Samuel Kwon

TMT and M&A

Soon-Yub KWON currently serves as senior partner of the firm’s Telecommunications, Media and Technology practice group, advising the firm’s domestic and international telecommunications and online service company clients regarding various corporate, commercial transaction, regulatory and legislative matters (spanning from the traditional TMT regulatory issues to data protection issues). Among other things, Mr. Kwon advises several global big tech companies in connection with various legislative and regulatory issues facing their businesses in Korea, and also represents Information Technology Industry Council, which is one of the most prestigious global industry associations in the ICT sector, before various government agencies in Korea.

Mr. Kwon also possesses extensive experience over a broad range of cross-border transactional matters. Among other things, he has advised a number of major international and domestic companies in connection with their investments into Korea and other foreign countries. Recently, Mr. Kwon successfully negotiated complex transactions, in which several leading Korean hospitals entered into the medical services market of foreign countries in the Middle East and East Asian regions as hospital operator. Mr. Kwon also serves as head of the firm’s North Korea team advising the firm’s clients regarding various UN/U.S. sanction issues involving North Korea. In this connection, he is currently serves as a non-standing member of the Kaesung Industrial Complex Management Commission.

Prior to joining Lee & Ko in 1999 Mr. Kwon was Executive Vice President, Information and Telecommunications at SK Holdings, Co., Ltd. and also served as the SK Group’s Chief Information Officer responsible for the SK Group companies’ implementation of Korea’s data protection regime. As the SK Group holding company’s senior executive, he monitored, reviewed and coordinated various business/investment activities and evaluated the performance of the Group’s information and telecommunications companies -- including SK Telecom (Korea’s largest mobile service provider), SK Broadband (Korea’s second largest broadband carrier) and SK C&C (Korea’s third largest information technology service company).

Mr. Kwon previously worked at the Washington, D.C. office of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison for almost thirteen years since 1987, where he was elected International Trade Counsel in January 1996. At Paul Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, Mr. Kwon specialized in international investment issues, and was extensively involved in a number of telecommunications-related investment projects in the United States, Canada and Mexico. He also served as outside counsel for the Embassy of Korea in Washington, D.C., and negotiated strategic alliance arrangements on behalf of Asian telecommunications service companies.

Washington D.C. Bar, Pennsylvania Bar.

Seoul National University (LLB); University of Pennsylvania Law School (LLM); Columbia Law School (JD) Recipient of Presidential Award and National Medal of Merit from Korean Government.