Main Practice Areas

Antitrust & Competition, Banking & Finance, Capital Markets, Construction & Real Estate, Corporate and M&A, Employment, Dispute Resolution (Litigation, White-collar Crime), Energy & Natural Resources, Environmental, Insurance, Intellectual Property, International Arbitration, International Trade, Maritime, Restructuring & Insolvency, Tax, Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT)

Firm Profile

Bae, Kim & Lee LLC (“BKL”) is among the oldest and largest law firms in Korea with over 650 professionals. With practice groups specialized in every significant area of law for business in Korea, BKL supplies timely, accurate and practical legal support to its clients, wherever they are based, across a broad cross-section of industry, investment and finance.

BKL has long been at the leading edge of cross-border legal work in Korea. Among its many practice areas, it has been one of the busiest firms in Korea in the areas of M&A, finance and securities, advising clients from North America, Europe and Asia for over three decades. Likewise, BKL has built a reputation in the disputes arena not only as a litigation powerhouse but also as one of the top international arbitration and cross-border disputes teams in Asia.

Headquartered in Seoul, BKL maintains overseas offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Dubai, Hong Kong, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Yangon. The first Korean firm to set up offices in China and the UAE, BKL has pioneered a region-wide approach to legal services. BKL is a member of the World Law Group and regularly collaborates with other firms throughout the world.

Recognition/Awards

Over the years, BKL has received many “Deal of the Year” and “Firm of the Year” types of honors. Recently, BKL was honored to receive “Most Innovative National Firm, South Korea” award from IFLR Asia Pacific Awards 2020”, “Labour and Employment Firm of the Year” from Asialaw Regional Awards 2019, “Patent Contentious Firm of the Year” from Managing IP Asia Pacific Awards 2019. From the ALB Korea Law Awards 2019, BKL won the “International Arbitration Law Firm of the Year”, “Equity Market Deal of the Year”, and “Real Estate Deal of the Year”. In 2018, BKL received three “Firm of the Year” awards in Overseas Practice, International Arbitration, and Intellectual Property practice areas from ALB. BKL members also received several individual awards including “Data Privacy Lawyer of the Year (Tae Uk KANG)” from the American Lawyer’s Asia Legal Awards 2020 and “Dispute Resolution Lawyer of the Year (John P. Bang)” award from the ALB Korea Law Awards 2019.

Meanwhile, Thomson Reuters Foundation presented the “The Collaboration Award” to the project where BKL conducted with other law firms, legal teams or NGOs at the “TrustLaw Awards 2019”. BKL is also recognized as a highly recommended firm for practicing Social Responsibility by Financial Times’ 2018 report and received “Asian Pro Bono Initiative of the Year” award at The Asia Legal Awards 2018 by The American Lawyer.

In every recognized client or peer assessment, BKL is ranked among the top firms in Korea. In all we do, we strive to provide client-focused legal services to our clients, many of whom have been with us for many years.

Key Recent Cases

• SK Biopharmaceutical, Kakao Games and Big Hit Entertainment’s IPO, representative cases in the year of 2020
• Korail’s dispute over the deductibility of compensation expenses associated with Yongsan Development Project
• Hana Financial Group’s winning damage suit against Lone Star Funds over the sale of KEB Hana Bank
• LG Uplus on its acquisition of CJ Hello, South Korea’s largest cable television operator
• Lotte Group’s establishment of REITs and IPO marking the first REIT deal in Korea with an overseas offering
• Sungdong Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering’s rehabilitation project, a leading shipyard in Korea
• Kakao’s becoming Kakao Bank’s largest shareholder, the first case in Korea where industrial capital has become the bank’s largest shareholder under the “Internet Banking Act”

Bae, Kim & Lee LLC

Address: Centropolis B, 26 Ujeongguk-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul 03161, Republic of Korea

Tel: (82) 2 3404 0000

Fax: (82) 2 3404 0001

Email: bkl@bkl.co.kr

Website: www.bkl.co.kr

Contact: prteam@bkl.co.kr

Number of employees: +1250

Offices in Asia: Seoul, Pan-gyo, Beijing, Shanghai, Dubai, Hong Kong, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Yangon

Year Established: 1980

Languages spoken: Korean, English, Chinese (Mandarin), Japanese, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Vietnamese, Burmese, and Hindi