About Lee & Ko’s tax practice
Lee & Ko’s tax practice group is comprised of over 100 of Korea’s most renowned tax professionals, including former Supreme Court tax research judges, seasoned Korean and foreign attorneys with a wide range of transactional and litigation tax experience, as well as tax-focused certified public accountants (CPAs), many with extensive experience at top-tier law firms and ‘Big Four’ global accounting firms.
We are supported by senior advisers, including former government ministers, such as a former official from the Ministry of Economy and Finance in charge of drafting international tax law, a former commissioner of the National Tax Service as well as other high-ranking officers from the National Tax Service, Korea Customs Service and other governmental agencies. Our senior advisers have vast experience with regulatory tax issues, tax rulings and working with the government to draft and revise tax legislation and regulations. We are ranked a Tier 1 tax practice by The Legal 500 as well as many other reputable international ranking organisations.
One-stop solutions and tax expertise
As a fully integrated tax practice group, we maintain the highest practice standards to provide industry-specific solutions so that our clients can stay ahead of current market trends. Our tax practice group provides seamless service to our valued clients for a wide range of matters, including:
- tax appeals and litigation;
- general tax consulting and advisory services;
- international tax planning and structuring – inbound and outbound;
- tax audit defence and pre-tax audit review;
- inheritance and gift tax planning for high-net-worth individuals and families;
- transfer pricing;
- advance pricing agreement and mutual agreement procedure assistance;
- tax due diligence, transaction and structuring review;
- tax ruling requests and tax legislative consulting; and
- tax compliance.
About Lee & Ko
Founded in 1977, Lee & Ko is one of the largest full-service law firms in Korea. Comprising of more than 860
professionals and organized into eight practice groups and 80 speciality teams, we offer one-stop solutions,
providing our clients with responsive, effective and practical solutions to their legal issues.
Our excellent reputation for trustworthiness and reliability has been built on a foundation of judiciously
maintaining time-proven practices and giving priority to substance over appearance. While valuing innovation
that brings genuine improvement, the firm continues to eschew attention-getting gimmicks and novelty. Our key
values are specialisation/expertise, professionalism and full consideration for each client’s needs. We are committed
to doing our utmost to at all times conduct ourselves in the role of Korea’s leading law firm in a socially responsible
and positive way.
Lee & Ko is ranked ‘Top Tier’, ‘Band 1’ or ‘Outstanding’ by all prestigious law firm and tax practice ranking
organisations. Lee & Ko has won many awards and earned wide recognition as a top law firm in Korea throughout
our long history.
For more infomation contact
Ok Hyun Ma
Partner
T: +82-2-6386-6280
E: okhyun.ma@leeko.com
Ok Hyun Ma is a tax law expert with 17 years of experience serving as a judge in various courts, including the Gwangju District Court (as senior judge at the tax division),
the Supreme Court (as a research judge), the Seoul High Court, the Seoul Northern District Court, the Seoul Administrative Court, the Suwon District Court, and the Gwangju District Court. Mr Ma’s practice at Lee & Ko is primarily focused on tax litigation, securities litigation, tax consulting and civil litigation involving accounting and tax issues.
Tom Kwon
Senior foreign attorney
T: +82-2-6386-6627
E: tom.kwon@leeko.com
Tom is the co-head of Lee & Ko’s international tax practice. He advises Korean and foreign companies, investment funds and other investors on tax matters. He practises primarily in international tax and M&A tax, including inbound and outbound acquisition structuring, financing, reorganisation, cross-border transactions and offshore/onshore fund formation and structuring from a tax perspective. Tom’s practice also involves advising clients on tax controversies and disputes as well as matters involving investor’s protection. Prior to joining Lee & Ko, Tom was a director in Deloitte’s M&A and international tax group.
Byeong Jun Son
Partner
T: +82-2-772-4420
E: byeongjun.son@leeko.com
Mr Byeong-Jun Son is a tax law expert with eight years of experience as a judge for multiple courts. He has served as senior judge for the Daejeon District Court, a research judge (taxation) for the Supreme Court, and a judge in the Seoul Administrative Court as well as the Seoul High and Seoul Central District Courts.
