Asialaw Profiles
The Guide to the legal markets of the Asia-Pacific

Peers question Shin & Kim’s presence in the top tier, but the firm demonstrated its commitment to the capital markets area in the last year by hiring a handful of associates. The firm also closed several initial public offerings including one by Samsung Life Insurance, worth US$4.4 billion, and another by Mando Corporation, worth KRW498 billion (US$437 million).

Since it merged with Evergreen Law Group in 2010, Shin & Kim has also expanded its projects expertise. Partners Kyung Don Lee and Young-Hee Jo advised four Korean real estate funds managed by ING Real Estate Investment Management on a sale and leaseback transaction of six properties with a total value of KRW595 billion. This transaction necessitated broad regulatory knowledge as the National Pension Fund was a key investor.

Peers offer mixed reviews of Shin & Kim’s M&A practice. Regardless, the firm maintains a strong tradition, and closed several influential deals in the Korean market. One client comments on the firm’s exceptional turnaround time: “We had a very tight timeline, but the firm has been able to deliver high quality work in a very timely fashion.”

Partner Chang-Hyun Song acted for Kookmin Bank as it spun off its credit card business to establish KB Kookmin Card. The deal was worth KRW2.4 trillion in shareholders’ equity and KRW12 trillion in total assets. KB Kookmin Card is now the second largest credit card company in Korea in what is an increasingly competitive industry.

Although the real estate practice at Shin & Kim kept a steady headcount this past year, its large deal volume suggests a growing reputation.

Partners Kyung Don Lee and Robert Young represented Bank of America Merrill Lynch and the Blackstone Group in the KRW550 billion sale of the SK Building in Seoul’s central business district. The building was sold to a fund that includes the National Pension Fund and SK Affiliates as investors, and the deal reportedly represents one of Blackstone’s first in South Korea.

In another deal highlight, Lee and partner Young-Hee Jo were appointed as lead counsel to four Korean real estate funds, managed by ING Real Estate Investment Management and established for a sale and leaseback transaction of six properties owned by Lotte Shopping. The transaction required both financing and a syndicated loan of KRW297.4 billion from Korea Development Bank and Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance.

Shin & Kim’s litigation team has been active in defending companies in product liability issues, a rapidly growing field in the Korean legal market. The addition of three partners and five associates, including former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Yong Dam Kim, illustrates Shin & Kim’s increasing workflow in the litigation area.

In a notable case, the firm defended Hyundai Motors and other automobile manufacturers in a KRW710 million claim by 23 bronchial asthma patients who claimed car pollution aggravated their asthma. In another product liability matter, partner Ghyo-Sun Park led the successful defence of cigarette manufacturer KT&G in a KRW170 million claim by seven smokers alleging that they contracted lung cancer as a result of smoking.

Shin & Kim has bolstered its IP practice this past year. For example, it hired partner Seung-Ho Lee from the Seoul Central District Court, where he was formerly a presiding judge.

The firm’s IP practice is increasingly visible on deals, acting for high profile clients such as Hynix Semiconductor, MBC Plus Media, Korea Development Bank and Komipharm this year.

Partners Ghyo-Sun Park and Bo Kyung Lim are representing a domestic pharmaceutical company on a patent infringement suit raised by a foreign pharmaceutical company regarding an antitumor drug.

Shin & Kim has a strong practice in this area, especially involving M&A transactions. Although the firm’s practice did not grow in headcount this year, its three key partners Seong Hoon Yi, Ju Bong Jang and practice head Sung Guen Kim maintain the firm’s strong reputation in this sector.

The firm has carved out a niche for itself on location-based services and the potential conflicts with privacy law. Senior foreign legal consultant Roger Chae and partner Jang have represented mobile handset manufacturers Nokia and HTC in obtaining licences for their location-based businesses.

On one large M&A transaction, the aforementioned partners advised SK Telelink in its KRW480 billion merger with TU Media. As TU Media had over 50 shareholders, the merger was done through a public offering and so Korean securities regulations also applied to the deal.

The size of the labour and employment practice at Shin & Kim has held steady this past year, and yet the firm has completed an impressive body of work. Lead partner Young Seok Ki has advised large corporations such as ACE Group, Warnaco, Deere & Co and Korea Bank on various matters.

In March 2011, Young Seok Ki, together with Michael Chang, Kyoung Soo Chang and Sang Hoon Han, advised ACE Group on employment matters during its acquisition of New York Life Korea.

Young also acted for advertising company Grey Group in a dispute in which an expatriate general manager alleged unfair dismissal. The case, which concluded in October 2010, included a debate about whether an expatriate senior officer was eligible for protection under Korean law.

Shin & Kim’s strong tax practice includes a team of 30 tax lawyers and certified public accountants, many of whom were hired from government agencies like the National Tax Service and the Ministry of Strategy & Finance.

In a highlight case, a firm team led by partner Byoung Joo Lee advised Korea Lottery Service in a dispute with a client regarding an exemption from or reduction of KRW66.8 billion of corporate income tax after it had relocated from Seoul to a more provincial area. Lee successfully argued that the client was not a lottery operator and could not receive tax exemptions.