Menu Location Search

Other Services

Select Languages

Select Languages

People

HOME > People > John H. Choi
John H. Choi

John H. Choi

Senior Foreign Attorney / Chair of Global Cases and Investigations
tel +82-2-316-4232 fax +82-2-756-6226 e-mail jhchoi@shinkim.com
vCard PDF
Introduction

John H. Choi is the Head of Shin & Kim’s Antitrust & Competition Practice Group and the Chair of Global Cases and Investigations. He previously served as an adjunct professor at the Seoul National University College of Law.

John is widely regarded as one of Korea’s leading antitrust lawyers and has been at the center of many of the country’s most significant competition law matters for more than three decades. His practice encompasses cartel investigations, abuse of dominance proceedings, merger control reviews, and complex cross-border regulatory disputes, including matters involving parallel proceedings in the United States, the European Union, Japan, and Korea.

Reflecting his longstanding role in handling multijurisdictional matters, John serves as Chair of Global Cases and Investigations, where he leads the firm’s strategic coordination of major cross-border disputes, government investigations, and globally integrated regulatory matters. In this capacity, he works closely with multinational corporations and leading international law firms on matters requiring coordinated management across jurisdictions, sensitive engagement with regulators, and careful oversight of legal, commercial, and reputational risk.

John continues, in parallel, to lead Shin & Kim’s Antitrust & Competition Practice Group, one of the most established competition teams in Korea. He is consistently recognized by clients and peers for the combination of exceptional legal judgment, commercial understanding, and professional integrity that he brings to sensitive matters. Chambers Asia-Pacific has for many years ranked him as a Leading Individual (Band 1), with clients describing him as “the very best in both the depth and breadth of his legal experience and skills” and noting that “for global antitrust investigations, no one can replace John in Korea.”

Clients also emphasize the practical business value of his counsel. As one client observed, “I work with John due to his excellent commercial and practical knowledge in addition to his unchallenged legal skills. I seek John’s advice on approaches due to his commercial sense and his impeccable integrity.” Another described him as “legendary in the Korean legal community for his unchallenged ethical standards and for his excellent lawyering skills.”

He regularly advises boards, senior executives, and compliance leadership not only on antitrust risk, internal investigations, and dawn raid response, but also on broader crisis management matters involving significant regulatory or reputational exposure. His extensive experience with Korea Fair Trade Commission procedure and enforcement practice, together with his strategic perspective on parallel overseas proceedings, enables clients to navigate highly sensitive investigations with clarity and confidence.

In addition to his client work, John has remained active in antitrust scholarship and policy discussions, including through his service as a Non-Governmental Advisor to the International Competition Network. He is widely recognized within the market for setting the standard in Korea for antitrust expertise, client service, and professional ethics.

Areas of Expertise
Professional Career
  • 1998-PresentShin & Kim LLC
  • 1996-1998Associate, Samjung International
  • 1994-1996Associate, Haight, Brown & Bonesteel
Professional Affiliations
  • 2008-2009Adjunct Professor, Seoul National University, College of Law
Key Experience
  • Advised global semiconductor company in abuse of market dominance case
  • Advised foreign automobile manufacturer in exhaust gas collusion case
  • Advised global container shipping company in collusion case
  • Advised foreign automobile manufacturer in collusion with dealers case related to sale of automobiles
  • Advised foreign bank and won decision from KFTC to end deliberation on collusion case without imposing sanctions
  • Advised multiple global companies in antitrust damages lawsuits
  • Advised multiple global companies on merger filings and interested parties in merger filing proceedings
Education
  • 1994UCLA, School of Law (J.D.)
  • 1991UCLA (B.A., Political Science)
Qualifications
  • 1994Admitted to bar, California
Languages

