SOUTH KOREA Trends and Developments
Trends and Developments Contributed by: Tom Kwon, Jung-Ho Ryu, Steve Kim and Philje Cho Lee & Ko
Lee & Ko was founded in 1977 and is one of the old - est and largest law firms in Korea. The tax practice group includes lawyers with decades of experience in tax planning and complex tax disputes; former gov - ernment and tax officials experienced in effectively handling civil and criminal tax investigations; former judges who have vast experience in handling cases at all levels of litigation; and certified public account - ants with many years of dedicated tax experience, including assisting in tax audits. The group offers fo -
cused advice on tax planning, consultancy, audits, disputes, advanced ruling and legislative consulting and transfer pricing. The tax practice’s current clients include nearly all of the largest Korean corporations and financial institutions, and many of the Fortune 500 companies. For many years, the tax practice has been ranked at or near the top of the list of best Korean law firms by leading international and Korean legal directories.
Authors
Tom Kwon is the head of Lee & Ko’s international tax practice. He advises Korean and foreign companies, investment funds and other investors on tax matters, practising primarily in international tax and M&A tax,
Steve Kim is a partner at Lee & Ko, where he primarily advises foreign- invested enterprises operating in Korea. He has handled a broad range of complex inbound and outbound matters across diverse industries,
including inbound and outbound acquisition structuring, financing, reorganisation, cross-border transactions and offshore/onshore fund formation and structuring from tax perspective. Tom also advises clients on tax controversies and disputes, and on matters involving investor protection. Before joining Lee & Ko, Tom was a director in Deloitte’s M&A and international tax group, and he has been involved in several major transactions in Korea for foreign and Korean investors since 2008.
including direct and indirect tax-driven restructurings, tax due diligence in M&A transactions, transfer pricing planning and policy implementation, permanent establishment risk analysis, and withholding tax matters involving income characterisation and beneficial ownership. Steve has extensive experience in representing taxpayers in tax audits and subsequent disputes. He is admitted to practice in Washington, DC, and a Certified Public Accountant, Steve regularly contributes to leading publications and is a frequent speaker on international tax and transfer pricing topics.
Jung-Ho Ryu is a partner in the tax practice at Lee & Ko. He is a member of the Korean (Seoul) Bar Association and earned his Taxation LLM degree from Georgetown University Law Center. Prior to joining Lee & Ko, he
worked as a portfolio manager in Allianz Global Investors and also passed the US Certified Public Account examination.
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