Kim & Chang is the largest law firm in Korea established in 1973. Headquartered in Seoul, the firm has 1,900 professionals with further offices in Hong Kong, Vietnam and Singapore.
Focusses / specialisms
Kim & Chang is a household name in the Korean legal market and excels in all transactional matters across M&A, private equity, finance, capital markets, project development and restructuring and insolvency.
Key clients
Key clients of the firm include Affirma Capital Managers, Biomass, Bain Capital, City Gas, MBK Partners, Samsung C&T Corporation, GS Energy, JP Morgan Securities (Far East), BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Nomura Securities, SK Hynix, Samsung Biologics, eBay and KKR.
Research period review:
33rd edition (2022/2023)
During the research period, the firm continued to be active in all practice areas including banking and finance, capital markets, M&A, private equity, restructuring and insolvency, and projects.
The finance team was very busy with asset financing and project financing, as well as acquisition financing and other refinancing matters. The team regularly advises clients from domestic and overseas including the US, Canada, Germany, Ireland and China. The firm bolstered its banking and finance team with three new attorneys including Hang Jin Chang, Elizabeth Jae Yeon Baek and Jessica Tae Yean Kim.
In the equity capital market, the firm was particularly active in block trades and IPOs, advising issuers, sellers and placing agents. The firm was also active in connection with bond/note issuance and
securities offerings by Korean companies in the overseas markets.
The corporate team was preoccupied with handling transactions in relation to divestments. The firm continued to be active in providing legal advice in all aspects of domestic, cross-border, private and public M&A transactions, including joint ventures, for a broad client base including strategic investors, private equity funds and financial institutions.
In the project area, the firm advised private sector sponsors, strategic and financial investors, state-owned entities, construction and engineering firms, and lenders on various energy, infrastructure and natural resource project development and project financing.
Deal highlights: 33rd edition (2022/2023)
LG Energy Solution’s $10 billion KOSPI IPO.
Korea Development Bank’s $30 billion global medium term note programme.
KT Corporation's $500 million 4.000% notes due 2025 listed on SGX.
The Korea Housing Finance Corporation’s $15 billion global covered bond programme.
Cigna Corporation’s sale of LINA Life Insurance Company of Korea to Chubb.
KKR’s KRW735 billion ($0.56 billion) acquisition of redeemable convertible preference shares in SK E&S.
Client feedback: 33rd edition (2022/2023)
Asset finance
“Very responsive with great attention to service.”
“They always provide correct and deep advice with practical/workable options for the client.”
Private equity
“As an English-speaking international investor not familiar with the Korean language, the partner on the transaction was able to bridge the language barrier and was sufficiently fluent in English (most big Korean firms will have partners that have done a LLM in US and therefore have decent English language capability) to advise and assist in negotiations. The team also provided typical Korean market norms for comparison. The firm has good internal translators to provide dual-language transaction documentation (as opposed to having external translators).”
Project development
“Very professional, and expertise in all fields. Also, customer-focused and quick turnaround.”
“Broad network with deep legal experience.”
M&A
“Professionalism.”
“K&C has a strong team who are all dedicated to providing top-notch service standards. They are plugged in to the Korean M&A market trends and practices, and able to advise us on nuances that we'd otherwise not be able to appreciate.”
Dae-Hyuk Choi
“Strong relationship with his client, deep knowledge about renewable energy.”
Hi Sun Yoon
“He has worked for the ship finance sector for a long time and provides excellent service to the client. Easy to contact.”
John Sangho Park
“Ability to manage the team at Kim & Chang, client-focused approach, and clear advice.”
Kyoung-ah Grace Nam
“Very attentive, quick to grasp the issue, great response time.”
Min-Young Oh
“Client-focused, in-depth knowledge of project-related areas of law.”
Sean Ahn
“Sean is very responsive to our requests and clarifications, on both specific M&A legal matters as well as other broader legal/regulatory matters (e.g. advice on foreign direct investment regulations and requirements).”
