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Founded in 1983, Shin & Kim has shown recent significant growth. Its involvement in high-profile cases made the full-service law firm a clear winner of the Law Firm of the Year Award for 2024.

Shin & Kim was undoubtably one of the law firms that gained most media attention throughout the year with its involvement in many hot management dispute cases. For example, Shin & Kim is representing Young Poong and MBK Partners in a dispute with Korea Zinc. The firm is also engaged on a management dispute between members of the owner family of Hanmi Pharmaceutical Group, representing the mother-daughter duo of Song Young-sook and Lim Joo-hyun.

However, one of the biggest highlight moments for Shin & Kim was its iconic victory when a court granted Min Hee-jin¡¯²õ request for a preliminary injunction against HYBE, a K-Pop powerhouse, to prevent it from exercising its voting rights in May. The injunction was to block HYBE from a vote to replace Min as CEO of Ador, a record label under HYBE.

The firm also advised on several major deals in 2024, including for: Hankook & Company Group on the acquisition of Hanon Systems; SkyLake Equity Partners on the acquisition of TmaxSoft; and Hana Securities on the sale of Hana Power Package to an E1 consortium. Apart from these deals, the firm lists GS Engineering & Construction, Asiana Airlines, Coupang and Kakao among its key clients.

¡°Shin & Kim always delivers the best outcomes based on exceptional practical expertise, earning trust as a law firm that can best resolve the disputes faced by clients,¡± says Kang Jeong-seok, head of legal affairs at Taekwang Industrial in Seoul.

Along with Shin & Kim, law firms Bae Kim & Lee, Kim & Chang and Lee & Ko were selected as the best overall law firms. Bae Kim & Lee won awards in 24 categories, while Lee & Ko and Kim & Chang scored in 23 and 22 categories, respectively.

Founded in 1980, Bae Kim & Lee has solidified its position as one of the most prominent law firms in the country. With 560 Korean bar lawyers, excluding foreign attorneys, Bae Kim & Lee is the fourth-largest South Korean law firm by lawyer count as of November 2024.

The full-service law firm is pre-empting changes in legal market trends, and has added specialised task forces and teams for: global future strategy; international tax response; digital forensics; future finance strategy; wealth management and succession planning; AI; gaming and business; and new space.

All these teams were created to serve the increasing contemporary needs of clients, especially in newly emerging and growth business areas like virtual assets, fintech, healthcare and mobility.

Bae Kim & Lee had a change of leadership in 2024 as Joonki Yi was elected as senior managing partner. Having joined the firm in 1996, Yi has extensive experience in inbound and outbound M&A. Under his leadership, Bae Kim & Lee successfully concluded some important M&A deals this year, including advising Affinity Equity Partners on its acquisition of SK Rent-a-Car.

¡°The firm does not merely provide answers to legal issues but engages in thorough communication with clients throughout the entire process to accurately understand their needs,¡± says Seung Hwan Shin, general counsel at SeAh Steel Holdings. ¡°Through detailed exchanges of opinions and the provision of knowledge, Bae Kim & Lee significantly contributes to successfully achieving the objectives for which the company sought advice.”

Following its establishment in 1977, Lee & Ko is one of the largest and longest-standing law firms in Korea. To provide comprehensive and efficient legal services in a variety of sectors, Lee & Ko has more than 40 practice teams and industry specialists, and continues to offer clients seamless legal services as a one-stop shop for their legal needs.

The firm appeared in several high-profile cases in 2024, the most notable of which was a KCAB arbitration case between Westinghouse Electric Company and its Korean competitors.

Lee & Ko represented Korea Electric Power Corporation and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power in the dispute, with the US nuclear power firm asserting that Korea¡¯²õ plan to export reactors to the Czech Republic violated its intellectual property. However, recent media reports suggested that both parties reached an agreement early in January 2025.

The firm also represented T¡¯Way Air, when Korean Air divested four European passenger flight routes to T¡¯Way as part of a conditional approval for its merger with Asiana Airlines.

