fivehundred magazine > Tax Yearbook 2023 > Firm profile: Lee & Ko

Firm profile: Lee & Ko


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.

Meet the partners