Lee & Ko

Lee & Ko improves its ranking to ‘Outstanding’ in construction, regulatory and restructuring and insolvency. The firm hired John JungKyum Kim from Kim & Chang as partner specialising in insurance. Chee Kwan Kim, Byung Hwa Lee, Jiwoong Lim, Charles Peterson and Yeonsoo Yun also joined the firm as partners.

Banking and finance

Work highlights

Represented a group of Korean financial institutions including Woori Bank and JB Asset Management led by Industrial Bank of Korea on the $700 million financing for CPV Fairview Power Plant Project, a 1050MW natural gas fired combined cycle power plant in Pennsylvania.

Advised KB Securities and other lenders on the financing for Affinity Equity Partners’ acquisition of 63.6% of Lock & Lock.

Advised Daon Advisor on the project for refinancing and installation of European Spallation Source (ESS) in connection with the Saemankeum-Haetbitnoori solar power plant.

Key clients

Daelim Industrial, Exim Bank of China, KEB Hana Bank, Samsung Life Insurance, Shinhan BNP Paribas

Competition/antitrust

Work highlights

Representing Deutsche Bank in the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC)’s probe of major international banks implicated in the global FX market manipulation scandal, which has been actively pursued by the International Cartel Division since 2015.

Key clients

Kumho Tire, LG, MediaTek, Samsung Active Asset Management, SK Broadband

Construction

Work highlights

Successfully acted for Korea Development Bank and other financial institutions in a $8 million lawsuit against leading construction companies regarding a guarantee provision after an abrupt termination of the newtown PF development project.

Key clients

Hyundai Development Company, Hyundai Heavy Industry, Cheongju Green Energy, Juwonjeonju, KEB Hana Bank

Corporate and M&A

Work highlights

Advised Daesung Group Partners, Goldman Sachs PIA and other shareholders of Daesung Industrial Gases on the sale of 100% of their shares of Daesung Industrial Gas to Korea Industrial Gas Holdings, special purpose company established by MBK Partners.

Key clients

CJ Group, KakaoBank, KB Securities, Kookmin Bank, Korea Electric Power Corporation

Dispute resolution

Work highlights

Representing Coway, a home wellness appliances company including water purifiers in Korea, in six lawsuits filed by over 2500 consumers alleging nickel flaking in the water tanks caused skin diseases and seeking approximately $7.5 million in compensation, which could actually incur more than $88 million loss in the event that Coway loses in the case.

Key clients

DB Hitek, Hoban Construction, Huawei Technologies, Hyundai Oil Bank, Ministry of Science

Intellectual property

Work highlights

Acted for Samsung Heavy Industries and Hyundai Heavy Industries against Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) in patent invalidation actions related to technology involving conversion of natural gas into LNG. As a result, DSME’s patent was declared invalid.

Key clients

Alibaba, eBay Korea, Kakao, Novartis International, Takoma Technology, Universal Display Corporation

Labour and employment

Work highlights

Represented Korea Development Bank against illegal dispatch and claims for unpaid wages filed by some drivers from its transportation service provider for employee’s commute and sales activities.

Acted for Lotte Shopping against an employee who returned from childcare leave and filed a petition at the Labour Relations Commission for violation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act. This case represented the first instance in which the court considered whether reinstatement of an employee returning from childcare leave to a position different from her previous position would be in violation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act.

Key clients

Avista, General Motors Korea, Korea East-West Power Corporation, Korea Expressway Corporation, LF Corp, McDonald's Korea

Private equity

Work highlights

Advised Sang Rok Lee, the founder and chairman of Carver Korea, one of the notable cosmetics manufacturer in Korea, on the sale of his entire shareholding in Carver Korea (35% of the shares) to Unilever SK Holdings together with Cosmetic Issuer Holdings Designated Activity Company (a private equity fund established by Bain Capital and Goldman Sachs).

Regulatory

Work highlights

Successfully represented Caterpillar, a leading global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, against the Gyeonggi province for a cancellation of a work suspension order.

Advised Audi Volkswagen Korea on various legal issues related to the commercial launch of its electric motor vehicles (EV) in Korea including licensing requirements, applicable technical specifications, legal obligations to install charging stations and safe disposal of scrap batteries.

Key clients

Beiersdorf Group, Cargill Agri Purina, Korean Airlines, LG Electronics, LG Siltron, Tesla Korea

Restructuring and insolvency

Work highlights

Advised Uijeongbu Light Rail Transit Line, a PPP between the city of Uijeongbu and certain financial institutions and construction companies, on its bankruptcy and subsequent lawsuits related to settlement for the project against the city of Uijeongbu.

Tax

Work highlights

Represented Mastercard in filing a law suit against the tax authority requesting the withdrawal of the tax authority’s refusal to revise a corporate tax claim.

Key clients

Hanil Cement, Hyosung Corporation, Hyundai Cement, Korea Development Bank

Client feedback

“Very responsive to the client's demand and well balanced opinion of legal aspect.” – Construction, Dispute resolution

“The firm’s strengths are client-friendliness, reasonable fees and flexibility.” – Dispute resolution

“The strength of the firm is its expertise in the field of information technology law, especially in crypto currency and blockchain technology. Also, the firm is extremely professional in interacting with the client, being available 24/7 on various issues and providing feedback and opinions very promptly.” – Intellectual property, Regulatory

“Mr Jang has extensive experience and knowledge about every corner of the construction field. His advice is strong, persuasive and professional.” - Chan Ik Jang

“He was excellent in communicating with clients and other participating lawyers and understanding different aspects of culture.” - David Kim

“She provides legal advice with in-depth discussions. She always helps us to solve our problems with a highly perceptive opinion. She has devotedly worked for the clients.” - Eui Yeon Jo

“He has flexibility to match the client's demands.” - Hwan Kyoung Ko

“Bae is a criminal attorney who used to be a former public prosecutor. He is a very honest and hardworking man. I am very impressed with his knowledge of food safety related issues. Bae is one of the top experts in the field of criminal investigation.” - Jae Duk Bae

“High quality of work and amenable to our needs. The summary of advice really helped our business people to grasp the gist.” - John JungKyum Kim

“Mr. Yoon is considered the most prominent leader in the field of IT and IP law in Korea. I see no weaknesses.” - Jong Soo Yoon

“Client-friendliness, industry knowledge, experienced and flexibile.” - Kwang Bae Park

“Deep knowledge of our company's industry.” - Kwon Jin Hong

“Very knowledgeable in labour and employment issues.” - Sang Hoon Lee