T¡¯Way¡¯²õ vice president of strategy & marketing, Steve Sukwan Kim, credits Lee & Ko¡¯²õ assistance for ¡°successfully achieving designation as the remedy airline¡± following an unprecedented merger in Korea¡¯²õ aviation industry. ¡°Leveraging exceptional reasoning, extensive experience and prompt responsiveness, Lee & Ko effectively persuaded foreign competition authorities,¡± says Kim.

Kim & Chang was founded by Harvard graduate Young Moo Kim and former judge Soo Kil Chang in 1973 and, during the past five decades, has grown into the largest law firm in Korea. As of November 2024, the firm has more than 1,100 Korean bar lawyers. The total number of professionals, including foreign attorneys, patent attorneys and certified public accountants, exceeds 2,000.

Equipped with unrivalled human resources, Kim & Chang is not only enhancing its legal services in traditional areas such as M&A, antitrust, finance, labour and employment, tax and IP, but is also dedicating greater efforts to advancing services in emerging fields like digital assets, ESG, fintech and AI.

This year, a number of domestic and international companies sought the services of Kim & Chang. In response to a series of large-scale embezzlement cases at financial institutions, the Korean government amended the Financial Company Governance Act to mandate the implementation of a ¡°responsibilities map¡± aimed at strengthening internal controls. Several domestic commercial banks, securities firms and insurance companies turned to Kim & Chang for consulting and legal advice regarding the legislative amendments.

Among its international clients, the US-based property insurance company Starr Insurance engaged Kim & Chang. The firm provided counsel to Starr International Insurance Singapore on establishing a branch in Korea and applying for an insurance business licence. Additionally, Kim & Chang assisted Starr Insurance in obtaining a licence not only for general property insurance but also for health and accident insurance. This represents one of the rare cases where a foreign company has successfully secured an insurance licence in Korea, a jurisdiction known for its stringent financial regulations.

WeAdvise was established in July 2019 by senior lawyers from leading domestic law firms such as Shin & Kim, Yulchon and Bae Kim & Lee. It quickly distinguished itself as a trusted partner in the Korean legal market, known for professionalism and innovation.

Through its strategic legal advice and tangible results, the firm is regarded as a market leader for small to mid-sized M&A transactions.

The firm¡¯²õ cross-border team, led by senior foreign attorney Moo Eon Kim, is assisting domestic venture capital firms and large corporations with overseas investment. Homin Lee, a shareholder at Greenberg Traurig in Los Angeles, describes the team as offering ¡°extensive experience and knowledge representing venture capital institutions and ¡­ in emerging sectors, including self-driving technologies and space tech. Their sophisticated understanding of, and adaptability to, newly developing industries has been invaluable.¡±

Matthew Choi, a CEO of D&D Investment in Seoul, agrees, and says We- Advise is the first law firm he considers when investing in new businesses or emerging sectors. ¡°Their understanding of industries and investment structures is of the highest level, enabling them to quickly and accurately identify related legal issues and consistently provide reasonable solutions,¡± says Choi. ¡°Considering their expertise, experience, insight, communication skills, and reasonable costs, they can be described as a gem of a law firm with top-tier multi-tool capabilities.¡±

The firm is also known for breaking from the rigid structure of traditional law firms and pursuing a horizontal and flexible organisational culture. By adopting an open office layout similar to that of startups, and allowing casual attire, it has created an environment where its members can communicate more flexibly with clients.

¡°With their communication skills that provide a sense of stability and comfort, WeAdvise is the ideal partner to trust and collaborate with in resolving any issues that may arise in a project,¡± says Choi.

Greenberg Traurig opened its Seoul office in 2013. Its scope of work spans the entire spectrum of corporate legal services, including cross-border M&A, joint ventures, capital markets, real estate investment, intellectual property, litigation and international arbitration.

In 2024, Greenberg¡¯²õ Korean team achieved noteworthy success in advising on overseas bond issuances. The firm represented SK Battery America, a wholly owned subsidiary of SK On, on issuing USD500 million of foreign currency bonds with a three-year maturity. In August, Greenberg acted on the issuance of green bonds worth CHF200 million (USD219.3 million) by Hanwha Solutions through its wholly owned subsidiary, Q Energy Solutions SE.

