Skadden Opens Office in Seoul

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP has opened their 23^rd worldwide office and seventh in the Asia Pacific region in Seoul, Korea. Skadden becomes the 19^th international law firm to open office in Seoul after receiving official approval to open a foreign consultant office from the Ministry of Justice. Currently, out of the 19 foreign law firms in Seoul, 14 are from US and five from UK.

Skadden’s Seoul office will be headed by H. Young Shin, a native Korean speaker who was based at the firm’s New York office. He has more than 10 years of experience representing Korean clients across a wide range of industries on international transactions. Three other lawyers will be joining Shin.

Skadden’s Executive Partner Eric Friedman said, “Skadden has a long history of advising a diverse range of Korean and international clients on Korea-related business matters and legal disputes … The opening of our Seoul office enables us to deepen our ongoing commitment to the Korean market.”

Skadden claims to have represented Korean and international corporations, financial institutions and government entities for more than 20 years in mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, private equity, energy and infrastructure projects, and international disputes related to the region.

Its Seoul office will provide the law firm with a local platform to represent Korean and international companies and financial institutions in one of the world’s leading and dynamic business centers. As Shin put it, “Our Seoul office will provide seamless global legal services to clients by drawing upon the strength of the firm’s resources across the Asia Pacific region and around the world.”

Other international law firms which have recently opened office in Seoul include Baker & McKenzie and Linklaters while many law firms are still in the process and carrying on negotiations and agreements with local firms.