Linklaters established our Foreign Legal Consultant Office in Seoul in July 2013.
Leveraging our unique international capabilities and detailed understanding of the regulatory and business environment in Korea, we provide on-the-ground execution capabilities in both U.S. and English law, across key practice areas including M&A, private equity, foreign direct investment, outbound investment, corporate finance, capital markets, projects, energy and infrastructure, banking and finance.
Recent significant transactions include advising:
- BlackRock on its 100% acquisition of KREDO Holdings with a pipeline of over 2GW of offshore wind.
- BlackRock on its investment in Brite Energy Partners, a Korean solar development and investment company.
- the arranger and dealers on the establishment of Korea Investment & Securities Co., Ltd.’s US$5bn medium term note programme.
- the lenders on the 99MW Jeonnam offshore wind project, the first utility scale offshore wind project in South Korea.
- the managers on SK Battery America, Inc.'s issuance of US$300m 1.625% guaranteed green notes due 2024 and US$700m 2.125% guaranteed green notes due 2026 guaranteed by SK Innovation Co., Ltd. This deal was awarded “Debt Market Deal of the Year” by Asian Legal Business in their Korea Law Awards 2021.
- Hyundai Motor Company on its acquisition of a 10.4% stake in Impact Coatings AB, a Swedish company listed on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market, which develops and commercialises innovative technology for physical vapor deposition surface treatment of fuel cells.
- the lenders and banks on the financing of the Lotte Chemical sponsored Naphtha Cracker Project in the Banten province of Indonesia.
- NH Investment & Securities and NongHyup Financial Group on their acquisition of a minority interest in Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) Gas Pipelines from ADNOC, which will lease US$12bn gas pipelines and US$8bn gas fractionation facilities in Abu Dhabi, UAE. This award-winning deal was named “Oil & Gas Deal of the Year” at The Asset Triple A Infrastructure Awards 2021, “Middle East & Africa Infrastructure Deal of the Year” at the Project Finance International (PFI) Awards 2020 and “Middle East North Africa Oil & Gas Deal of the Year” at the IJ Global Awards 2020.
- BNP Paribas on Kookmin Bank's issuance of US$500m series 2020-10. 2.500% tier II sustainability subordinated notes due 2030 under the US$8bn global medium term note programme. This deal was named “Best Sustainability Bond: Banks (private bank)” at The Asset Triple A Sustainable Capital Markets Regional Awards 2020.
- Korea Trade Insurance Corporation and Nippon Export and Investment Insurance on the approx. US$3bn (NT$90bn) project financing of the 589MW Changfang and Xidao offshore wind project in Taiwan. This project was named “Asia-Pacific Renewables Deal of the Year” at the PFI Awards 2020, “Asia Pacific Export Finance & Project Finance deal of the year” at the IJ Global Awards 2020 and “Asia Export Credit Agency Deal of the Year” at the TXF Deals of the Year Awards 2020.
Our renowned experience is recognised by the market:
“The team remains one of the most highly regarded in this field. Much sought after for its renowned project finance offering and superb track record in offshore wind from Europe to the Asian market. The team is easy to cooperate with especially in terms of communication and approachability.”
Band 1 – Chambers Asia-Pacific 2025, Projects & Infrastructure (International Firms): South Korea
“The team has in-depth sector knowledge and great willingness to dig into the minute details of industry practices. They are strongly driven to find solutions and the partners are super responsive.”
Band 1 – Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2025, Projects and energy: foreign firms: South Korea
“The team advises across the full spectrum of capital market transactions, with a particular focus on deals involving GDRs and equity-linked products such as convertible and exchangeable bonds. They have an integrated US and UK legal offering which allows them to provide both New York and English law capabilities to their wide-ranging client base.”
Band 1 – Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2025, Capital Markets: foreign firm: South Korea
Best Korea Deal: LG Chem’s Convertible Bonds due 2021