With the addition of project finance partner Sarah Park, K&L Gates has builton its track record of advising Korean sponsors and financial institutions in energy and infrastructure projects in the Southeast Asia region and globally. The firm advises Korean sponsors, funds, developers and lenders in their development and financing of renewables projects, including solar, wind, carbon capture, hydrogen and ESS, from early-stage structuring to operating stages.

The firm¡¯²õ work highlights include advisory services to Simmtech, a Korea-based company engaged in the manufacture of printed circuit boards, on the successful development, investment and financing of a USD120 million greenfield industrial facility in Penang, Malaysia. The firm also advised Korea Midland Power and its affiliated US subsidiaries on operations of solar power and energy projects in Texas.

It assisted LS GreenLink USA, a wholly owned subsidiary of LS Cable & System, on site selection, economic incentives and related real estate matters for a brownfield site of nearly 100 acres in Chesapeake, Virginia, for a new submarine power cable manufacturing facility.

¡°We have had the pleasure of working with K&L Gates the past few years, with a focus on various policy and regulatory matters,¡± says Yale Han, deputy general counsel and division leader for global legal affairs at LG Display. ¡°I appreciate their ability to distil and crystalise these complex regulations against our manufacturing operations, so we not only make the right decision, but quickly. Korean conglomerates can be demanding and unrelenting when working with outside advisers, but K&L Gates has consistently exceeded our expectations and gained our full trust.¡±

Hongsang (Jay) Jeon, a legal counsel at SK Trading International, agrees, saying K&L Gates ¡°fully understood the way how Korean conglomerates typically work, and didn¡¯t hesitate to put in extra efforts for the company¡¯²õ management¡±.

Latham & Watkins opened its Seoul office in 2016 and provides legal services to Korean clients on cross-border transactions and disputes. Its capital markets team brings a wealth of experience, advising on the full spectrum of debt and equity transactions, including high-yield debt issuances.

Latham & Watkins advised Hyundai Motor India on its USD3.3 billion IPO on the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange of India. This transaction marked the largest IPO in India to date, and the second-largest IPO globally for 2024. It is also Hyundai Motors¡¯ first listing of a unit outside Korea, with proceeds expected to enhance research and development for the automaker as part of its efforts to further improve market share in one of the world¡¯²õ fastest growing auto markets.

Latham & Watkins also regularly advises Korean corporations on M&A transactions. Most notably, Latham & Watkins advised LG Display on a series of transactions to dispose of its entire interest in LG Display (China) and LG Display (Guangzhou), which manufacture liquid crystal display panels and modules in China, as it shifts its focus to organic light-emitting diode technology.

Having opened a Seoul office in 2012, Ropes & Gray was one of the first foreign law firms to enter the Korean market. The firm has positioned itself as a leading international intellectual property counsel in Korea, handling work from top corporate entities either present or with significant operations in Korea. Tech giants like Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics have been key clients and are continuing to turn to Ropes & Gray for significant patent litigations.

Most recently, the firm took on a 10-patent litigation filed by ParkerVision and a seven-patent suit brought by Pantech on behalf of LG Electronics. The firm¡¯²õ M&A team also delivers sophisticated legal advice, working from the client¡¯²õ perspective to deliver creative and practical solutions. One example is Ropes & Gray representing Bain Capital Special Situations in its sale of a minority stake in Douzone Bizon, which is a leading enterprise resource planning software developer in Korea, to Shinhan Value Up the First.

Lee & Ko¡¯²õ international arbitration team is one of the most dynamic and energetic practices in Korea. The team works closely with other practice teams to ensure each client benefits from a holistic approach to problem solving and the full range of expertise that Lee & Ko has to offer.

