South Korean Big Six firm Yulchon has continued its recent expansion by poaching four seasoned M&A partners from Yoon & Yang. The quartet includes Sung-Jin Kim (L), the former head of the M&A practice at Yoon & Yang, along with Kayoung Kim, Hyerim Kang, and Junghwan Lee.

All four partners had previously been part of Yulchon until 2014, and after a decade-long stint at Yoon & Yang, they are now making a return to their former firm. According to a statement from Yulchon, their return marks "a significant lateral talent movement within the Korean legal landscape.”

Yulchon has been hiring aggressively since the end of 2023. The firm hired intellectual property partners JongCheol Lee and Mun Hui Kim and leading arbitration lawyer David MacArthur in March. Previously, it added a number of Korean prosecutors including Wook Jin Rha, Woo Y. Choe and Sang Mook Kang, along with former SK Biopharma GC Jooyup Chae.

Sung-Jin Kim has expertise advising clients on transactions and private equity deals in the information technology, manufacturing, finance and healthcare sectors.

He has advised IMM Private Equity on its acquisition of Hanssem, Korean Air on its acquisition of Asiana Airlines, SK Ecoplant on its acquisition of Saehan Environment and Daewon Green Energy, Premier Private Equity on its acquisition of Mega Coffee, and on the establishment of the JV between SK E&S and Plug Power, among others.

Kayoung Kim is also a private equity-focused transactional lawyer. Her recent deals include SKS Private Equity’s acquisition of Bloom Energy Corporation’s shares, and SK Ecoplant's acquisition of Daewon Green Energy and Saehan Environment.

Lee specializes in M&A and corporate advisory in the financial, platform, manufacturing, and energy industries. He has advised on the Celltrion-Celltrion healthcare merger, Premier PEF and Naver Webtoon on the acquisition of Munpia, SKS PE/Mirae Asset Venture Investment on the investment in Wavve, and Hyundai Materials on the acquisition of Mando New Materials, among others.

“We are excited to welcome back Sung-Jin Kim, Kayoung Kim, Hyerim Kang, and Junghwan Lee to the firm. Their collective expertise and commitment to excellence will undoubtedly enhance the firm's capabilities in serving clients across a wide range of M&A transactions,” said Sung Wook Eun, co-head of Yulchon’s corporate & finance practice, in the statement.