Asset & Wealth Management Center

“Bae, Kim & Lee's dispute settlement team has extensive experience and know-how and offers the best strategies and advice as it collaborates smoothly with other BKL teams.”

- The Legal 500 Asia Pacific

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Overview

BKL’s Asset & Wealth Management Center was established in September 2022 to address the full spectrum of legal needs arising from a sharp increase in asset values, population aging, and the growing number of succession disputes driven by high inheritance and gift tax rates.

The Center provides high-net-worth clients with one-stop, integrated advisory services through close collaboration among professionals in law, tax, and accounting across the entire succession lifecycle, including:

1) Pre-arranged asset distribution (gifts, trusts, wills, overseas relocation, etc.);
2) Payment of inheritance taxes (filing and audit response, securing funding sources for tax payments);
3) Post-event asset distribution (will execution, division of inherited property, etc.);
4) Dispute resolution relating to inheritance (will disputes, claims for recovery of inheritance, forced heirship claims); and
5) Succession and allocation of assets using corporate law techniques (corporate group separation, spin-offs, carve-outs, in-kind contributions, utilization of treasury shares, etc.)

The Center operates as a dedicated team composed of former professionals from the Supreme Court, the Seoul High Court, the Seoul Family Court, the National Tax Service, and major accounting firms, as well as specialists with more than 10 years of experience in family law, inheritance, and tax matters. In addition, the Center actively collaborates with leading domestic financial institutions—including Samsung Securities, Hana Bank, Mirae Asset, KB Bank, Shinhan Bank, and Hyundai Motor Securities—to help address clients’ succession-related concerns.

Building on this foundation, the Center presents proactive and strategic solutions to the three core imperatives of succession—tax efficiency, dispute prevention, and swift dispute resolution. Going beyond traditional succession issues centered on wills and inheritance, the Center also offers solutions involving succession planning through trust law and corporate law techniques, as well a succession strategies involving overseas relocation to jurisdictions such as the United States, Singapore, and Dubai.

The Asset & Wealth Management Center goes beyond the provision of legal advice alone. By gaining a deep understanding of clients’ succession concerns and proactively managing dispute risks, the Center serves as a trusted strategic partner and a reliable companion throughout the succession process.

Key Services

Pre-Arranged Asset Distribution

Gifts and wills

Public interest foundations and charitable trusts

Will-substitute trusts and successive beneficiary trusts

Tax optimization and local settlement through overseas relocation (including Singapore)

Advance distribution planning to prevent disputes over forced heirship

Payment of Inheritance Tax

Filing of inheritance tax returns

Response to inheritance tax audits and investigations

Securing funding sources for inheritance tax payments

Applications for payment of inheritance tax in kind

Post-Event Asset Distribution

Execution of wills

Renunciation of inheritance and limited acceptance

Transfer of inheritance shares

Agreements on the division of inherited property

Response to Inheritance Disputes

Actions to confirm the invalidity of a will

Actions for recovery of inheritance

Petitions for adjudication on the division of inherited property

Actions for the return of forced heirship portions

Succession Strategies Using Corporate Law Techniques

Separation of corporate groups

Mergers and acquisitions, spin-offs, carve-outs, and in-kind contributions

Utilization of treasury shares

Practice Areas

Representative Cases

Comprehensive advisory services concerning agreements on the division of inherited property, securing funding for inheritance tax payments, payment of inheritance tax in kind, and management control disputes arising from co-ownership of shares (including shareholder registration, general meetings of shareholders, and dividends) following the death of the owner of a domestic construction company

Advisory services on corporate group separation and securing funding for inheritance tax payments (including dividends through reduction of capital surplus) for a leading domestic alcoholic beverage company

Advisory services on the restitution of nominee-held shares, application of special gift tax relief for family business succession, and securing funding for inheritance tax payments for a mid-sized domestic semiconductor-related company

Advisory services on the division of inherited property and inheritance tax filings for the owner family of a domestic engineering company

Advisory services on the prevention of inheritance disputes through improvements to the ownership and governance structure of the owner family of a domestic cosmetics company

Advance advisory services on optimizing the application of the family business inheritance deduction and response to inheritance tax audits for the owner family of a listed domestic synthetic resin manufacturer

Response to gift tax audits in connection with corporate group separation and the application of special gift tax relief for family business succession for the owner family of a listed domestic strategic materials manufacturer

Payment of inheritance tax in kind with respect to unlisted shares following the death of the owner of a domestic construction company

Application of special gift tax relief for family business succession for the owner of a mid-sized domestic automotive parts manufacturer

Korean and U.S. inheritance tax filings and response to inheritance tax audits in connection with the death of a high-net-worth individual residing in the United States

Forced heirship litigation involving the owner family of BYC

Litigation to confirm the invalidity of a will involving the owner family of Yoido Full Gospel Church

Litigation concerning wills and inherited property involving the owner family of Taekwang Group

Litigation concerning inherited property involving the owner family of Samsung Group

Restructuring of the ownership and governance structure of a domestic construction materials company

Corporate group separation for a domestic food and beverage company

Divorce proceedings involving the owner of a construction company

Divorce proceedings involving the spouse of the owner of a construction company

Key Contacts

Our Team

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