Korean M&A lawyers, Woojae Kim, has joined O’Melveny as a partner based in Seoul.
Woojae is a trusted advisor to Korean companies on their outbound, cross-border matters as well as to international investment banks and private equity clients in major transactions involving Korean businesses. Heis highly regarded for his broad abilities spanning cross-border mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, private equity investments, financings, and securities offerings.
Before joining O’Melveny, Woojae was a partner at one of Korea’s largest domestic law firms and a corporate partner in an AmLaw 100 firm in Seoul. He also previously practiced in both New York and Hong Kong, giving him a rare, Asia-regional and international perspective and approach.
Woojae’s arrival follows O’Melveny’s addition in February of another top cross-border M&A lawyer in Seoul, Daniel Kim, with whom he practiced for nearly 10 years at the same major international firm. Together, they worked closely on some of the most important cross-border and outbound deals in Korea, including Samsung Electronics’ USD8 billion acquisition of Harman International—then the largest Korean outbound M&A transaction on record.
“We’re delighted to welcome Woojae to the firm as we continue to execute on our strategic plan in Korea,” says O’Melveny chair Bradley J Butwin. “Woojae is widely respected by our clients and well known to our lawyers. We aim to offer our clients top-tier transactional and litigation capabilities in Seoul, and Woojae is an integral part of that effort.”
“Woojae’s arrival solidifies O’Melveny’s market-leading reputation for helping Korean companies and international clients on their Korea-related matters,” says Joseph Kim, partner and chair of O’Melveny’s Korea practice. “Our Korean clients have achieved astounding success this year, and we look forward to Woojae being an important part of this continuing equation in the years to come.”
Woojae is admitted to practice in New York. He is registered as a Foreign Legal Consultant in Korea, and is fluent in English and Korean.
