Joo Hee Lee

Registered as a Foreign Legal Consultant (California) in South Korea

Joo Hee advises Korean and Asian corporates, banks and Export Credit Agencies (ECAs) on multi-source project finance and project development, both in Korea and internationally.

At various times, Joo Hee has completed a number of successful secondments. These include secondments to:

• Royal Bank of Scotland in Hong Kong for four months in 2009, advising on the bank’s divestment programme.
• Korea National Oil Company in 2011, in the company’s legal department.
• The Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM), for seven months in 2015.
• Korea Trade Insurance Corporation (K-SURE) for two days a week over a period of six months in 2016, in the company’s project finance department.

Work highlights

Joo Hee has advised on many major projects and project financings. These include advising:

• the lenders on the US$480m (KRW 615bn) financing of the Jeonnam 1 offshore wind farm project located in South Jeolla Province, South Korea – this is the first internationally sponsored and financed offshore wind project in South Korea.
• SK On in relation to the joint venture with Ford Motor Company (Ford Otosan) and Koc Holding for the establishment of an EV battery manufacturing entity in Turkey.
• KEXIM, K-SURE and banks on the financing of a petrochemical complex in Indonesia, sponsored by Lotte Chemical.
• the international sponsor on the development of 1.6GW offshore project in Korea (ongoing).
• BlackRock Real Assets on its investment in South Korean solar development and investment company Brite Energy Partners, as well as on its acquisition of a 100% stake in Korea Renewables Energy Development & Operations Holdings, with an over 2GW renewables pipeline in South Korea.
• the lenders (including K-SURE, other international ECAs and commercial banks) on the closed project financings of Greater Changhua 1, Changfang & Xidao, and Formosa 2 offshore wind projects in Taiwan.
• Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board on its investment of up to US$1bn in a global offshore wind development joint venture with Corio Generation to support the development of 14 fixed bottom and floating wind projects including in South Korea.
• NH Investment & Securities Co., Ltd. as part of a consortium of buyers on the signing of its investment into Abu Dhabi National Oil Company's natural gas pipelines in the UAE. This transaction was named “Middle East & Africa Infrastructure Deal of the Year” PFI Awards 2020.

Joo Hee regularly speaks at events, including at the “Public Private Partnerships in South East Asia” seminar, May 2015, co-arranged with KEXIM, and “Business Strategy & Investment in the Iranian Market”, February 2016, co-arranged with KEXIM and the International Contractors Association of Korea.

Joo Hee studied law at Yonsei University, Seoul. She was the first ever Korean-qualified lawyer to join an international law firm directly from the Judicial Research & Training Institute in Korea.

Joo Hee is admitted in the UK (England & Wales), US (California) and Republic of Korea.