS316, 353), etc. He also represented the Korean government as lead negotiator at the DSU review negotiations the mandate of which is to clarify and improve the Dispute Settlement Understanding, the procedural law of the WTO litigation.
In 2022, the European Union has selected Kichang for a chairperson candidate in the EU’s trade dispute settlement roster. He is the only Korean in the roster. Kichang also serves as a member of the Advisory Committee for Economic Security Diplomacy of South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Based on these experiences, Kichang provides sovereign government and global companies with in-depth advices on the various issues in international trade. Recently, he has successfully represented the Korean government before the WTO on the matters of trade remedy (United States - Washers) and food safety issues (Korea – Radionuclides). He also successfully represented the Korean government in the FTA labour dispute with the European Union, the first FTA dispute for Korea and European Union.
Since 2017, “Chambers Global” and “Chambers Asia Pacific” selected Kichang as “Recognized Practitioner,” “Leading Individual,” and “Ranked Lawyer.” Chambers introduces Kichang as "the most experienced WTO expert in Korea." It further describes that “Kichang Chung is highly experienced in handling intergovernmental WTO disputes on behalf of the South Korean government. A market commentator regards him as a ‘technically strong, excellent lawyer who knows the Korean government well.’" According to Chambers, clients recommend him for "his experience and knowledge in WTO disputes and trade policies" as well as his "superb legal reasoning." Kichang is also considered "very good at putting together a large and complex case."
Since 2016, Who’s Who Legal: Trade & Customs selected Kichang as “the Best Known Individual,” “Thought Leader,” “Leading Individual,” and “Most Highly Regarded” in Korea. It introduces that “Korea’s Kichang Chung receives praise from a high number of international peers. One peer states, ‘Chung has a fantastic WTO practice, one of the best in the region for sure.” It further describes that “Kichang Chung is ‘the best in Korea’ and ‘deserves his reputation as the industry leader in the field’. According to one respondent, ‘He deeply understands the fundamental principles of international trade law and provides the most relevant and timely advice.’”