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Senior Foreign Attorney

Kichang CHUNG

International Trade

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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.’”
Education
2012 Harvard Law School, Visiting Researcher
2009 World Trade Organization (Geneva, Switzerland), The 1st Advanced Thematic Course on WTO Dispute Settlement
2006 Michigan State University, College of Law - J.D.
2000 Yonsei University Graduate School - M.A. in Area Studies
1994 Yonsei University - B.A. in Russian Language & Literature
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Work Experience
2018-Present Lee & Ko
2022-Present Candidate for chairperson, EU’s bilateral trade dispute settlement roster
2022-Present Member, Advisory Committee for Economic Security Diplomacy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
2020-Present Adjunct Professor, Yonsei University Graduate School of Law
2014-2018 Senior Foreign Attorney, Yoon & Yang LLC
2013-2014 Trade Dispute Settlement Division, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy
2007-2013 Trade Dispute Settlement Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
2005-2006 Editor in Chief, Michigan State Journal of International Law
2005 Judicial Extern, Chamber of the Honorable David M. Lawson, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
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Admissions
2007 Admitted to bar, New York
2006 Admitted to bar, New Jersey
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Languages
Korean and English
Awards and Recognitions
2021 Prime Minister's Commendation
2013 Foreign Minister's Commendation
2018-2024 Chambers Global, Ranked Lawyer (International Trade)
2018-2024 Chambers Asia-Pacific, Ranked Lawyer (International Trade)
2016-2023 Who's Who Legal: Trade and Customs, leading individual
2020 Legal Times, Lawyer of the Year 2019 (January, 2020)
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Publications / Presentations / ETC
[Publications]
Misunderstanding on the Causal Relation between Japan’s Release of Contaminated Water and the Import of Fisheries from Fukushima (The Donga Daily, July 2023)
Freer Trade Will Create More Opportunities in the Time of Transition in International Trade (The Economy Chosun, May 2022)
The GOK Must Cooperate with Business to Prepare for the Coming Trade War (The Economy Chosun, April 2022)
Labor, Environment, and Sustainability: The Rising Agendas in International Trade (The Economy Chosun, March 2022)
Economic Security, Getting More Importance in the Era of the New Cold War (The Economy Chosun, January 2022)
'CPTPP and State-owned enterprise' (Lee & Ko Global Commerce Institute Issue Brief Vol.3, 2021)
International Trade 2020 Trends and Developments in South Korea (Chambers & Partners, December 2020)
'An Analysis of SPS Dispute in the WTO: Korea - Radionuclides (DS495)' (co-author, International Trade Law, February 2020 (in Korean))
'A Study on Effective Compliance in the WTO: Theoretical, Institutional, and Practical Examination on the DSU' (in Korean) (International Trade Law, August, 2013)
IFLR South Korea Special 2018, International Trade 'Building bridges' (IFLR, Oct 2018)
'International Trade and Security: Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act' (Lee & Ko Global Commerce Institute Issue Brief Vol.2, 2018)
'A Prospect of Renegotiation of the KORUS FTA under the Trump Administration' (co-author, The Legal Times, December 2016 (in Korean))
[Presentations]
Moderator, Asia/Pacific Conference, American Bar Association International Law Section, Seoul, Korea (October, 2023)
Panelist, G2 Conference on WTO and Global Economic Regulation, Geneva, Switzerland (June, 2019)
Panelist, G2 Conference on Resolving Disputes in International Economic Law, Washington, D.C. (July, 2018)
Speaker, WTO at 20 held at Harvard Law School (April, 2016)
Speaker, WTO at 20 held at Seoul National University College of Law (August, 2015)
Discussant, APEC Seminar on WTO Dispute Settlement (November, 2013)
Chair, Panel 2 'Multilateral Governance and the Jurisprudence of Trade', Asia International Economic Law Network Ⅲ (July, 2013)
Speaker, East Asian Legal Studies, Harvard Law School (January, 2013)
Coordinated and paneled the WTO Moot Court Competition in Korea (2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017)
Evaluated and scored as a judge the Korea regional round of the Jessup moot court competition (2008)
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