Mr. Tong-Gun Lee is a partner at Shin & Kim and his practice focuses on inbound and outbound M&As, joint ventures, private equity transactions, hostile takeovers and defenses, pre-IPO investments, corporate restructuring, squeeze-out transactions, shareholder disputes, and general corporate law.

Mr. Lee has worked on landmark transactions in international investments, hostile takeovers and defenses, M&A transactions, and corporate restructurings, many of which have been named the Deal of the Year by the International Financial Law Review, Asian Legal Business, CFO Asia, etc.

With his extensive experience in M&A transactions and M&A-related disputes, Mr. Lee is known for his sophisticated and detailed contract drafting and excellent negotiation skills, making him the first choice for clients in complex transactions. He has advised strategic investors such as SK Group, CJ Group, Hansol Group, Hanwha Group, KCC, OCI, FILA, and Novelis, as well as prestigious financial investors including IMM, MBK, KKR, GIC, H&Q, Mirae Asset PE, and SJL Partners.

Mr. Lee graduated from Seoul National University College of Law and received his certificate of completion from Seoul National University Graduate School of Public Administration and his LL.M. from Stanford Law School. Mr. Lee completed the 29th judicial training course at the Judicial Research and Training Institute. He also worked at the New York office of Cleary Gottlieb, one of the world's leading law firms, as an international lawyer.

Mr. Lee has published on various legal issues related to M&A and has presided at numerous seminars and lectures. He has been recognized annually as a leading lawyer in the field of Corporate/M&A by leading domestic and international publications such as Chambers, Asialaw Profiles, IFLR, Legal 500, and Legal Times.

M&A transactions

• Advised IMM PE on the sale of Genuone Science, a leading CDMO company specializing in synthetic drugs in Korea
• Advised Pharma Research on the Induced investment from Polish Company Limited, a European investment company, through the sale of minority interests
• Advised Hana Securities on the sale of Gimcheon Energy Service, Pyeongtaek Energy Service, and Jeonbuk Integrated Energy
• Advised on acquisition of MSS Holdings (parent company of Mona Lisa and SsangYong C&B, etc.) from MS PE of Indonesia APP Group
• Advised KCC on acquisition of shares and management rights of U.S. MOM Holding Company from SJL Partners
• Advised IMM Credit Solution on its investment in KT Cloud
• Advised MBK Partners on its acquisition of Nexflex, a leading domestic manufacturer of flexible copper clad layer films (FCCL) for smartphones
• Advised SD Biosensor and SJL Consortium on the acquisition of Meridian, a US-listed company
• Advised Oneasia Partners on its acquisition of Graygo, an IP commerce platform
• Advised CJ ENM on its minority investment in Must’it, an online luxury goods sales platform
• Advised OCI on its acquisition of Bukwang Pharmaceutical
• Advised CJ ENM on its acquisition of Endeavor Content, a US content creation agency (transaction value of approximately KRW 1 trillion as of 2021)
• Advised IMM PE on the acquisition of PetFriends, a leading pet commerce company; acquisition of Kolmar Pharma and the transfer of the pharmaceutical business of Kolmar Korea; sale of Taihan Cable & Solution; and investment in Shinhan Financial Group
• Advised KCC on the sale of its affiliates, KCC Silicone, KCC Basildon (KCC's silicone subsidiary in the U.K.) and KCG (KCC's subsidiary in Guangzhou, China), to Momentive for the corporate governance restructuring of KCC’s silicone business
• Advised the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) on its acquisition of a stake in Starbucks Coffee Korea
• Advised IMM Investment on its investment in Musinsa, a fashion platform
• Advised Well to Sea No. 3 Investment Purpose Company on the sale of Aju Capital to Woori Financial Holdings
• Advised Hansol Paper and Mirae Asset Daewoo Hunters Private Equity on the sale of Hansol Paper's subsidiaries in Denmark, the Netherlands, and Germany
• Advised IMM Investment on its acquisition of convertible preferred shares (CPS) of Wemakeprice
• Advised AJ Rent-A-Car on its acquisition of SK Networks' car rental division
• Advised CJ CheilJedang on its acquisition of Schwan's Company, a U.S. frozen food company
• Advised the consortium of SJL, KCC, and Wonik on the acquisition of Momentive, a US silicon company
• Advised the consortium of Tencent, IMM, JKL, and Saehan Venture Capital on the investment in Bluehole
• Advised on the sale of SK D&D’s stake to Hahn & Company
• Advised on the sale of CJ Healthcare
• Advised Novelis on its in-kind contribution to the Ulsan Plant Division and the establishment of a joint venture with Kobe Steel
• Advised Group H on its acquisition of a U.S.-listed company
• Advised Samsung Electronics on its investment in Dongjin Semichem
• Advised IMM on the investment in Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries; acquisition of Taihan Cable & Solution; investment in Mars Entertainment in Turkey; sale of DST; the investment in Kyobo Life Insurance; investment in POSCO Special Steel; the investment in an affiliate of Doosan Group; acquisition of KT Rental; sale of Hollys; acquisition of Hyundai Cement; sale of Cap; and investment in K-bank
• Advised SK Networks on the acquisition of Dongyang Magic; investment in MMX in Brazil; acquisition of Pinx; acquisition of Kumho Rent-a-Car China; and acquisition of Woongjin Coway
• Advised OCI on the sale of OCI Materials and the sale of Ordeq
• Advised SK E&S on the sale of power plant packages
• Advised FILA on its acquisition of management control of Titleist
• Advised on the joint venture of Kyungchang Industrial and Bosch in Germany
• Advised Hansol Group on its acquisition of a Danish paper company and a Dutch paper company
• Advised Mirae Asset PE, etc. on the acquisition of the headquarters of Coffee Bean in the U.S.
• Advised Dongbu Group on its acquisition of Daewoo Electronics
• Advised Lotte Group on its acquisition of Buy the Way and CS Distribution
• Advised on other M&A matters in various fields

Disputes between shareholders, including management disputes

• Represented investors in a pre-IPO investment in a lawsuit seeking liability for breach of a shareholders’ agreement by a major shareholder (litigation value of approximately KRW 700 billion)
• Advised client in a hostile M&A attempt against Company H and advised on shareholder disputes
• Advised Company K in a dispute between its largest and second largest shareholders
• Advised on measures against an activist fund related to Company S
• Advised a number of other listed companies and leading unlisted companies in management control disputes and shareholder disputes