Best Corporate Lawyers Korea 2025: Kim & Chang, Yulchon & More

38 lawyers in 11 fields were selected in the ‘2025 Best Lawyers’ evaluation by the JoongAng Ilbo and the Korea In-house Lawyers Association (Korea Association). The JoongAng Ilbo-Korea Society Lawyer Evaluation, now in its third year, selects lawyers who have shown irreplaceable performance with the best performance and expertise in specific corporate advisory fields throughout the year.

The 2025 Best Lawyers were selected by the JoongAng Ilbo and the Korean Society of Lawyers after a rigorous evaluation over a three-month period starting last August. In consideration of issues related to customs duties and corporate tax this year, a new tax field was added to the 10 fields of the previous year. In the evaluation stage, the referee’s evaluation, which was a multiple-choice evaluation, was changed to a subjective descriptive evaluation, and the precision of the evaluation was further strengthened by establishing a preliminary review committee.

This year, four lawyers, including Kim Gyeong-cheon (Gwangjang) and Jang Ho-kyung (Pacific), were selected in the M&A (mergers and acquisitions) and PE (private equity) fields; four lawyers, including Lee Woo-yeol (Yulchon), were selected in the fair trade field; and three lawyers, including Baek Je-heum (Sejong), were selected in the tax field. Three lawyers including Kim Do-yoon (Kim & Chang) were selected in the human resources and labor fields, four lawyers including Moon Seong (Yulchon) in the ESG (environment, society, governance) and compliance management fields, three lawyers including Kim Sang-woo (Kim & Chang) in the real estate and construction fields, and three lawyers including Kim Ik-hyeon (Yulchon) in the commercial law, capital markets, financial securities, and virtual assets fields.

In addition, four people including Ko Se-hoon (Jipyong) were selected as the best lawyers in the field of global finance and international disputes, four people including Kang Han-cheol (Kim & Chang) were selected in the field of TMT (technology, media, communications) and information protection, three people including Jin-wook Song (Pacific) were selected in the field of major disasters and industrial safety, and three people including Dong-joo Kwon (P&C) were selected as the best lawyers in the field of IP (intellectual property) and healthcare. Ryu Yun-kyo, chairman of the evaluation committee, said, “The winners are top experts who have passed the preliminary screening committee, referee evaluation of client companies, and in-depth evaluation by the evaluation committee composed of top experts in each field.”

There were a total of 10 law firms belonging to the best lawyers. Kim & Chang Law Office had the most with 10 people. Kim & Chang ranked first (8 people) in the previous year’s evaluation, in which 35 people were selected, and produced the most best lawyers this year as well. Yulchon Law Firm took second place with 6 people, followed by Law Firms of Sejong, Yoo & Yang (5 people), Jipyeong (4 people), Gwangjang (3 people), Pacific Law Firm (2 people), and Bareun, Daeryuk Aju, and Seum (1 person).

This year, five lawyers were selected as Best Lawyers for the second consecutive year. Among the 35 best lawyers last year, lawyers Lee Jong-heon (Jipyong, fair trade), Moon Seong (Yulchon, ESG, compliance management), Yu Ihwan (Kim & Chang, commercial law, capital markets, financial securities, virtual assets), Ko Se-hoon (Jipyong, global finance, international disputes), and Jang Jun-young (Sejong, TMT, information protection) were selected as lawyers who performed the best in their respective fields again this year.

These five people were unable to receive consecutive awards for the first time since the one-time evaluation method of selecting ‘Best Lawyer’ and ‘Rising Star’ respectively was changed to ‘Best Lawyer’ selection last year. In the first edition (2023), ‘Best Lawyer’ and ‘Rising Star’ were selected in 20 fields, and a total of 119 people were selected. Last year, there were 15 lawyers who received awards for the second consecutive year.

The 2025 Best Lawyer Awards Ceremony was held at the JoongAng Ilbo Hall in Sangam-dong, Seoul on the afternoon of the 17th. Park Jang-hee, CEO of JoongAng Ilbo, and Lee Jae-hwan, president of the Korea In-house Lawyers Association, presented the awards. Representative attorneys Jeong Gye-seong (Kim & Chang), Kwon Soon-ik (Pacific), Yeom Yong-pyo (Yulchon), Oh Jong-han (Sejong), Lee Myung-soo (Fwaw & Co., Ltd.), Kim Ji-hong (Jipyeong), and Min Ki-ho (Daeryuk Aju) personally attended and congratulated the winners.

CEO Park Jang-hee said, “Fair and transparent evaluations are the basis for increasing the overall trust in the legal market and strengthening the rule of law in our society,” and added, “JoongAng Ilbo will do its best to create an environment where legal experts are evaluated fairly and lawyers’ public responsibilities can shine.” Chairman Lee Jae-hwan said, “In-house lawyers work closely with law firms at corporate sites to solve legal issues together,” and added, “We expect that this year’s evaluation will objectively highlight the expertise of each law firm and be of great help to companies in selecting the optimal legal partner.”

The winners and evaluation results for each category will be revealed on the 17th and 18th.

Kim Jun-young, Seok Gyeong-min, Kim Seong-jin, Choi Seo-in ([email protected])