Former Lee & Ko partner Hye Kyung Helen Sohn has joined Yoon & Yang’s Corporate Advisory Group and the Finance Practice Group, as the firm continues to boost its aviation practice.
A bilingual attorney who worked at Lee & Ko for 27 years, Sohn is a renowned expert with broad experience and knowledge in the aviation law practice, and is considered to have pioneered the aviation finance in Korea.
During her stint at Lee & Ko, she has become Korea’s leading aviation finance expert, advising major airlines and financial institutions on finance and operating leases, secured loan transactions, PDP financings, JOLCO and ABS transactions.
Sohn has advised Korean Air, Jin Air, Jeju Air, T’way Air, The Export Import Bank of Korea, ICBC Leasing, Hana Bank, Hana Financial Investment, Shinhan Investment Group, Heungkuk Asset Management and more.
In addition to Sohn, Yoon & Yang has also recently recruited Seungmin Song and Minjeong Kim.
A former in-house attorney at Korean Air, Song is an expert who has experienced virtually all legal issues that could arise in the aviation industry. While working as an in-house attorney at Korean Air for ten years, Song was in charge of providing advice and engaging in negotiations on aircraft transactions, as well as providing advice on airline-related matters.
On the other hand, Kim has more than 20 years of experience in the aviation field, working for domestic and international airlines and aviation industry-related institutions. She has worked for the Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board (ARAIB) of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Korea Transportation Safety Authority, the Korea Civil Aviation Association, the Lufthansa and the Emirates Airline.
“The aviation industry is gradually recovering from the pandemic, and the outlook for the aircraft finance sector is also expected to be bright. Starting with this recruitment, Yoon & Yang will further strengthen our practical expertise to provide the best legal services to our major clients,” said Jinsu Jeong, Yoon & Yang Managing Partner.