Arnold & Porter Announces Opening of Seoul Office and Addition of Three Partners

Arnold & Porter is pleased to announce the expansion of its Korea practice with the opening of an office in Seoul and the addition of three partners. The new office serves a range of clients with respect to a variety of cross-border work, including M&A, US commercial litigation and international arbitration, investigations, and international trade. The Seoul office also works closely with colleagues across the Firm's global network and diverse practices to represent Korean clients on matters including intellectual property, antitrust, compliance, government policy, regulatory counseling, and export controls.

The team in Seoul includes partners James K. Lee, Jun Hee (JH) Kim, and Kyungseok (KS) Kim. They join a broader, preeminent Korea practice established in 1981 with more than 30 lawyers, consultants, and staff who have been dedicated to leading Korean clients as part of one of the most longstanding and well-established Korea practices of any international law firm.

James K. Lee, a partner in the Litigation group and Seoul office head, has represented many of Korea's top companies before US federal and state courts and in arbitration, and provides counsel on their operations in the United States and other international markets. A Chambers-ranked litigator, he focuses his practice on complex cross-border business disputes, class action defense, arbitrations, and business torts. Mr. Lee served as the global head of his prior firm's Korea practice and helped launch its Seoul office.

Jun Hee Kim, a Chambers-ranked attorney and the former General Counsel and Executive Vice President of Hyundai Heavy Industries, advises on international arbitration matters across a broad range of industries including technology, intellectual property, infrastructure, construction, and engineering, and has represented clients in more than 60 arbitrations around the globe. In addition to serving as an arbitrator and counsel in arbitrations, he counsels on international trade, cross border litigation, and criminal matters in foreign jurisdictions. He also has experience in private practice at major law firms both in Korea and Washington, DC. Mr. Kim served as the co-head of international arbitration for Asia at his prior firm.

KS Kim, a Corporate partner and Chambers-ranked attorney, focuses his practice on complex, cross-border transactions. He counsels on mergers and acquisitions, private equity investments, international joint ventures, financings, and other general corporate matters. He has been lead counsel on some of the largest and most publicized acquisitions of Korean companies by international private equity funds that are active in Korea. He has also advised some of Korea's leading companies on cross-border mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Kim led his prior firm's M&A practice in Korea.