Sung Hwan Kim
Partner
T: +82-2-6386-7900
E: sunghwan.kim@leeko.com
As a highly regarded tax law expert and member of Lee & Ko’s tax practice group, Mr Sung Hwan Kim advises clients on a complete range of tax-related legal issues and concerns,including (among other things) tax litigation, general tax consultation/planning, general tax compliance and accounting matters, and advising on tax law issues in the context of broader civil and criminal law matters.
Kyung Tae Kim
Partner
T: +82-2-772-4414
E: kyungtae.kim@leeko.com
Kyung Tae Kim is a partner at Lee & Ko. His practice is primarily focused on tax litigation, securities litigation, tax consulting and civil litigation involving accounting and tax issues. Since joining Lee & Ko in 2002, he has represented numerous civil, criminal, tax and securities litigations and obtained favourable results on behalf of financial institutions for successfully defending against suits brought by investors.
Young Uk Park
Partner
T: +82-2-772-4422
E: younguk.park@leeko.com
Young Uk Park is a partner of the tax and customs group. He works primarily in the areas of M&A-related taxes, real estate taxes, international taxes and other corporate-related tax matters. Clients whom he has successfully represented as leading counsel in tax and corporate transactions include, among others, Samsung Group, SK Group, CJ Group, LG Electronics, AIG, Lotte Shopping, Posco, LG Phillips LCD, Korean Airlines, Seoul National University, and the National Tax Service.
Sang Hoon Kim
Partner
T: +82-2-772-4425
E: sanghoon.kim@leeko.com
Sang Hoon Kim is a partner in the tax group. His practice primarily focuses on the areas of M&A, real estate, finance, international and corporate tax matters, in addition to tax litigation and civil litigation involving accounting. Prior to joining Lee & Ko in 2007, he worked as a CPA for Samil Accounting Corporation (PWC) and Woori Accounting Corporation.
Jay Shim
Senior foreign attorney
T: +82-2-2191-3235
E: jay.shim@leeko.com
With 30 years of working experience in the US, Europe, Russia and Korea, Jay Shim advises clients on tax advisory, tax audits, tax appeals and tax litigation matters. Jay also works closely with the firm’s corporate practice on international infrastructure projects and early-stage natural resources development projects and has expertise in the areas of overseas investment, energy and natural resources, and offshore fund formation.
Sung Hyun Ryu
Partner
T: +82-2-2191-3251
E: sunghyun.ryu@leeko.com
Sung Hyun Ryu joined Lee & Ko in 2012 and has been working as a tax partner based on his work experience and knowledge gained from his years at the National Tax Service as a deputy director. While at the National Tax Service, he not only handled tax litigation but also served as a member of the Taxation Dispute Review and Council Committee as well as the Joint Review Working-level Committee, where he specialised in tax appeal matters such as claims for judgment on propriety before tax, objections, claims for review and claims for trial.
Jung-Hong Kim
Senior foreign attorney
T: +82-2-6386-0773
E: junghong.kim@leeko.com
Jung-hong Kim is a member of our tax and customs group, specialising in international tax and customs. Prior to joining Lee & Ko in 2021, he had a long and illustrious public career with the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Supreme Court of Korea and the OECD Korea Tax Center where he was responsible for international tax and customs matters. At Lee & Ko, he advises on domestic tax law, tax treaties, transfer pricing, customs issues related to inbound and outbound transactions and tax defence cases.
Steve H Oh
Senior foreign attorney
T: +82-2-772-4349
E: steve.oh@leeko.com
Steve H Oh advises corporate, banking and investment fund clients on the tax aspects of financing and corporate merger transactions. His guidance to domestic and foreign clients includes, among other things, tax planning for taxable and tax-free mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, spin-offs and restructurings.
Steve Minhoo Kim
Senior foreign attorney
T: +82-2-6386-6271
E: steve.kim@leeko.com
Steve Minhoo Kim is a senior foreign attorney whose speciality lies in international tax and transfer pricing. His early career with Big Four accounting firms exposed him to abundant experiences across various industries and allowed him to be equipped with requisite professional knowledge and skillsets to excel in the field of international tax and transfer pricing.