Soo-Young Song

Practice Areas

Ms. Soo Young Song is a partner and the head of the ESG Center at Shin & Kim. Ms. Song’s main areas of practice include Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), laws on financial institutions including the Financial Investment Services and Capital Market Act, ship finance, domestic and cross-border asset backed securitization and other structured finance, private equity, acquisition finance, merger and acquisition, and general corporate advisory service.

Ms. Song advised various domestic and overseas financial institutions on loan documents, fund related contracts, and financial institution related laws. She has also been involved in various ship financing transactions and overseas project finance transactions involving the Korea Export-Import Bank of Korea and Korea Trade Insurance Corporation. In addition, she also successfully completed a number of domestic and overseas asset securitization and other structured finance transactions on behalf of Citibank Korea and Korea Development Bank.

Prior to joining Shin & Kim, Ms. Song worked as a researcher in the financial team at Samsung Securities Research Center for two years from 2003, where she conducted analysis on the non-life insurance, credit card, and securities industries. She graduated from Seoul National University College of Law, completed the 39th judicial training course at the Judicial Research and Training Institute, and received an Executive MBA from Seoul National University Graduate School of Business after completing the two-year course in 2018. Recently, Ms. Song has been providing ESG- and investment-related legal advice to corporate clients of various sizes and industries, ranging from start-ups to large corporations, as well as private equity firms, venture capital firms, and various financial institutions. As an ESG expert, she was appointed as the first female non-executive director of Woori Financial Group and has served as an ESG advisor to the Korea Commission for Corporate Partnership (KCCP), Korea Venture Investment Corporation, Seoul National University, and other institutions.

Ms. Song has been recognized as a leading individual in the fields of finance and ESG by globally recognized legal directories such as Chambers Asia, Legal500 and IFLR1000. Indeed, she was named as a "Leading Lawyer" in the field of Securities and Finance by Legal Times in 2021 and as one of the top lawyers in the “Evaluation of Korean Law Firms by In-house Lawyers - ESG Field” by the Law Times in 2022.

Career

Director, East Asia Institute (2024-Present)

Special Advisor, Alternative Investment Committee, National Pension Service (2023-Present)

External member, ESG Management Committee, Korea Venture Investment Corp (KVIC) (2023-Present)

Member, Ordinary Disciplinary Committee, National Museum of Korea (2023-Present)

External Member, Investment Review Sub-committee, National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives (2022-Present)

Member, Workers' Compensation Insurance Fund Risk Management Committee, Ministry of Employment and Labor (2022-Present)

External Member, Alternative Investment Review Committee, National Health Insurance Service (2022-Present)

Member, ESG Committee, Seoul National University (2022-Present)

Member, Statutory Auditor Appointment Committee, Sanofi-Aventis Korea Co., Ltd. (2022-Present)

ESG Committee Chairman and Outside Director, Woori Financial Group (2022-2024)

Advisory Member, Korea Sustainability Standards Board, Korea Accounting Institute (2022-2024)

Member, Steering Committee for ESG Support Project for Suppliers, Korea Commission for Corporate Partnership (2021-Present)

Advisory Counsel, Center for Creative Economy and Innovation (2019-Present)

Member, Statutory Auditor Appointment Committee, Pfizer Korea Upjohn Co., Ltd. (2019-Present)

Member, Statutory Auditor Appointment Committee, Pfizer Korea Co., Ltd. (2019-Present)

Shin & Kim LLC (2010-Present)

Judicial Research & Training Institute of the Supreme Court of Korea (2008-2010)

Associate, Samsung Securities (2003-2004)

Professional Memberships

Korean Bar

Certified Securities Investment Advisor

Certified Public Accountant, AICPA

Publications

ESG Due Diligence Practices and Future Challenges - Focusing on Domestic and International ESG Due Diligence Cases, Journal of Law and Politics Research, vol. 24, no. 1 (2024) (Co-authored)

ESG in APAC: Jurisdictional Overview On ESG Reporting, Transition Planning And Greenwashing (South Korea chapter), Slaughter and May (September 2023) (co-authored)

Korea Chapter in Impact Investing and Social Enterprises: Global Progress and Challenges, American Bar Association (2022)

A closer look at investment due diligence in South Korea and the K-Taxonomy, IFLR ESG Asia Report (2022)

Invest KOREA – The Korean Green Taxonomy (K-Taxonomy) Guideline and Its Implications, March 2022

Work Highlights

[ESG Advice]

Advised a private equity fund on joining and reporting to the UN PRI

Advised Hansome on EU regulations

Advised Daelim Group (DL Group) on EU regulation

Advised SOOP Co., Ltd. on its sustainability report

Advised Young Poong Group on its sustainability report

Advised Woori Financial Group on its valuation disclosure

Advised a Korean listed company on greenwashing of its sustainability report

Advised POSCO E&C on its mid- to long-term corporate governance

Advised a listed company on ESG assessment response

Advised a private equity firm on ESG investment policy and internal business process

Advised a venture capital firm on ESG investment policy and internal business process

Advised IMM Investment and Premier Partners on ESG due diligence in connection with the acquisition of a stake in EcoPro Innovation

Advised MBK Partners on ESG due diligence in connection with the acquisition of a stake in Nexflex Co., Ltd.