Lee & Ko represented Korea Electric Power Corporation and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power in a KCAB arbitration against Westinghouse. This case was significant as it related to the two countries¡¯ governments, including the US Department of Energy. On 17 January 2025, Korea Electric Power Corporation and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power officially announced that they had reached an agreement with Westinghouse to resolve their IP disputes and to co-operate in the global nuclear power plant market moving forward. This is an important decision for Korea¡¯²õ future and a favourable result for Lee & Ko, as the Korean administration considers nuclear power to be essential for the economy’s long-term sustainability.

Lee & Ko has also acted for the Korean government in an investment treaty arbitration under the Korea-US FTA and 1976 UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules brought by Mason Capital and Mason Management. The tribunal ultimately granted Mason just 16% of its claimed damages.

Opposing Lee & Ko, the law firm which represented Westinghouse was Peter & Kim. Founded in 2020 by Wolfgang Peter and Kap-You (Kevin) Kim, Peter & Kim has grown over the past five years into a widely recognised boutique law firm that specialises in international arbitration, not only in Korea but across the region. The firm especially stands out as one of the few firms representing both states and investors in investor-state dispute settlements. In recent years, Peter & Kim has handled three cases for states and one for an investor.

The capital market team at Bae Kim & Lee provides legal services for IPOs and private equity in both domestic and cross-border contexts. Most notably this year, the team acted as the Korean legal adviser for the underwriters of Webtoon Entertainment¡¯²õ IPO on the Nasdaq. Webtoon is a digital comic and storytelling platform, and an affiliate of NAVER, the largest internet company in the country by market capitalisation.

Working closely with domestic and international law firms, Bae Kim & Lee advised on all aspects of this IPO from the initial stages, including Korean practices and interpretation of Korean securities law. As a result, Webtoon made a successful debut on the Nasdaq in June, with the public offering raising USD315 million. This case is perceived by the market as an important precedent for similar US IPOs by Korean affiliates.

Domestically, the firm also advised the underwriters of the IPO of HD Hyundai Marine Solution, which was the largest IPO in Korea in terms of size since the 2022 IPO of LG Energy Solution. Bae Kim & Lee advised the underwriters through all stages of the transaction from initial preparation, including transactional agreements, offering and disclosure documents, the Korea Exchange¡¯²õ review process and the underwriting and settlement process.

DR & AJU was founded in 2009 from the merger of two law firms, Daeryook (DR) and AJU. The full-service law firm has been handling high-profile cases in the energy sector throughout the year, earning its prestigious award.

A prime example is a lawsuit in regard to the Frontera Project in Texas, which is a gas combined cycle power plant investment project. The firm is representing investors who suffered total losses amounting to hundreds of billions of Korean won due to the sale of mezzanine loans by securities companies.

DR & AJU is also advising some general partners on their equity investment in Project Texas, which is a project involving 21 solar power plants located in the UK, with a total capacity of 97.1MW. Big clients in the project include Hyundai Asset Management, Hyundai Motor Securities, Hana Securities and Lotte Insurance. The DR & AJU energy team is led by senior foreign attorney Melissa Park.

JongMyoung Kim, team leader at Investment Management Group 2 of POSCO International, says DR & AJU provided services that ¡°exceeded expectations with prompt responses, offering concise and sharp analysis of issues to facilitate optimal decision-making, ultimately achieving results that satisfied both parties¡±.

Alongside DR & AJU, Lee & Ko and Shin & Kim won the award for this category. Lee & Ko provided extensive support to clients on issues of regulatory compliance, dispute resolution and government relations/policy development. Key topics included grid congestion, Korea Electric Power Corporation¡¯²õ financial deficit and governmental support initiatives for offshore wind projects.

Many clients also moved to Shin & Kim for their expertise on investment, licensing, construction, operation, financing and environmental issues. Shin & Kim¡¯²õ key clients include conglomerates like Doosan Heavy Industries, Hanwha Energy and POSCO International.

The entertainment team at One Law Partners provides legal advice and handles litigation in Korea¡¯²õ entertainment industries, particularly the video industry. In 2024, the team drafted and reviewed various Korean, English and Chinese contracts used in the development, production, investment, and domestic and international distribution (including import/export and remakes) processes for numerous film/drama/animation investors, production companies and distributors. Films released in 2024 with legal advice from One Law Partners include Troll Factory and Hijack 1971.

