The Global Disputes Group provides a comprehensive one-stop service of the highest caliber when it comes to dealing with complex international disputes involving multiple jurisdictions. With the International Arbitration Team, the International Litigation Team and the International Trade Team acting as the three main pillars of the Group, IP disputes, Economic Sanctions, Compliance-related disputes, TMT disputes, financial disputes and white-collar disputes now all come under one roof, so as to fully maximize the knowledge and expertise our firm has to offer.

As international disputes become increasingly complex and intertwined, often involving multiple industries and different regulatory frameworks, the Global Disputes Group aims to tackle such modern-day challenges face on by bringing together our seasoned experts to create a powerful synergy. The Global Disputes Group offers a multi-faceted, timely legal service tailored to the specific needs of the client.

Expertise

International Arbitration Team
International Litigation Team
International Trade Practice Team
Cross-Border IP Dispute Team
Sanctions and Export Control Practice Team
Anti-bribery & Anti-Corruption and Compliance Team
TMT & DPC Practice Team
Financial Disputes Team
White Collar Response Team
International Tax Audit and Dispute Resolution Team

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Major Cases

[International Arbitration Team]

Represented the chairman of a Korean insurance company against the company’s financial investors in a KRW 1.2 trillion ICC arbitration involving a shareholders’ agreement
Represented a Korean shipbuilding company against a subsidiary of a Japanese oil company in a KRW 1.2 trillion ICC arbitration involving a supply contract for floating production storage and offloading vessel
Represented a Japanese pharmaceutical company against a Korea-based biochemical and pharmaceutical company in a KRW 32 billion ICC arbitration involving a licensing agreement for a new medical treatment
Represented a Chinese game development company against a Korean game development company in a series of arbitrations involving a software licensing agreement and performance guarantee agreement
Represented Japanese and Korean construction joint venture against a Kuwaiti construction company in a KRW 360 billion ICC arbitration involving an EPC contract
Represented a global heavy industry company in a USD 200 million ICC arbitration against a state-owned Indian passenger train manufacturer involving the enforcement of an MOU
Represented a Korean trading company in a USD 1.4 million SIAC arbitration against a Singapore trading company involving the sale of steel from China to Thailand
Represented the government of the Republic of Korea against activist investor U.S. hedge fund companies in USD 770 million ad hoc investment arbitrations involving the Free Trade Agreement between the Republic of Korea and EFTA States
Represented Japan’s leading, publicly traded energy company in a HKIAC arbitration involving a long-term solar energy supply contract
Represented an Olympic gold medalist and world champion swimmer against the Korean Olympic Committee and Korea Swimming Federation in an appeal at the Court of Arbitration Sport

[International Litigation Team]

Represented a leading Hong Kong bank in a Korean court proceeding regarding alleged short sale regulation violations
Represented an American multinational conglomerate in a customs investigation regarding the compliance with the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act.
Represented an American multinational conglomerate in a Korean Supreme Court proceeding regarding a claim for indemnity
Represented a German automobile corporation in a Korean court proceeding regarding alleged collusion related to the development of urea solution injection system and violation of the Air Quality Preservation Act
Represented a British multinational pharmaceutical corporation in a patent invalidation proceeding
Represented a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical corporation in a Korean court proceeding concerning patent infringement and the validity of a patent
Represented an American multinational payment card services corporation in a Korean court proceeding regarding the cancellation of corporate taxes
Represented a Chinese multinational technology corporation in a Korean Supreme Court proceeding seeking the cancellation of the Fair Trade Commission’s decision
Represented an American multinational semiconductor supplier in a Korean court proceeding seeking the cancellation of the Fair Trade Commission’s decision
Represented an American multinational payment card services corporation

[International Trade Practice Team]

Represented the Korean government before WTO on the matter of food safety issues related to radionuclides (Korea – Radionuclides dispute)
Represented the Korean government before WTO on the matter of trade remedy issues (United States – Washers dispute)
Represented the Korean government as a third party before WTO on the matter of subsidy issues (Boeing – Airbus dispute)
Represented the Korean government as a third party before WTO on the matter of tariff measures on IT products (EC – IT Products dispute)
Represented the Korean government before the Korea – EU FTA expert panel on the matter of labor law and policy issues
Advised the Korean government regarding the WTO DSU (“Understanding on rules and procedures governing the settlement of disputes”) review negotiation
Advised the Korean government regarding FTA negotiations on the implementation of the dispute settlement chapters for Korea – U.S. FTA and Korea – EU FTA
Represented clients before investigating authorities including U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) and Korea Trade Commission (KTC) in a number of anti-dumping and countervailing duty cases
Advised clients regarding various export control and economic sanctions measures adopted by major jurisdictions including U.S. and EU Advised clients regarding various ESG-related trade measures adopted by major jurisdictions including U.S. and EU

[Cross-Border IP Dispute Team]

Representing Samsung Electronics in a Korean patent litigation as part of the global enforcement campaign involving smart phone technology
Representing Posco in patent infringement suits in multiple jurisdictions initiated by Nippon Steel Corporation, including U.S.
Representing Lacoste in trademark lawsuits involving the well-known crocodile mark as part of the global enforcement campaign
Representing King.com in a copyright infringement litigation, securing a landmark Supreme Court decision elucidating the copyrightability standards for game elements
Representing Pfizer in patent disputes involving the blockbuster drug Elliquis® filed by generic companies
Representing Novartis in patent disputes over the market-leading medication Myfortic® filed by a generic company
Representing PI Advanced Materials before the U.S. ITC and U.S. courts, both district and appellate courts, in the polyimide film war spanning a decade of lawsuits
Representing SK Innovation in a U.S. patent infringement suit by Celgard involving the patent worths over USD 1 billion
Represented Kakao Entertainment in a copyright infringement suit before a U.S. court filed by Hollywood Innovators Group against Kakao Entertainment and Netflix involving a popular movie streamed on Netflix