English, Korean

Professional Activities
Events
  • Faculty, “New Dawn of Dawn Raids” ABA Spring Meeting 2025, Washington DC, United States, April 2025
  • Speaker, “ESG/Sustainability” ABA Global Seminar Series, Tokyo, Japan, November 2023
  • Speaker, “Innovation policy developments - Antitrust and IP Interface” USC/AG Antitrust and Competition Event, USC Gould Center for Transnational Law and Business, Los Angeles, USA, May 2023
  • Faculty, “Demonstration: The Leniency Decision”, 14th International Cartel Workshop, ABA Antitrust Law Section, Lisbon, Portugal, June 2022
  • Speaker, “Competition in Media Space” USC/AG Antitrust and Competition Event, USC Gould Center for Transnational Law and Business, June 2022
  • Speaker, “Leniency perspectives from the private bar”, hosted by Japan Fair Trade Commission, December 16, 2020
  • Speaker, “The Government Raids Targets & the Defense Responds to the Government Investigation”, 13th International Cartel Workshop, ABA Antitrust Law Section, San Francisco, February 2020
  • Speaker, “Big Data and AI”, HKU-Lingnan-Florida Platform Competition Conference, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, June 2019
  • Speaker, “The New Engine of Growth in Asia Conference: Investment and Technology”, ABA Section of International Law, Korea University, Seoul, Korea, October 2018
  • Speaker, "Refusal to Supply," 2016 International Competition Network (ICN) Annual Conference, UCWG BOS, Singapore, April 2016
  • Speaker, "IP and Antitrust," 2016 International Bar Association (IBA) Annual Conference, Washington DC, September 2016
  • Chairperson, GCR Live 2nd Annual IP & Antitrust Asia-Pacific, May 2016
  • Moderator, "Valuation of IP," GCR Live 2nd Annual IP & Antitrust Asia-Pacific, May 2016
  • Speaker, "Competition Law 2015 – Panorama of antitrust enforcement in Europe and Korea," ECCK Luncheon on Antitrust, Seoul, Korea, November 2015
  • Speaker, "Dominance: Technology cases – North Asia perspective," GCR Live Hong Kong: Focus on China, Hong Kong, October 2015
  • Speaker, "Intersection of antitrust and IP – an international perspective," GCR Live IP & Antitrust Asia-Pacific, Seoul, Korea, May 2015
  • Speaker, "Making efficiency assessment more effective," 2015 ICN Annual Conference, UCWG BOS, Sydney, Australia, April 2015
  • Speaker, "Conglomerate and Vertical Mergers / Case Discussions" Korea University, Seoul, Korea, November 2014
Publications
Professional Accolades

   

  • "Leading Individual" for Competition/Antitrust, Chambers Asia, 2013-2020, 2021-2026 (Band 1)
  • "Leading Individual" for Antitrust and Competition, Legal500, 2024-2026 / "Recommended Lawyer" for Antitrust and Competition, Legal500, 2014, 2016, 2018-2019
  • "Leading Lawyer" for Competition, Lexology Index, 2020-2021, 2023-2025
  • "Leading Lawyer" for Competition/Antitrust, Asialaw Profiles, 2019-2025
  • "Matter of the Year" – Fiat Chrysler Automobiles/PSA Group, GCR Awards, 2021
  • "Merger Control Matter of the Year – Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa"– ZF Friedrichshafen/WABCO, GCR Awards, 2021
  • "Leading Lawyer" for Antitrust and Competition, Legal Times, 2017, 2019

Search People

Search Members
Search Conditions
TOP

Offices

Legal Notice

Business Alliance

SNS Channels

Follow us

Copyright SHIN & KIM LLC. All rights reserved.

Accessibility

Shin & Kim is committed to the improvement of web accessibility to make sure that all users, whether disabled or not, can conveniently use our website. We remain committed to improving web accessibility.

Disclaimer

The Shin & Kim website is intended for informational purposes only. Nothing in the site is to be considered as the rendering of legal advice for any specific matter.

No reader should act or refrain from acting on the basis of any information contained in the website. Please seek professional legal advice relevant to your particular facts and circumstances.

Shin & Kim is not responsible for the contents of any linked web page referenced from this website as it has been provided for convenience purposes only.