Hive-Kim & Chang vs. Min Hee-jin-Sejong... Large law firms also prepare for ‘negotiation’ with star lawyers

Surrounding the legal dispute between Hive and Adore CEO Min Hee-jin, the domestic law firms representing each are also engaged in a battle of pride. As Hive joined hands with Kim & Chang and Min Hee-jin joined hands with Sejong, Korea's top lawyers who mainly deal with management rights disputes are on standby.

According to the legal community on the 7th, Hive is responding by appointing Kim & Chang Law Firm as its legal representative, and Adore has appointed Sejong Law Firm as its legal representative. Both law firms are among the top law firms in the country and are capable of providing full-spectrum legal representation, from consulting to litigation. As the entertainment industry is growing rapidly, there is the possibility of various disputes ranging from intellectual property rights to management rights, so both law firms are paying close attention to this lawsuit.

Accordingly, the experience of lawyers from both law firms is also receiving attention. Lawyers who mainly deal with corporate mergers and acquisitions, management rights disputes, etc. are involved. As Hive claims, this situation means that the key issues in this situation are 'theft of management rights' and 'shareholder contracts'.

Sejong was the first place to reveal its face to the public. On the 25th of last month, CEO Min Hee-jin held a press conference, and two lawyers from Sejong attended both sides. On the left is Soo-gyun Lee, and on the right is Attorney Sook-mi Lee.

Attorney Soo-gyun Lee is a graduate of the 36th class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute and is currently working as a partner attorney at Sejong. He is in charge of corporate mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance and management rights disputes, and corporate group regulation. He has also handled domestic M&A-related disputes, including disputes between shareholders, hostile M&A, and management rights disputes.

Attorney Sookmi Lee is a graduate of the 34th class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute and is also a partner attorney at Sejong. He is in charge of general corporate, hostile M&A, finance, trust, and real estate litigation. In addition, he was responsible for a number of hostile M&A or management dispute cases that received media attention, including Hyundai Elevator, Asiana Airlines, Hyundai Securities, Helixsmith, and Bithumb Holdings.

Hive's legal representative, Kim & Chang, has formed a team of lawyers including Ko Chang-hyeon and Hong Min-young.

Attorney Ko Chang-hyeon is a member of the 19th class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute and a representative second-generation lawyer at Kim & Chang. He has expertise in finance and securities as well as M&A (corporate mergers).

It also has a history of being the first to issue new type of capital securities (perpetual bonds), which have become a common means of raising funds for companies. In the field of M&A, Attorney Koh Chang-hyeon has been active in concluding large-scale transactions such as H&Q Korea's acquisition of management rights of Ssangyong Investment & Securities (currently Shinhan Investment & Securities) in 1998 and New Bridge Capital's equity investment in Korea First Bank (1999). showed.

Attorney Hong Min-young is a member of the 36th class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute. Lee Soo-gyun is the same class as Sejong lawyer. He specializes in corporate law and finance, including mergers, company spin-offs, spin-off mergers, comprehensive exchanges and transfers of stocks, and listings and re-listings for the establishment and conversion of financial holding companies, general holding companies, and other controlling companies in relation to listed companies and business structure reorganization. We provide extensive advice on related laws and capital market regulations.

Lastly, lawyer Kook Ji-hyeon passed the 7th bar exam in 2018 after graduating from Korea University's Department of Business Administration. Attorney Kook Ji-hyun also continues to provide advice on corporate governance and management rights disputes.

In this case, a fierce legal battle is expected over Representative Min's breach of duty. Kim & Chang is expected to argue that CEO Min's breach of trust amounted to actual commencement, while Sejong is expected to argue that it cannot be considered breach of trust because it is merely a simulation without commencement. In addition to breach of trust, the two law firms are bound to fight fiercely in consultation and litigation regarding legal disputes that result. A lawyer from a large law firm said, “This case has no precedent and is legally complex, so it will not be easy for lawyers.” He added, “It could become a precedent surrounding management rights disputes, and as public interest is high, law firms have no choice but to fight to the death.” “There is none,” he explained.

Reporter Junho Yoon, Ten Asia delo410@tenasia.co.kr