SOUTH KOREA Law and Practice Contributed by: Steve M Kim, Philje Cho, Gijin Hong and Kyu Bin Kang, Lee & Ko
Lee & Ko was founded in 1977 and is one of the oldest and largest Korean law firms. The specialised tax practice group includes expert tax lawyers and former government and tax of - ficials, who assist clients to effectively handle civil and criminal tax investigations; former judg - es with vast experience in handling cases at all levels of litigation; and certified public account - ants (including some members licensed as both lawyers and certified public accountants) with many years of dedicated tax experience. The
group offers focused advice on tax planning, consultancy, audits, disputes, advanced ruling and legislative consulting, and transfer pricing. Current clients of the tax practice include nearly all the largest Korean corporations and finan - cial institutions, as well as many 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
Steve M Kim is a partner at Lee & Ko, and leads the inbound transfer pricing practice, mainly serving foreign invested corporations in South Korea. He has 16 years’ experience, and
Philje Cho is a partner in the tax group at Lee & Ko, where he has been practising since 2017. He focuses on international tax matters, including litigation and consulting. In 2023, he earned
covers the entire life cycle of transfer pricing- related matters, including transfer pricing planning and documentation, APAs, mock audits and tax controversy support (such as tax audit defence, administrative appeal, litigation and MAPs). As a qualified US attorney (Washington, DC) and certified public accountant, he regularly contributes to tax and legal publications on Korean transfer pricing developments. He currently serves as co-chair of the Taxation Committee of AmCham Korea. Steve is also a frequent speaker on international tax and transfer pricing topics at International Fiscal Association-hosted events and others.
his LLM in International Taxation from New York University. From 2023 to 2024, he worked at Ernst & Young’s New York office, further enhancing his international tax expertise. He has co-authored three publications in IFA Cahiers, including branch reports for the IFA Cancun Congress 2023 and the IFA Berlin Congress 2022, with a third publication forthcoming. Additionally, he contributed an article titled “Korea’s Ongoing Royalties Tax Dispute with U.S. Tech Companies” to Tax Notes International.
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