One Law Partners has also provided advisory services for an extended period to government and public institutions including the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and the Korean Film Council. The firm strengthened its expertise by recruiting Changhoon Ku as a partner this year, who was most recently the head of legal department at Korean Broadcasting System, the most viewed television network in the country.

Ahram Shin, legal counsel at Smilegate Holdings, rates One Law above competitors. ¡°Having sought assistance with reviewing various contracts and corporate advisory work in the entertainment industry, One Law Partners stood out among those I have worked with for its prompt responses, thoughtful preparation of necessary materials from the client¡¯²õ perspective, and a deep understanding of the unique business conditions in the media and entertainment sector, which resulted in high-quality deliverables¡±.

SEUM Law was founded in 2012 as one of the first law firms in Korea to specialise in startups. Now, after 12 years, the firm has grown into a mid-sized law firm with 30-plus lawyers and provides advisory and litigation services in the fintech sector ¨C not only to startups but also to IT companies and large corporations, diversifying its client base.

The firm is known for expertise in blockchain and virtual asset matters. Notable companies such as Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world by trading volume, and Hashed, one of the largest Korea-based crypto investment firms, have been SEUM Law¡¯²õ clients.

Having established sister firms SEUM IP and SEUM Tax in 2021 and 2022, respectively, SEUM Law now aims to provide one-stop advisory and litigation services, patents and taxation.

Yoon & Yang‘s healthcare and life sciences practice was busy in 2024, launching a bio health centre in August.

The centre consists of professionals who have experience at the patent court, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service, and provides comprehensive solutions to all legal issues in the bio-health industry. The centre¡¯²õ head is Dongju Kwon, a partner at Yoon & Yang and former chief judge of the patent court.

Dongju Kwon and Yoon & Yang this year represented Medytox, a Korea-based biopharmaceutical company with a market capitalisation of KRW1 trillion, in an appellate trial against the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety over a request to cancel the revocation of its botulinum toxin product licence. The firm won the first trial in 2023 and an appeal in September this year.

Lee & Ko¡¯²õ healthcare and life sciences team provides specialised legal services covering the entire healthcare, pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector. In 2024, the team saw some regulatory consulting and government affairs support works, including the Ministry of Health and Welfare¡¯²õ reimbursement adequacy reassessment for Mosapride.

The ministry conducts reimbursement adequacy reassessment for drugs whose clinical utility, financial impact, or other factors have not met initial expectations and takes follow-up measures such as delisting every year. Mosapride, a drug with the largest three-year average claim amount worth KRW132.8 billion, could have been delisted and subsequently removed from the market. However, Lee & Ko successfully demonstrated reimbursement adequacy of Mosapride, ensuring the component¡¯²õ continued viability.

Since its founding in 2000, Jipyong continues to provide comprehensive advisory services and consulting on labour and employment issues, including serious accidents, illegal dispatch, wage peak system, unfair labour practices and employee status confirmation. The firm¡¯²õ labour and employment practice is led by managing partner Ji Hyung Kim, who served as a supreme court justice for six years to 2011, and joined Jipyong in 2012.

In 2024, the firm saw a strengthening of the labour and employment practice when they successfully recruited nine attorneys, advisers and experts from the labour team of Dentons Lee. The most notable new member is Yong Moon Kim, who previously handled labour-related legal issues at the largest firms in the country, like Lee & Ko and Yoon & Yang. Kim also had one year of dispatch work at the UN¡¯²õ International Labour Organisation. With the addition of nine new members, Jipyong¡¯²õ labour and employment practice now has more than 30 members.

Kim & Chang¡¯²õ M&A team earned the award this year by handling trillion-won deals involving companies such as Ecorbit, Geo-Young, Hanon Systems, Tongyang Life and KJ Environment.

