Bae, Kim & Lee has added Seong Soo Kim, a former presiding judge of the Seoul Central District Court, as a partner in its litigation practice group. After his appointment as judge of the Seoul Central District Court in 1998, Kim served as judge of the Seoul Administrative Court, several district and high courts throughout the country, and Judicial Policy Office under the Office of Court Administration. He was also elected as a research judge of the Supreme Court and a presiding judge of the Seoul Central District Court and two other jurisdictions. During his tenure as a judge, Kim participated in publishing a compendium on litigation procedures and contributed to various journals and studies. He conducted a study on international refugee law at the University of Michigan in 2002 as a visiting scholar, and was designated as a member of the Refugee Recognition Committee spearheaded by the Ministry of Justice from 2009 to 2014. Kim was also director of the International Association of Refugee Law Judges and vice-president of its Asia Pacific Chapter.
RPC has added Janney Chong as partner in the firm’s Hong Kong office, beginning March 1, 2017. A broad corporate finance specialist, Chong had been a partner in the Hong Kong office of US corporate law firm Sidley Austin since 2012, specialising in IPOs, fundraisings and M&As for mainland Chinese businesses. She joined Sidley Austin in 2004. She has substantial experience representing both issuers and underwriters of listings in Hong Kong, as well as takeovers and mergers of Hong Kong-listed companies. Chong has advised on more than 30 Hong Kong IPOs during her career. She has also advised on numerous other Hong Kong transactions, including share issuances worth in excess of US$200 million, and an US$800 million acquisition by a mainland China company of a minority stake in a Hong Kong-listed business.
