Shin & Kim’s managing partner Jong-Han Oh was named the Managing Partner of the Year. 

The ALB (Asian Legal Business), a prestigious global media specialized in the legal industry under Thomson Reuters, named Shin & Kim’s Jong-Han Oh as the Managing Partner of the Year at the ALB Korea Law Awards 2022 held at the InterContinental Seoul on November 17, 2022.

Shin & Kim also won the Insurance Firm of the Year Award for the second consecutive year, as well as the M&A Deal of the Year Award for its accomplishment in the U.S.-based Chubb Group’s takeover deal of Korea’s LINA Life Insurance Co., Ltd.

The Managing Partner of the Year award is an award that goes to an attorney who has shown the most remarkable leadership among senior partners who manage the operations of a law firm in Korea.

Last year in January, Jong-Han Oh was elected as Shin & Kim’s new managing partner after a vote by the partner lawyers. At the time of appointment, Oh stated, “I will operate the law firm by quickly responding to the swift changes of the market with an innovative mindset.” Since then, he has led changes and innovations throughout the firm, inlcuding recruitment, overall system, and organizational culture. 

In order to quickly respond to the rapid changes in the legal industry, Mr. Oh proactively formed a Digital Industry Team, Digital Finance Team, Industrial Accidents & Safety Team, and an ESG Center, and also formed integrated teams specialized for certain issues and industries  by including experts and professionals in each practice area. He also improved the firm’s competitiveness by actively hiring a number of “star” lawyers with outstanding performance. Among the recent hires include Attorney Je-Heum Baik, well known as the top expert in the tax area, attorney Hyun Kim, attorney Sang Min Lee, and foreign attorney Chung-In Choi, specialized in M&A, attorney Sery Lee specialized in labor, former Prosecutor General Mooil Moon, and former Chief Prosecutor Hyun Il Jin (10th Criminal Division, Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office). Moreover, Shin & Kim stood out for its outstanding performance in a number of high-profile cases. In the dispute between SK Broadband and Netflix, known as the “case of the century,” Shin & Kim represented SK Broadband and won the case in the Court of First Instance. In the litigation initiated by Eli Lilly Korea against Hanmi Pharm Co., Ltd. (“Hanmi”) for compensatory damages resulting from the decrease in drug prices, Shin & Kim represented Hanmi and ultimately won the case. Shin & Kim also represented the Incheon International Airport Corporation in a land transfer lawsuit against Sky72 for its golf course’s unauthorized occupation of property and won the case. The firm also successfully carried out transactional work in a number of major deals including, but not limited to, Chubb Group’s take-over of Korea’s LINA Life Insurance, M&A of Kakao and Kakao Commerce, GIC’s acquisition of Starbucks Korea’s equity, Ssangyong Motor Company’s M&A and sale, Asiana Airlines’ M&A, BPEA’s sale of Logen Co., Ltd., and SK Group’s repurchase of SK Seorin Building after 15 years.

These business strategies have been proved to be effective as objectively indicated by last year’s all time high sales and the highest sales growth among Korea’s top five (5) law firms. 

In his acceptance speech, Mr. Oh stated “This year’s award is the result of all our firm members’ coordinated efforts and commitment. Shin & Kim will continue the innovation and strive to become a law firm that grows together with our clients by putting ourselves in their shoes.”