Shin & Kim LLC, led by Managing Partner Jong-Han Oh, had the honor of winning a total of five awards at the 2025 ALB Korea Law Awards ceremony held at the Conrad Hotel in Yeouido, Seoul, Korea on November 6 (Wednesday), 2025.

Shin & Kim was selected as the ‘Construction and Real Estate Law Firm of the Year’ and ‘Insurance Law Firm of the Year’ in the Law Firm of the Year categories, which recognize leading firms in each specialized practice area.

Shin & Kim, which provides integrated advisory services across the full spectrum of real estate transactions—including acquisition and development, funds and REITs, project financing, trusts, and overseas real estate investment—was awarded ‘Construction and Real Estate Law Firm of the Year’. This recognition reflects Shin & Kim’s successful representation in major mandates such as IGIS Asset Management’s KRW 2.33 trillion acquisition of the Magok One Grove (CP4) Complex, where Shin & Kim comprehensively resolved key legal issues arising from the constructor’s workout procedures, as well as various matters involving post-completion due diligence, purchase price settlement, post-acquisition leasing, and the establishment of collateral. Shin & Kim was also acknowledged for its work on the development and investment of the Yongin Data Center by Warburg Pincus and Wide Creek Asset Management, one of the largest data center development projects in Korea.

Shin & Kim was also named ‘Insurance Law Firm of the Year,’ reflecting strong feedback from clients regarding the outstanding performance and expertise of its Warranty and Indemnity (W&I) Insurance Team within the M&A Group. Led by Attorneys Chaewon Kang, James Kang, and Gunwoo Sung, the W&I Team has advised on dozens of W&I-related matters since 2018 for domestic and international insurers, as well as for purchasers seeking to obtain W&I insurance, and is widely regarded as one of Korea’s leading expert groups in this field.

On Shin & Kim’s winning of the Insurance Law Firm of the Year award, Attorney Chaewon Kang stated: ‘It feels like all those efforts I have put into in deliberating and studying with my clients and teammates over recent years are finally bearing fruit. As W&I insurance has become a standard feature in most sizable transactions in Korea, M&A deals and W&I insurance are now virtually inseparable. Buyers must obtain comprehensive legal advice from the very outset of a transaction, with W&I insurance in mind. Accordingly, Shin & Kim’s W&I Insurance Team will continue providing its clients with fully integrated, end-to-end solutions.’

The acquisition of Asiana Airlines by Korean Air—and the accompanying sale of Asiana’s cargo business—was selected as the ‘M&A Deal of the Year.’ This landmark transaction is the largest M&A deal in the history of Korea’s aviation industry and resulted in the creation of a ‘mega carrier’ ranked among the world’s top ten airlines through the consolidation of the country’s two major FSCs, Korean Air and Asiana Airlines. Shin & Kim has again demonstrated its unparalleled capacity to deliver integrated M&A advisory services, encompassing not only aviation-sector expertise but also comprehensive guidance on global regulatory compliance.

The issuance of overseas subordinated capital securities by Hanwha Life Insurance was named ‘Debt Market Deal of the Year’. The relevant hybrid instruments issued by Hanwha Life Insurance are the first foreign currency-denominated Tier II Capital-eligible hybrid instruments issued following the implementation of the Korean-Insurance Capital Standard (K-ICS), a new solvency regime under the Insurance Business Act. Despite the substantial issuance size of USD 1 billion, the transaction was a notable success, drawing global investor orders exceeding 800% of the target amount during the book-building process.

In addition, Shin & Kim was honored the ‘Project Finance Deal of the Year’ award in recognition of its successful advisory work on the project financing of a joint venture EV battery plant being constructed in Georgia, USA, by Hyundai Motor Company and SK. This project is particularly significant as it marks the first large-scale project pursued by Korean companies in the United States to produce automotive batteries —a sector experiencing rapidly increasing global demand—while also achieving successful financing. Despite the numerous legal challenges that arose during the credit enhancement process for the Korean parent companies, Shin & Kim’s attorneys developed practical and effective solutions, playing a pivotal role in bringing the transaction to completion.

The ALB Korea Legal Awards ceremony is an awards ceremony hosted each year by Asian Legal Business (ALB), a prestigious global legal media company under Thomson Reuters, marking its 13th year in 2025.