In the 2026 edition of The Legal 500 Asia Pacific, Kim & Chang was the only Korean law firm to be recognized as “Tier 1” in all 17 areas surveyed for Korea.

Moreover, 54 of our attorneys, patent attorneys, and tax attorneys/CPAs were recognized in the following individual categories, highlighting our firm’s capabilities across various fields: “Hall of Fame” (three professionals), “Leading Partners” (32 professionals), “Next-Generation Partners” (16 professionals), and “Leading Associates” (three professionals).

The Legal 500 Asia Pacific, a market-leading law firm directory published by renowned UK legal publisher Legalease, conducts extensive research on around 30 countries in the Asia-Pacific region based on submissions from law firms and interviews with partners and clients, and announces law firm rankings across major practice areas.
 

Below are the details of our rankings this year:

Firm Rankings

South Korea (“Tier 1” in all 17 practice areas)

• Antitrust and Competition

• Banking and Finance

• Capital Markets

• Corporate and M&A

• Dispute Resolution

• Fintech and Financial Service Regulatory

• Insurance

• Intellectual Property

• Intellectual Property – PATMA

• International Arbitration

• Labour and Employment

• Projects and Energy

• Real Estate

• Regulatory – White-Collar, Compliance and Investigations

• Shipping

• Tax

• TMT
   

Lawyer Rankings

Leading Partners

• Antitrust and Competition: Youngjin Jung, Brian Tae-Hyun Chung, Jung-Won Hyun

• Banking and Finance: Hi Sun Yoon, Young Min Kim

• Capital Markets: Myoung Jae Chung

• Corporate and M&A: Young Jay Ro*, Jong Koo Park, Young Man Huh, Jong Hyun Park, Sang Jin Han

• Dispute Resolution: Jin Yeong Chung

• Insurance: Jay Ahn, Jae Ho Baek

• Intellectual Property: Jay (Young-June) Yang*, In Hwan Kim, Won Kim

• Intellectual Property – PATMA: Young Kim, Chul Hwan Jung, Monica Hyon Kyong Leeu

• International Arbitration: Byung-Chol (B.C.) Yoon, Matthew J. Christensen, Sae Youn Kim

• Labour and Employment: Weon Jung Kim

• Projects and Energy: Young Kyun Cho

• Real Estate: Keun Ah Cho

• Regulatory – White-Collar, Compliance and Investigations: Kook Hyun Yoo, Myungsuk Sean Choi, Ho Keun Ryu

• Shipping: Byung-Suk Chung*, Chul-Won Lee

• Tax: Byung-Moon Jung, Woo Hyun Baik, Tae-Yeon Nam

• TMT: Dong Shik Choi
   

Next Generation Partners

• Antitrust and Competition: Kyung Min Koh

• Banking and Finance: Ie Hwan Yoo, Seon-Jee Lee

• Insurance: Hyun Wook Shin

• Intellectual Property: Minjung Park

• Intellectual Property – PATMA: Kang Kwon

• International Arbitration: Shul Park

• Labour and Employment: Hyun Jae Park

• Real Estate: Jin Ho Song, Sang Min Lee

• Regulatory – White-Collar, Compliance and Investigations: Sung Won Hong

• Shipping: Na-Rae Kim, Sang-Hyup Lee

• Tax: Sang Woo Lee

• TMT: Min Chul Park, Seong-Hyeon Bang
   

Leading Associates

• Antitrust and Competition: Hemi Lee

• Intellectual Property: Jongmin Lee

• Labour and Employment: Do-Yoon Kim

* Hall of fame: individuals who have received constant praise from their clients for their continued excellence.