Bio

Hyun Tae Kim is a partner in the Corporate Group. Since 2017, he has led the Corporate & M&A Practice as the Head of Corporate Group. His practice expertise includes M&A, Corporate Governance, Foreign Investment, Hostile Takeovers & Defense, Financial Services & Compliance and Securities. Prior to joining Lee & Ko in 1999, Mr. Kim was a judge in the Seoul Central District Court. Mr. Kim has represented many prestigious financial and non-financial corporations and has earned a reputation as an outstanding negotiator and strategist in deal structuring. He has played a leading role in governance structure referring in Korean conglomerates, including the implementation of the holding company structure for the LG Group and the incorporation of Woori Financial Holdings Company, which are groundbreaking cases of where a holding company structure was adopted in the non-financial sector and financial sectors. SK, CJ, LS and Hana Financial Holdings are holding companies established with Mr. Kim's participation as leading counsel. He also led the establishment of The Korea Exchange (KRX), the sole securities exchange operator in South Korea. Other major M&A cases in which Mr. Kim played the leading role include acquisition of Linde Korea by IMM Private Equity, acquisition of Auction by Ebay, acquisition of KorAm Bank by Citibank, KCC's hostile takeover attempt of Hyundai Group, management control dispute involving Seoul Lakeside, acquisition of Good Morning Securities by Shinhan Financial Holdings, merger between Seoul Bank and Hana Bank, acquisition of Daum Direct Auto Insurance by Munich Reinsurance Group, acquisition of Actoz Soft by Shanda Interactive Entertainment, transfer of SK Life shares by SK Networks, acquisition of S-Oil shares by Korean Air, attempted acquisition of Daewoo Motor by Ford, sale of Korea First Bank by Korea Deposit Insurance Corp., acquisition of Hanmi Capital and LIG Life shares by Woori Financial Holdings, acquisition of Prudential Securities by Hanwha Securities, acquisition of New York Life by ACE, acquisition of Korea Exchange Bank by Hana Finance Group and Sale of Hi-mart Shares by Eugene Corporation. Mr. Kim is admitted to the Korean Bar. In 2006, he was a visiting scholar at the University of Washington, Asian Law Center.