Advised KB Financial Group on voluntary disclosure of sustainability reports

Advised Chong Kun Dang Holdings on its response to ESG rating agencies

Advised Silicon Mitus on ESG management diagnosis based on the RBA initiative

Advised Hyundai Global Service on the establishment of a supply chain due diligence system

Advised Shinsung E&G, Samyang Foods, Young Poong Group and SD Biosensor on preparation of corporate governance reports

Responded to an ESG performance inspection of an outsourced management company for Corston Asia

Advised SoftBank Ventures on ESG investment

Advised a listed company on the ESG agenda of its shareholders' meeting

Advised a listed company on response to ESG-related shareholder behavior of institutional investors

Provided comprehensive advice on ESG-related diagnosis and response to rating agencies for listed companies

Conducted research on ESG and supply chain related cases and papers for SK Group

Conducted research on ESG information disclosure system for the Ministry of Environment

Advised a credit reporting company on ESG evaluation business

Advised on an ESG-blind fund, the Green New Deal Infrastructure

[Advice on Financial Transactions such as Ship Financing, Securitization, Etc.]

Advised Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) on the purchase of a second-hand vessel

Advised a client on the financing of a jack-up barge for the installation of offshore wind turbines

Advised Korea Citibank on securitization transactions for Lotte Card, Samsung Card, Hyundai Capital, Shinhan Card, etc.

Advised Jeonbuk Bank on securitization transactions, including Lotte Card, Samsung Card, etc.

Advised Korea Development Bank on structured transactions, including Shinsegae Property, Bodyfriend, OK Meat, ESG P-CBO, Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction, and SK Shipping

Advised Korea Trade Insurance Corporation on MSC Ship Financing

Advised Hanwha Investment & Securities on subordinated investment in the Knutsen LNG carrier

Advised the Export-Import Bank of Korea on the FOSI container vessel

Advised Korea Trade Insurance Corporation on ship financing for Seaspan

Advised POSCO International on the acquisition of ship ownership rights

Advised Korea Development Bank on ship financing for Seongho Shipping

Advised Korea Gas Corporation on KC-1 vessels and LNG bunkering

Advised GS Energy on ship financing

Advised Dong-A Tanker

Advised Korea Ocean Business Corporation

Advised Flex LNG on ship financing

Advised Sinokor Merchant Marine on ship financing

[Advice on M&A and Investment]

Advised KCGI in its acquisition of Hanyang Securities

Advised SkyLake Equity Partners in its acquisition of BusinessOn Communication Co., Ltd., an e-tax invoicing solution provider

Advised SkyLake Equity Partners in the sale of TmaxSoft

Advised Corstone Asia in the sale of D&T Inc., a manufacturer of monitors for medical applications

Advised Stonebridge Capital in its acquisition of U-moment, a wedding venue owner and consultant

Advised Daol on the acquisition of Parkwon, a manufacturer of steel balls

Advised IBK Venture Investment on its establishment

Advised Korea Investment Private Equity, KDB Investment, Hana Securities and KB Asset Management on its investment in HyAxiom, Doosan’s U.S. fuel cell subsidiary

Advised Premier Partners, IMM Investment and other investors on investment in EcoPro Innovation, a manufacturer of secondary battery materials

Advised Helios PE on the sale of ISC, a global semiconductor test solution provider, and the acquisition of new shares

Advised KCGI and Hwasung Industrial on the acquisition of Meritz Asset Management

Advised Eventus Equity Partners on its investment in TSI and mPLUS convertible bonds

Advised Orion Holdings on the establishment of a joint venture with HysenseBio and investment in the company

Advised SoftBank Ventures on its investment in Class 101 redeemable preferred stock, Bucketplace redeemable convertible preferred stock, DeepCardio redeemable convertible preferred stock, Seadronix redeemable convertible preferred stock, Doctor Now convertible preferred stock, TainAI redeemable convertible preferred stock, Upstage convertible preferred stock, Sketch Partners redeemable convertible preferred stock, Yeolmae Company redeemable convertible preferred stock, Rapport Labs, Brookhurst Garage, Mathpresso, etc.

Advised Stonebridge Capital in connection with the sale of its stake in DS Dansuk

Advised Tokopedia on foreign exchange filings for its investment recovery

Advised Blank Corporation on a share purchase agreement

Advised I-Yuno Asia Pte. Ltd. on various matters

Advised Adapt Inc. on investment contracts

Advised Phlox Inc. on investment contracts

Advised DSC Investment

Advised Korea Venture Investment Corporation

Advised Signite Partners

Education