Korean firm Daeryun to open first overseas office in New York

[原文]

Daeryun, which is a Korean law firm established in 2018, has chosen New York as its first overseas office outside South Korea.

“New York is the centre of the international legal market, where global law firms converge and compete fiercely. In order to demonstrate that the capabilities of Korean law firms are effective on the world stage, we have chosen New York as our strategic first entry point,” Kukil Kim, the managing partner at Daeryun, told Asia Business Law Journal on why his firm chose the US city.

Kim said existing Korean law firms tended to prioritise achieving short-term profitability and reducing operating costs, which led them to favour the Southeast Asian region when expanding overseas for the first time. None of the traditional Big Six firms in Korea – Kim & Chang, Lee & Ko, Bae Kim & Lee, Yulchon, Shin & Kim and Yoon & Yang – maintain offices in North America.

“We will primarily focus on providing corporate clients with advisory services on international transactions and overseas expansion and entry,” said Kim. Conversely, the firm will also provide a range of solutions for US and other foreign companies entering the Korean market, including domestic market analysis, entry strategy development, permit procedures, and legal advice on labour and taxation.

Kim added that instead of limiting itself to the existing Korean client base, the firm would target companies and individuals of all nationalities within the US as prospective clients. Accordingly, it plans to hire local attorneys directly.

The New York office is scheduled to begin operations between June and August with a team of two to three attorneys holding US bar qualifications.

When asked on the opening of additional overseas offices, Kim said: “Market research and partnership discussions concerning major cities in Europe and Asia are currently underway internally including those in the UK, Germany, Singapore and Japan, as well as the Southeast Asian market.”

In 2024, Daeryun recorded revenue of KRW112.7 billion (USD81 million), ranking it among the top 10 law firms in Korea by revenue for the first time.

[韓国語]

2018年に設立された法務法人大輪が韓国外の初の海外事務所としてニューヨークを選んだ。

大輪の金国日経営代表弁護士は、ニューヨークを選んだ理由について、Asia Business Law Journalに「ニューヨークはグローバルメガローファームが集結して激しく競争する国際法律市場の中心地」とし「韓国ローファームの力量が世界市場でも有効であることを立証するためにニューヨークを戦略的に初めて進出した。

Representative attorney Kim said that in general, Korean law firms tend to prefer the Southeast Asian region by first considering securing short-term profitability and reducing operating costs when initially expanding overseas. Korea's six traditional law firms, Kim & Chang Law Firm, Gwangjang Law Firm, Pacific Law Firm, Yulchon Law Firm, Shin & Kim Law Firm, and Yoon & Yang Law Firm, all do not have offices in North America.

金代表弁護士は、「優先企業顧客を対象とした国際取引及び海外進出・進入諮問を核心業務にするだろう」と話した。対照的に、米国およびその他の外国系企業の韓国市場への参入については、国内市場分析、進入戦略の樹立、認可手続き、労働・租税関連法律諮問など多様なソリューションを提供する予定だ。

金代表弁護士はまた、既存の韓国系顧客層に限らず、米国内のすべての国籍の企業と個人を潜在顧客群に設定すると付け加えた。これにより現地弁護士を直接採用する計画だ。

ニューヨーク事務所は６月から８月の間に米国弁護士資格を所持した弁護士２～３人で構成されるチームで運営を開始する予定だ。

追加海外事務所の開設に関する質問に、金代表弁護士は「現在、内部的に英国、ドイツ、シンガポール、日本などヨーロッパおよびアジア主要都市および東南アジア市場に対する市場調査とパートナーシップ協議が進行中である」と明らかにした。

大輪は２０２４年の売上高１１２７億ウォンを記録し、売上基準国内上位１０代のローファームに初めて進入したことがある。

[記事の表示]
Korean firm Daeryun to open first overseas office in New York (リンク)