Meet the team
Organigram
Team Services
The Insurance and Reinsurance at Dentons Lee is comprised of leading attorneys and experts with combined experience of 50 years in regulatory, transactional, coverage and dispute resolution matters for the insurance and reinsurance industry. The team regularly represents insurers, reinsurers, brokers and agents, policyholders and other relevant industry participants in Korea and abroad. We also assist investment banks, hedge funds, private equity firms along with technology, accounting and other relevant service providers for legal and regulatory support with respect to other aspects of the insurance and reinsurance business operations.
Dentons Lee applies an integrated and concentrated approach to develop solutions for challenging and in some instances matters of first impression in the market for regulatory compliance, resolution of coverage issues and claims including as well as international disputes and to support in transactions that require alternative structures while mitigating and/or avoiding business and financial risks for our clients. Specifically, the Insurance and Reinsurance is a diverse team assisting clients in all lines of the insurance and reinsurance business such as property and casualty, life, accident and health, management and professional liability, financial lines, surety, transactional and financial guaranty for both commercial and personal lines.
Our team strives for transparency, provide services in an efficient manner while also ensuring free representation to achieve optimal results for our clients. We are well-positioned to help our clients provide creative and cost-effective solutions without compromise to our work product and legal services.
The core sub-sector areas in which the team engages are re/insurance regulatory, corporate, asset management and investment, transactional, antitrust and competition, data protection, employment and labor and data protection and privacy, and dispute resolution.
Services
Insurance and Reinsurance Regulatory
- Regulatory advisory work under the Insurance Business Act and its subordinate and related laws/regulations
- Support for the formation and licensing of insurers/reinsurers and registration of producers, brokers and agents
- Advice relating to cross-border marketing and sales of insurance products and reinsurance
- Assist in compliance with consumer protection including data security and privacy matters
- Work with clients on insurance product development including compliance with policy wording, rates and forms
Transactional
- Represent sellers and buyers in mergers and acquisitions of target assets
- Draft and negotiate contracts on behalf ofr insurers, reinsurers and retrocessionaires
- Attend to inter-company and affiliated transactions including delegation and outsourcing pf various services with third party vendors
- Work on commutations, portfolio transfers, assumption reinsurance, sales of blocks of business, etc.
Data Protection and Privacy
- Evaluate, negotiate and enforce cyber security insurance policies
- Counsel on data protection and privacy law compliance including consent requirements, use of personal information including notifications, and aid in appropriate responses for data breaches
Support in preparations for policy privacies, consent forms and other related notifications and documents Corporate
- General Corporate matters and Corporate Governance for insurers/reinsurers.
- Employment and Labor matters related to insurance companies
- Tax and Accounting matters related to corporate income taxation, reporting, etc.
Asset Management and Investment
- Provide advice on asset management by insurers/reinsurers
- Attend to investment in securities and real estate as well as other assets in Korea and overseas
- Counsel on investment protocol (e.g., specialized funds, real estate funds and shipping funds) under the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act
Antitrust and Competition
- Work on insurance-related antitrust issues and compliance with respect to the sales of insurance products
- Representation in unfair competition lawsuits related to insurance companies
Disputes Resolution
- Represent clients in commercial disputes in litigation in the South Korean courts and international arbitration under various arbitration centers and international rules
- Provide insurance coverage opinions for complex commercial insurance claims for insurers and reinsurers
- Support in disputes relating to claims disputes, reinsurance recoveries, challenges to premium matters, etc.
Experience
- Leading German Reinsurer: Representing a leading German reinsurer in a coverage dispute related to the product recall of lithium-ion batteries with global exposure in the Seoul Central District Court.
- Leading French Reinsurer: Acting as coverage counsel for a French reinsurer in various product recall claims, addressing contractual, legal, and technical issues involving insuring clauses, exclusions, follow-the-fortunes, and more.
- Multinational Company: Co-counseling with a global Singaporean law firm to provide coverage counsel for excess reinsurers regarding explosions at Lotte Chem and LG Chem plants in Daesan under a “Package Insurance Policy,” with Lotte Chem as the first-party claimant and LG Chem as the third-party claimant.
- Multinational Company: Represented one of the largest brokers in a case involving trade secrets and breach of an employment agreement against a former executive and his new company, successfully curbing ongoing solicitation of the broker’s reinsurance clients.
- Canadian Energy Company: Served as litigation counsel for a Canadian energy company in its claim against KB Insurance Co., Ltd. and Nonghyup Insurance Co., Ltd. for damages occurring at a South Korean nuclear power plant under an Erection All-Risks Policy.
- International Casino and Resorts Operator: Represented a Macau-based international casino resort operator in an action involving the death of a child on the premises of an international hotel chain.
- Various Insurers and Reinsurers: Advising multiple insurers and reinsurers on licensing matters, including securing regulatory approval for Allianz Global and Corporate Specialty Korea Branch, Pacific Life Re Korea Branch, Asia Capital Re Korea Branch, and AIG Korea.
- Admitted Foreign Insurer: Providing strategic guidance on investment and asset management for a foreign insurer, focusing on permitted investments and compliance with South Korean law.
- AIG Global Services Korea Office: Leading the team in the closure of AIG Global Services Korea office, managing all regulatory tasks and filings with financial regulators, tax offices, and courts to finalize the process.
- Pacific Life Re (Korea Branch): Facilitating the approval from the Financial Supervisory Service for Pacific Life Re to engage in offshore data processing, ensuring compliance with South Korea’s Regulation on Data Processing and IT Outsourcing for Financial Services Companies.
- Leading Global Insurance Broker: Conducting a comprehensive review of operations for a US-based insurance broker to ensure compliance with the Insurance Business Act of South Korea and other relevant regulations.
- Aviva plc: Assisting Aviva plc in the dissolution of its Woori-Aviva Joint Venture in South Korea.
- Non-Admitted Insurer (Singapore-based): Advising a non-admitted insurer on creating a distribution scheme for insurance and warranty products related to electronic mobile devices.
- Marsh & McLennan Cos.: Acting as lead local counsel for Marsh & McLennan Cos. in its acquisition of Jardines Lloyds Thomson Korea (JLT).
- AXA S.A.: Assisting AXA with due diligence and transaction documentation for its acquisition of Ergo Daum Direct for US$44 million.