The team advised the seller in IMM consortium¡¯²õ KRW 2.07 trillion (USD 1.5 billion) full acquisition of South Korean waste treatment firm Ecorbit. In the KRW 1.18 trillion Geo-Young deal, which was the country¡¯²õ largest deal of the first half of the year, Kim & Chang advised both the seller and the buyer. They also dominated most trillion-won deals, including the sale of Hanon Systems (KRW 1.83 trillion), the sale of Tongyang Life and ABL Life Insurance (KRW1.55 trillion), and EQT Partners¡¯ acquisition of KJ Environment (KRW1 trillion).

This year, the firm saw the addition of Sang Bum Jin to its M&A team, who served as a judge and presiding judge for 28 years at various court levels. In a seven-year tenure as a research judge at the Supreme Court, Sang Bum Jin handled numerous M&A and corporate governance disputes.

Shin & Kim had a busy year of M&A transactions, too. Shin & Kim was Kim & Chang¡¯²õ counterpart on the sale of Hanon Systems, representing buyer Hankook & Company Group. The firm also advised the seller in the KJ Environment transaction, Genesis Private Equity Management. The lead partners involved in this deal were Hae Sung Jeong and senior foreign attorney Stephanie Kim.

Shin & Kim has also been involved in transactions such as Skylake Equity Partners¡¯ acquisition of TmaxSoft (KRW1.09 trillion), KCC¡¯²õ acquisition of Momentive (KRW807.9 billion), and E1 Pyeongtaek Energy¡¯²õ acquisition of Pyeongtaek Energy Service (KRW800 billion). The sale of Compose Coffee, which gained media attention for being acquired by the Philippines¡¯ major food service brand company, Jollibee Group, was also a deal advised by Shin & Kim.

Founded by Changse Leon Kim in 1988, FirstLaw PC has continued to provide top-level services in the field of intellectual property. The partners of FirstLaw PC leverage their expertise and accumulated experience in various technical fields to enhance their specialised knowledge, study the systems and legal principles of different countries, and develop new strategies. As a result, the firm boasts a high success rate, leading landmark cases not only in Korea but also in IP-related trials, litigation and trade disputes in countries around the world including the US.

Founded in 1952, NAM IP Group is the oldest IP law firm in Korea. In 2024, the firm underwent significant changes, rebranding from NAM & NAM to NAM IP Group and transitioning from a general partnership to a limited liability partnership, to better accommodate its expanding team. Managing partner Ben Yuu was selected as president of the Asian Patent Attorneys Association Korea Group in February.

Since inception in 1985, YP Lee Mock & Partners has grown to become one of the most prominent IP law firms in Korea. It boasts more than 400 professionals, including more than 200 patent attorneys and attorneys at law. Led by founder and managing partner Lee Young Pil, the law firm handles all stages of IP, from patent application to protection and renewal.

You Me Patent & Law Firm is one of Korea¡¯²õ largest IP specialist firms, handling 8,000 domestic applications and 5,000 overseas applications annually. The Seoul-based firm has one of the highest filing rates with the Korean Intellectual Property Office. The patent prosecution team at You Me also obtains patents in more than 60 countries and trademarks in 130 nations.

Founded in 1999, Darae Law & IP Group has established itself as an IP specialist law firm focusing on intellectual property disputes, and is recognised as one of the most successful IP law firms in the country.

This year, the firm achieved remarkable success, a notable example being a case involving a claim for prohibition of design infringement and damages concerning mobile phone cases. Representing the defendant against the plaintiff, who alleged infringement of a total of 61 design rights, Darae argued the lack of similarity in the designs and highlighted that the plaintiff had not registered similar or related designs apart from the registered design. In May, the Seoul Central District Court dismissed most of the plaintiff¡¯²õ claims.

Founded in 2003, Hanol IP & Law has grown into a full-service IP law firm with a strong reputation in life sciences, chemistry, engineering and trademarks.

