Mr. Kihoon Lim is a partner in the Financial Regulation Group at Shin & Kim. His practice areas include financial regulation, capital markets, responses to inspections and sanctions, consulting services for financial companies, securities and finance litigation, and Japan practice.

Mr. Lim’s practice focuses on financial regulation, capital markets, responses to inspections and sanctions, consulting services for financial companies, and securities and finance litigation. He has practical experience as a secondee at a securities firm and provides financial regulatory advice to Japanese companies. In addition, he has advised clients on issues related to the Capital Markets Act and the Companies Act involving listed companies, as well as on responses to unfair trading investigations, such as those involving market price manipulation and fraudulent unfair trading. Finally, he has experience with financial institution licensing, concurrent business, and ancillary business. Drawing on his extensive experience, Mr. Lim offers a wide range of services, from advisory to litigation.

Mr. Lim graduated from Korea University College of Law (LL.B.) and completed the 43rd judicial training course at the Judicial Research and Training Institute. After serving as a public-service advocate at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Ministry of Justice, he joined Shin & Kim. In 2022, Mr. Lim received his Master of Laws degree from Kyushu University Law School in Japan, writing a thesis titled “Possibility of Adjustment of Usage Fee in Case of Change of Circumstances in PPP Project Operations.” In 2023, he was seconded to Samsung Securities Co., Ltd. In 2025, Legal Times named him a “Rising Star in Financial Regulation.”

Financial Regulation and Capital Markets Practice

• Advised major financial institutions on various issues under the revised Commercial Act
• Advised a major foreign securities firm on insider trading and the "wall within a wall" practice
• Advised a major asset manager on repurchase agreement (repo) fund operations
• Advised a major securities firm on securities lending and borrowing brokerage
• Advised a major securities firm on exchange-traded fund (ETF) operations
• Advised a major securities firm on futures trading
• Advised a major securities firm on restricted stock unit (RSU) services
• Advised a major private equity (PE) firm on capital markets law and corporate law matters related to a management control dispute
• Advised a major securities firm on response to an inspection regarding short selling
• Advised a major financial holding company on action plans for joint ventures between its subsidiaries
• Advised a major insurer on asset management entrustment
• Advised on response measures to the failure of a private equity fund sold by a major bank
• Advised a major bank on developing a comprehensive plan for a private equity fund that suspended redemption
• Advised a major securities company on the post-management of a real estate PF
• Advised a major securities company on the management of a PEF
• Advised a major securities company on conflict of interest and blocking of information exchange
• Advised a major securities company on the management of a pension trust
• Advised a major fund management company on the liquidation and post-management of a private equity fund that invested in Hanzomon real estate in Tokyo, Japan and handled subsequent dispute proceedings
• Advised a major fund management company on the management of a private equity fund that purchased a property in Roppongi, Tokyo, Japan
• Advised a major fund management company on the management of a private equity fund that purchased a property in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, Japan
• Advised a major fund management company on the recovery of investments
• Advised a major Korean holding company on the establishment of an overseas management company and investment in an offshore fund

Response to Inspection and Sanction

• Advised a major bank on response to inspection and sanction in relation to the ELT in the Hong Kong H Index
• Advised a major bank on response to inspection and sanction and subsequent follow-up management of a large-scale embezzlement case by its employee
• Advised a major securities firm on response to inspection and sanction relating to deferred performance-based compensation
• Advised a major bank on response to inspection and sanction relating to the risk classification of funds
• Advised a major financial holding company on response to the Financial Supervisory Service’s inspection and sanctions for violation of the Financial Holding Companies Act
• Advised a client on response to an investigation related to illegal trading involving TSI investments
• Advised clients on responses to complaints and investigations related to unfair trading practices, such as market manipulation, the use of unpublished information, and illegal trading

Consulting Services for Financial Companies

• Advised major banks and securities firms by conducting accountability structure and internal control system revision projects
• Advised a major securities firm by conducting a bylaws review project
• Advised a major bank by conducting a review of internal control bylaws
• Advised a major bank by conducting a comparative study of U.S. and Japanese regulatory standards for the discretionary investment business
• Advised a major bank by conducting a comparative study of U.S. and Japanese regulatory standards for the trust business
• Advised a major securities firm by developing internal control standards for trust business

Securities and Finance Litigation

• Represented major banks and securities companies in a number of civil and administrative lawsuits involving private equity funds
• Represented a major securities company in civil litigation involving a real estate PF
• Represented the executives and employees of a major management company in a case involving violation of the Capital Markets Act (fraudulent unfair transaction) and obtained acquittal
• Represented a major management company in civil litigation involving an Australian real estate private equity fund
• Represented in civil and criminal litigation relating to unfair trading (market price manipulation and fraudulent unfair transaction)

Japan Practice

• Advised on the cross-border M&A due diligence and related matters between Japan and Korea
• Advised the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan on Korea’s Foreign Investment Promotion Act and the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act
• Advised the Tokyo Stock Exchange of Japan on Korea’s Commercial Act, Capital Markets Act, Act on External Audit of Stock Companies and disclosure system
• Advised a Japanese financial company on the Korean legal system
• Advised a Japanese company investing in a Korean company on Korea’s Foreign Exchange Transactions Act
• Advised on the liquidation of a Japanese company in which a Korean company invested