Lee & Ko to host 12th M&A Forum on Oct. 28

Lee & Ko announced Friday it will hold its 12th M&A Forum on Oct. 28, examining major practical issues stemming from a rapidly changing regulatory environment — from amendments to the Commercial Act and Capital Markets Act to tightened restrictions on nationally critical technologies. The event will be held at 2 p.m. at the Lilac Room on the second floor of the Westin Chosun Seoul in Jung-gu.

The firm holds the forum annually, bringing together partners from its corporate advisory and M&A group. This year marks the 12th edition. The event has drawn consistent attention in recent years, with its more than 100 offline seats regularly selling out the moment registration opens.

Lee & Ko reinforced its standing in the M&A market this year through a string of high-profile transactions, including advising on SK Telecom's share sale and investment round for SK Horizon (tentative name), SK Broadband's spin-off of its data center and international dedicated-line service business based on its own submarine cable network, TPG's acquisition of Lotte Rental, Bain Capital's acquisition of Gong Cha, and Macquarie PE's acquisition of Hwaseong Cosmetic and Nowcos.

The 12th M&A Forum will be divided into two sessions. The first will feature Lee & Ko attorneys Kim Kyung-cheon and Kwon Gu-beom presenting on practical changes in listed-company M&A transactions under the amended Commercial Act and Capital Markets Act. Their presentation will focus on share purchase transactions and corporate restructuring deals, walking through key changes at each stage of a transaction and examining the implications and points of caution for practitioners.

The second session will feature attorneys Lee Hee-woong, Park Ji-hye and Kim Tae-yong presenting on the theme of technology security and M&A. As the need to view M&A through the lens of national security and industrial competitiveness grows, the session will discuss key legal issues and practical considerations arising from the evolving regulatory landscape — centered on nationally critical technologies, national advanced strategic technologies and the security review system — along with guidance on how to respond.

Moon Ho-jun, managing partner of Lee & Ko's corporate advisory group, said the forum is "an opportunity for Lee & Ko, as a group of experts leading the domestic M&A market, to give back to our clients, and a venue to share the expertise we have built with M&A practitioners." He added that he hopes "the event will be a meaningful experience for all who attend."