With demonstrable expertise in contentious tax appeals and litigation, Lee & Ko’s market leading team represents major Korean retailers and companies, providing the full range of advisory and consulting service, and handling inbound and outbound investments and transactions. Ok Hyun Ma leads the team alongside Tom Kwon, with the latter advising on international tax planning, domestic and cross-border acquisition structuring, and a wide range of cross-border transactions. Litigation and disputes specialist Byeong Jun Son handles corporate income tax and value-added tax matters, while esteemed litigator Sung Hyun Ryu regularly presents cases to national tax appeal tribunals. Kyung Tae Kim is also recommended.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘Lee & Ko have superior market leading abilities.' 

  • 'Kyung Tae Kim has deep tax expertise and provides excellent customer service skill.'

  • 'The team is very professional in their field.'

Key clients

  • LG Household & Health Care
  • Korea Land & Housing Corporation
  • Korea Racing Authority
  • Intergraph Korea
  • Lotte Shopping Co. Ltd., Lotte Hi-Mart, Lotte Datviet Home Shopping Co., Ltd., AK Plaza Department Store
  • Saint Gobain Korea
  • Korea Ocean Business Corporation
  • OK Savings Bank and six other savings banks
  • Daishin Securities Company and other 11 Securities Companies
  • IGIS Asset Management
  • RPX Corporation
  • Hotel Lotte Co., Ltd. and 7 other companies engaged in duty free business
  • Hanwha Resort

Work highlights

  • Representing Korea Land & Housing Corporation on appeal for refund of corporate income tax and VAT in the amount of USD 500 million.
  • Representing RPX Corporation, a defensive patent aggregation service provider, for refund of USD 40 million in withholding taxes in relation to membership agreements and patent contribution agreements with Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and SK Hynix.
  • Represented Intergraph Korea in appeal regarding the appropriate tax characterisation of consideration for use of industrial software.

Lawyers

Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Next Generation Partners
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

Ok Hyun Ma, Tom Kwon

Other key lawyers

Byeong Jun Son, Sung Hyun Ryu, Kyung Tae Kim