In January, Hanol won a favourable ruling from the patent court, which dismissed a plaintiff¡¯²õ lawsuit claiming that the client¡¯²õ trade name, ¡°PINE GROVE Bakery Caf¨¦¡±, infringed on the plaintiff¡¯²õ trademark, ¡°THE GROVE¡±. Despite the plaintiff¡¯²õ aggressive assertion of rights, which could have hindered the client¡¯²õ caf¨¦ business, Hanol¡¯²õ successful litigation secured the use and registration of the client¡¯²õ trade name and trademark.

In addition, in response to the growing needs of domestic and overseas clients in IP litigation and legal consultation, Hanol has this year employed foreign attorneys to expand its pool of expert advisory lawyers. The firm is currently conducting civil litigation against users of Chinese counterfeit trademarks with severe infringement levels, involving medical devices and cosmetic companies using biotechnology. These infringements have occurred in China and various Southeast Asian countries. Hanol completed preliminary measures such as sending cease-and-desist letters and removing infringing posts, in close co-operation with overseas agents and local investigation agencies.

Dentons Lee was formed in 2020 with the merger of global law firm Dentons and South Korean trademark specialist law firm Lee International IP & Law Group, which was established in 1961. The Seoul-based law firm assists clients in protecting and advancing their intellectual property rights through patent prosecution, trademark and copyright registration, and strategic consultations to prevent infringement.

The firm¡¯²õ experienced team includes former high-ranking officials, patent and trademark attorneys, engineers, and scientists, enabling it to provide comprehensive IP advisory services with technical expertise.

Muhann Patent & Law Firm was established in 2002 by five patent attorneys who had worked at Kim & Chang and Lee International. The firm name, ¡°Muhann¡±, meaning ¡°infinity¡± in Korean, embodies ¡°working diligently with boundless ambition¡±, a slogan proposed by founding member Alex (YoungGun) Song.

Today, with more than 70 patent attorneys, the firm specialises in providing advice on all areas of intellectual property law, with patent, copyright and trademark the main areas of focus. Headquartered in Seoul, the firm also has an office on Jeju Island.

Choi & Kim, a specialised law firm handling maritime and shipping law, was established in 1997 and is one of Korea¡¯²õ oldest boutique law firms specialising in these fields. The firm is providing legal advice to the shipowner and P&I Clubs regarding a recourse claim against a Korean shipyard over an incident involving the large container ship Dali, which departed the US port of Baltimore last March. The incident, widely reported in the media, involved the ship colliding with a pier, causing the collapse of a bridge and the closure of the Port of Baltimore.

Kwon & Co is founded and led by managing partner Tae Il Kwon, who previously worked at Choi & Kim and Moon & Song. The firm is currently representing one of the major Korean shipping companies in the warranty of a shipbuilding contract. Tae Il Kwon and partner Suyeon Jung have a sound understanding of English marine insurance law, with both having finished master of laws programmes in England.

Founded in 2006, Moon & Song has built an impressive track record in maritime disputes, earning consistent trust from major domestic and international shipping companies and P&I Clubs. The firm was busy in 2024, providing comprehensive legal services across the shipping industry, including reviewing compliance with the Serious Accident Punishment Act for major domestic shipping companies and proposing tailored safety and health system frameworks that consider the unique characteristics of the shipping sector.

Founded in 2018, LAB Partners¡¯ finance team is led by Young Hee Jo, a founding partner of the firm and one of the top experts in domestic and international asset securitisation and structured finance. The finance team at LAB Partners provides advice on all types of domestic finance transactions, as well as on overseas corporate finance transactions including the overseas expansion of domestic companies, issuance of foreign securities, asset securitisation, and overseas fundraising.

Leveraging a deep understanding of the working methods of foreign companies, the team offers comprehensive advice to multinational corporations investing in Korea, covering areas such as domestic investment, M&A, acquisition financing, and regulations related to business operations in Korea.

Established in 2017, Lin has quickly grown into a mid-sized law firm with more than 100 Korean bar lawyers. In its early days, Lin was known as a boutique law firm specialising in finance, founded by managing partner Jin Seok Lim, who had previously worked as a finance lawyer at Kim & Chang. However, it has now established itself as a full-service law firm.

