Yoon & Yang has further strengthened its M&A and corporate advisory capabilities with the recruitment of Partner Jin Kook Lee, a veteran dealmaker renowned for his exceptional track record in both domestic and cross-border M&A and capital markets, and rising next-generation star Partner So Yeon Yoon. Lee is a strategic dealmaker with over 20 years of experience leading a wide range of large-scale domestic and cross-border M&A and capital markets transactions. A graduate of Seoul National University School of Law (Class of 1997), he passed the Korean bar in 1998, and served as a military judge advocate. He joined Yulchon in 2004, and played a pivotal role in its M&A practice as a core member of the Corporate & Finance Group for over two decades. Lee possesses a rare combination in corporate advisory expertise and experience for a Korean attorney, with capabilities to advise not only on both inbound and outbound M&A transactions, but also on IPOs and other capital markets transactions. He has advised on a number of landmark M&A transactions, as well as many high-profile IPOs in Korea. Notably, he advised MBK Partners on its KRW7.2 trillion (US$5b) acquisition of Homeplus, the largest private equity M&A deal in Asia. His track record has earned him the nickname “big deal maker” among clients and peers alike. Yoon is recognized for her ability to provide tailored advice on M&A and corporate governance matters, through a unique blend of external counsel experience handling major deals at a law firm, and in-house counsel experience at Korea’s largest platform company, coupled with her specialized expertise in commercial law. Yoon graduated as the second-highest in her class from Seoul National University Law School in 2012, and was admitted to the Korean bar in the same year. Afterward, she developed her expertise and built a solid track record in M&A and corporate governance practices over more than ten years at Yulchon. Notable deals include Hanwha Galleria and TimeWorld’s share exchange, KT Group’s media content holding company project, Hillhouse Capital’s investment in Market Kurly, Lotte Capital’s equity sale, MBK Partners’ Homeplus acquisition, and SK IE Technology’s IPO. In 2018, she earned an LLM from Harvard Law School, and was subsequently admitted to the New York Bar. She then joined the New York office of Sullivan & Cromwell, gaining hands-on experience in global transactions. From 2022 to 2024, she served as Head of Legal at Naver, where she oversaw a wide range of platform-specific legal matters, including TMT, AI, ESG and litigation, and spearheaded strategic investment initiatives, such as Naver’s largest acquisition of US-based Poshmark. In 2025, she completed her Doctor of Juridical Science (JSD) at Seoul National University Law School, with a dissertation on equity compensation structures, such as RSUs and PSUs, further strengthening her commercial law expertise.
