Competition/Antitrust
Asia-Pacific Guide 2024 : South Korea
Band 2
Email address
[email protected]Contact number
+82 2 772 4000About
Provided by Lee & Ko
The Antitrust and Competition Practice of Lee & Ko is one of the largest and most established groups in Korea. Our team is comprised of not only experienced lawyers but also diverse yet tightly integrated experts and specialists. Notably, our in-house economists and former KFTC officials, judges, and prosecutors work closely together to develop and assess practical legal rationale that may best protect the interests of our clients.
Our practice is well known for its strength in traditional antitrust and competition areas such as cartel investigations, merger controls and antitrust litigation. Clients also recognize our expertise in unfair trade practices – particularly in matters pertaining to abuse of superior trading position, unfair affiliate support and corporate governance practices, laws and regulations on franchising, subcontracting, fair labelling and advertising, standard terms and conditions, and in conducting audits and mock dawn raids to evaluate and improve compliance. This expertise enables our clients to be best positioned in any negotiation, investigation, and dispute.
Our practice represents some of the most renowned multinational companies, consisting of a diverse range of both domestic and foreign clients across all industry sectors. In particular, our practice is highly regarded for its expertise in the semiconductor, high-tech, financial, automobile, pharmaceuticals, shipping, online platforms and information communication technology industries.
Chambers Review
Lee & Ko is notable for handling KFTC investigations into cartel activities and abuse of dominance. The team is regularly instructed on merger clearance matters and is also well placed to provide effective advocacy in them. Additional areas of expertise include false advertising and unfair trade practices. Lee & Ko is a firm of choice for prominent domestic and international companies, particularly those in the technology and automotive industries and the financial sector. The team consists of highly experienced antitrust lawyers and former KFTC officials. Its key clients include Samsung Electronics, Saudi Aramco and Naver.
Work Highlights
- Lee & Ko acted for Naver in an investigation launched by the KFTC. The authority imposed a fine for Naver's alleged abuse of market dominance and unfair trade practice by banning counterparties from providing real estate information to other competitors of its real estate platform service. Lee & Ko successfully reduced the fine for Naver and continued to represent the client in a related administrative lawsuit.
Strengths
Provided by Chambers
"Lee & Ko are able to understand the intricacies of the company and their industry, and use this knowledge and understanding as the basis for providing specific and practical solutions."
"Lee & Ko's team brought together expert lawyers, FTC advisers and economists with a wealth of case experience to deliver the best results. The depth and breadth of the team's analysis is one of the most important reasons why we choose the firm."
"Lee & Ko's calculated approach successfully guided us step by step through a number of obstacles we faced during each step of the process."
"Lee & Ko are able to understand the intricacies of the company and their industry, and use this knowledge and understanding as the basis for providing specific and practical solutions."
"Lee & Ko's team brought together expert lawyers, FTC advisers and economists with a wealth of case experience to deliver the best results. The depth and breadth of the team's analysis is one of the most important reasons why we choose the firm."
"Lee & Ko's calculated approach successfully guided us step by step through a number of obstacles we faced during each step of the process."
Notable Practitioners
Ahn Yong-Seok balances his role as managing partner of Lee & Ko with his antitrust practice, drawing on over 30 years' experience in the field. His recent work includes advising on investigations into bid rigging, price fixing, false advertising and abuse of dominant position. He typically represents domestic and foreign entities in the electronics and semiconductor industry.
Jeong Hwan leads Lee & Ko's competition and antitrust practice. He advises across the full gamut of mandates, with recent experience handling merger control and KFTC investigations into alleged abuse of market dominance, price fixing and bid rigging. He works with a diverse range of clients such as entities in the financial, transportation, technology and automotive sectors.
"His knowledge and experience really showed in his analysis of the issues, and his communication skills made us feel like we were always well informed of all the details of our case."
"He meticulously analysed the damages calculated in various and complex models based on a high understanding of the characteristics of our industry."
Sun Jeong Ho joins the rankings following market recognition. He has a broad offering in competition and antitrust, with notable expertise advising on merger filing cases. He is also equipped to handled KFTC investigations concerning abuse of market dominance and unfair trade practice issues.
"Jeong Ho provides logical and useful legal advice based on his past experiences."
"He's an excellent attorney who is highly responsive and practical."
Kim Suruyn is recognised for her experience in the competition and antitrust area. She offers advice on a range of matters encompassing cartel cases, abuse of market dominance and unfair trade practice mandates.
"Suruyn is a very hard-working, clever and reliable partner."
Ranked Lawyers at
Lee & Ko
South Korea
Members
Provided by Lee & Ko
Jang Woo Park
Jong Youn Han
Jung Won Park
Pyoung Keun Song