The finance team at Lin handles not only traditional financial transactions such as acquisition financing and project financing, but also capital market transactions including structured finance and overseas bond issuances. Additionally, Lin is currently representing financial institutions in responding to regulations from authorities such as the financial supervisory service.

Tax specialist boutique law firm GAON Law Group provides a notable example of the firm¡¯²õ work this year with the TRS taxation dispute, where GAON represented five securities firms, including Samsung Securities.

TRS (total return swap) is an over-the-counter derivative transaction in which securities firms and investors exchange the returns and interest (costs) of underlying assets (stocks or bonds). The tax authorities argued that the portion of income generated from dividends on the underlying assets in TRS transactions, paid to foreign investors, should be considered dividend income and subject to withholding tax.

On the other hand, the securities firms contended that TRS transactions are conducted for legitimate purposes such as leveraged investments by foreign investors, and that income from TRS transactions should be regarded as business income, thus not subject to withholding tax when profits are paid.

GAON focused on demonstrating the economic rationality of the transactions by analysing overseas legislative cases and precedents, as there were no domestic precedents. After intense dispute, the case concluded this year in GAON¡¯²õ favour through a joint meeting of the Tax Tribunal.

¡°Gaon¡¯²õ handling of a tax tribunal case felt like watching a meticulously planned sports match,¡± said Sanghyun Paek, head of legal support division (director) at Mirae Asset Securities. ¡°The firm thoroughly reviewed existing precedents and legal principles regarding TRS and prepared logical arguments with great attention to detail.

¡°This success was undoubtedly the result of their meticulous reasoning, efforts to simplify explanations, and a long-term strategic approach, combined with Gaon¡¯²õ unique teamwork. It was truly admirable.¡±

Founded in 1997 and as one of Korea¡¯²õ biggest law firms with more than 700 professionals, Yulchon¡¯²õ tax practice comprises experienced tax attorneys, CPAs and customs experts who formerly worked for the National Tax Service, Ministry of Economy and Finance, Korea Customs Office and the Tax Tribunal. The practice group provides advice in all tax matters, including tax planning, tax consulting, tax appeals and criminal tax defence.

This year, Yulchon successfully represented the Korean subsidiary of a US IT company, securing a favourable court ruling that concluded an intermediate holding company established in Austria was the beneficial owner under tax law. This resulted in the complete cancellation of a KRW11 billion withholding tax assessment.

It was a year of preparation for a new leap for DLG Law Corporation, including its rebranding to ¡°D’LIGHT¡± from DLG. Established in 2017, in 2024 the firm saw an increase in TMT-related work, including providing advisory services to a global game developer when they pursued an exclusive agreement with a major publisher to internationally distribute its PC and console games.

In the global gaming industry, meeting cultural and legal requirements while ensuring the developer¡¯²õ long-term value is emerging as a critical task. The agreement, advised by DLG, underscored the importance of IP protection and localisation, which are key trends in the global gaming industry, thereby strengthening the client¡¯²õ long-term competitiveness. In line with these trends, the firm provided optimal solutions to help clients maintain the long-term value of their IP while fostering strong collaborative relationships with publishers.

Veat Law Firm, specialising in TMT, demonstrated high levels of expertise in emerging technology fields such as data privacy, electronic finance, metaverse and blockchain. It provides tailored legal solutions, based on a thorough understanding of clients¡¯ business models. Veat¡¯²õ key work highlights in 2024 include legal advice on disclosure obligations for a metaverse gaming company, review of copyright agency services for creations on metaverse platforms, examination of trademark infringement and unfair competition law for new services on broadcasting platforms, and legal review of electronic financial business registration requirements for a subsidiary.

Managing partner Doyoung Song is actively leading regulatory innovation across various fields including online advertising, metaverse and smart cities. Song is a member of the Online Advertising Dispute Mediation Committee at the Korea Internet & Security Agency, a member of the Special Committee on IT & Blockchain at the Korean Bar Association, and a member of Metaverse Self-Regulation Committee at the Korea Metaverse Industry Association.