Seongsoo Kim

  • Partner
  • T. +82-2-3404-0673
  • F. +82-2-3404-0804
  • E. seongsoo.kim@bkl.co.kr

Overview

Seongsoo Kim is the managing partner and head of the Labor & Employment Group. An expert litigator, he has represented many multinationals and leading Korean industrial and financial groups at trial and appellate levels in administrative and civil cases, as well as white collar criminal defense and labor & employment disputes. He has also led Bae, Kim & Lee LLC teams in high-profile actions across a wide spectrum of claims, such as corporate wrongdoing, environmental claims, automotive defects, telecommunication regulations and trade secret violations. Before joining BKL, where he leads our labor dispute resolution work, he served as a judge for 19 years, rising to the presiding judge of the Seoul Central District Court in 2015. He is noted for his public sector work on refugee legal issues, serving on the Refugee Recognition Committee (Ministry of Justice) in 2009-2014. He is a graduate of Seoul National University (1993), and was a visiting scholar at the University of Michigan Law School (2002).

Representative Experience

2017-Present Bae, Kim & Lee LLC
2015-2017 Presiding Judge, Seoul Central District Court
2013-2015 Presiding Judge, Suwon District Court
2011-2013 Research Judge, Supreme Court of Korea
2006-2008 Judge, Judicial Policy Office, National Court Administration
2002 Visiting Scholar, University of Michigan Law School
2000-2002 Judge, Seoul Administrative Court
1996-1998 Judge Advocate, Republic of Korea Army
See More
2014-2017 Member, The Court Practice Guide Publication Committee (Civil Execution and Non-Contentious Subcommittee)

Representative Matters

Represented client in criminal and civil cases involving trade secret disputes between domestic conglomerates or against foreign NPEs
Represented client in a criminal case involving, e.g., embezzlement or breach of trust committed by a large or medium-sized business owner
Represented savings bank in a criminal case involving the violation of capital market law
Represented and advised foreign automaker in the litigation involving certification and recall of imported vehicles
Represented client in criminal or administrative cases involving an environmental issue (waste disposal)
Labor & Employment
Represented an automobile manufacturer in a case involving ordinary wage and a case involving illegal labor dispatch
Represented a logistics platform company in a case involving unfair labor practices
Represented an IT company in a case involving violation of non-competition agreement
Intellectual Property Right
Represented client in criminal and civil cases involving trade secret disputes between domestic conglomerates or against foreign NPEs
Represented domestic company against foreign NPEs which seek damages arising out of infringement upon trade secrets according to foreign law as well as Korean law
Represented client in civil and criminal cases involving infringement upon trade secrets in respect of secondary lithium battery
Criminal (Court)
Represented client in a criminal case involving, e.g., embezzlement or breach of trust committed by a large or medium-sized business owner
Represented savings bank in a criminal case involving the violation of capital market law
Technology-media & Telecommunication
Represented and advised foreign automaker in the litigation involving certification and recall of imported vehicles
Environmental Litigation
Represented client in criminal or administrative cases involving an environmental issue (waste disposal)
Fair Trade
Represented mobile carriers and agricultural and fishery products wholesale market corporations in fair trade cases involving bidding or collusion
Financial Litigation
Represented multiple securities companies in the litigation involving commercial papers
Refugees
Represented refugees and aslyum seekers with disabilities in civil or administrative cases involving non-recognition of refugee status and non-registration of refugees with disabilities
General Civil Cases
Represented client in international domestic litigation with its applicable law being Chinese law
Represented client in civil or administrative case involving the calculation of the costs incurred for the development of an industrial complex
Government Procurement Contract Dispute
Represented mobile carriers in a civil (preliminary injunction) or administrative case involving a public contract and procurement
Represented defense companies in preliminary injunction cases involving procurement

Education

1995 Judicial Research and Training Institute, Supreme Court of Korea
1993 Seoul National University (LL.B.)

Selected Activities

Publications
Dominion and Intervention of Labor Union, Trade Union and Labor Relations Adiustment Act, Article 81 No. 4 (Co-author, Pakyoungsa, 2015)
The Concept of Refugee and Refugee Status Determination: Review of Requirements for Refugee Status Determination (RSD) and RSD under the ImmigrationControl Law (Co-author, Kyungin Publishing, 2011)
Elimination of Intermediary Exploitation, Labor Standards Act Chapter 1 Article 9 (Co-author, Pakyoungsa, 2010)
Enforcement of Foreign Judgment 2020 (Co-author, International Comparative Legal Guides, 2020)
Business Crime 2021 (Co-author, International Comparative Legal Guides, 2020)
A Promise as a Right (RefLaw, 2019)
The Application of International Labor Standards in National Courts, Labor Laws and Legislation Vol. 1, pp. 276-296 (Labor Laws and Legislation, 2011)
One year after the Korean Refugee Act (RefLaw, 2015)
Activity
Lecture on civil trial, Judicial Research and Training Institute
Awards
Asian Legal Business - Top 15 North Asia Litigators (2023)

Qualifications

1995 Korea

Awards and Recognition