[Sanctions and Export Control Practice Team]

Establishing robust sanctions and export control compliance programs for major Korean conglomerates, including H Shipping, S Holdings, H Manufacturing, S Group and P Group
Equipping Korean companies with compliance tools, such as sanctions and export questionnaires, screening manuals, checklists and tailored sanctions clauses
Assisting Korean companies with controlled-item classifications under both Korean and U.S. export control regimes
Representing Korean companies in dispute resolution where nonperformance is linked to sanctions and export control issues
Providing assistance and legal advice to Korean financial institutions in several cross-border dispute cases involving the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)’s decision designating certain entities and individuals to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) list
Supporting Korean commercial banks and companies with sanctions-risk analysis and screening on a case-by-case basis
Advising foreign companies and law firms on Korean sanctions and export controls, particularly in light of regulatory shifts following the Russia-Ukraine conflict
Providing governmental agencies with policy support, regulatory guidance, and comparative legal analysis

[Anti-bribery & Anti-Corruption and Compliance Team]

Conducted Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) internal investigation for a Korean subsidiary of a NASDAQ listed company
Provided legal advice and assistance to a Korean energy company in relation to the establishment of a comprehensive anti-corruption compliance policy and training program on a global scale
Provided legal advice and assistance to a global enterprise group based in Korea in relation to the establishment of a comprehensive anti-corruption compliance policy and training program
Provided legal advice and assistance to a global pharmaceutical company headquartered in Korea in relation to the establishment of a comprehensive anti-corruption compliance policy and training program
Provided assistance to a multinational company headquartered in France for localizing its FCPA compliance program
Conducted internal investigation for a Korean subsidiary of a U.S. architecture company in connection with an alleged bribery scheme
Conducted FCPA and anti-corruption due diligence for a global private equity fund in connection with its acquisition of a Korean company
Conducted FCPA due diligence for a global investment bank in connection with its acquisition of a waste management company
Conducted Third-party due diligence on state owned hospitals for a U.S. medical device company
Advised a Belgium shareholder of a Korean company in connection with the prosecution of former executive officers for embezzlement and criminal breach of fiduciary duties

[TMT & DPC Practice Team]

Represented the client in the largest-ever dispute related to interconnection charges and network usage fees between telecommunications service providers
Represented the client in a litigation related to undergrounding and successfully advised on the amendment of related regulations
Represented a global satellite service company in a dispute with a local carrier and regulator
Represented domestic and global online service providers in the lawsuits seeking cancellation of the regulator’s sanction related to data privacy
Represented a credit information company during the regulatory investigation phase and subsequent civil litigation in relation to the largest-ever data leakage of credit card customers
Advised global companies on the launch of telecommunications and/or information services in Korea
Advised the client in the auctions for the radio spectrum for mobile telecom services
Advised clients on matters related to the T-commerce business

[Financial Disputes Team]

Represented a leading Hong Kong bank in a Korean court proceeding regarding alleged short sale regulation violations
Represented various financial and securities crime investigations related to virtual assets
Providing assistance and legal advice to Korean financial institutions in several cross-border dispute cases involving the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)’s decision designating certain entities and individuals to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) list
Supporting Korean commercial banks and companies with sanctions-risk analysis and screening on a case-by-case basis
Represented an American multinational conglomerate in a customs investigation regarding the compliance with the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act

[White Collar Response Team]

Investigation and litigation response for short selling cases involving foreign banks
Trade secret misappropriation cases involving employees and corporations following competitor transitions
Response and advisory services for foreign investigative authorities’ requests for documentation and investigations
Response and advisory services for extradition cases Response and advisory services for cases involving responses to Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) Investigations
Response and advisory services for Customs Act and Foreign Trade Act violations
Response and advisory services for various financial and securities crime investigations related to virtual assets
Response to Personal Information Protection Act violation issues by foreign companies
Investigation, prosecution and litigation response for Serious Accident Punishment Act violation cases
Response to compliance issues and violations of local laws by overseas subsidiaries

[International Tax Audit and Dispute Resolution Team]

Successfully provided pre-tax audit advisory and tax audit defense services to many multinational clients.
Currently representing a large U.S. defensive patent aggregation firm in court on claim for refund of nearly US $50 million in withholding tax assessed by the National Tax Service on license fees from Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and SK Hynix
Currently representing a well-known American video game company on appeal to the National Tax Service on preliminary tax assessment of around US $45 million of corporate income tax
Successfully represented Intergraph in court on claim for refund of withholding tax assessed by the National Tax Service on license fees
Successfully represented LG Household & Health Care with respect to claim for tax refund of withholding tax on the purchase of Johnson & Johnson Inc.’s oral care business in North America and Europe
Successfully represented Office Depot Inc. with respect the tax audit on the sale of its Korean subsidiary to Excelsior Capital Asia
Successfully represented Microsoft in court on claim for refund of withholding tax assessed by the National Tax Service on license fees from Samsung Electronics

Key Contacts

Litigation & Arbitration International Arbitration International Litigation International Trade Anti-corruption Financial Disputes Outbound Investment Global Disputes Group

Eun Young PARK

Partner

T +82-2-6386-6212

E eyp@leeko.com

International Arbitration Energy · Natural Resources Construction International Litigation Global Disputes Group

Zac SHARPE

Senior Foreign Attorney

T +82-2-6386-6248

E zac.sharpe@leeko.com

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