Global law firm K&L Gates has named Tyler Hong Shik Won (원홍식) managing partner of the firm’s Seoul office, effective 1 April.

Won counsels both Korean and international clients on intellectual property-related issues, including those involving trade secret compliance and litigation, as well as international trade and antitrust issues. He has also advised on renewable energy projects, merger and acquisitions, project finance, employment, litigation, and anti-corruption related issues.

“I am honored to be leading the Seoul office in our continued efforts for global integration and the highest quality client service,” Won said. “In this critical time of rapid change, when many Korean companies are quickly expanding to many different countries, we are dedicated to supporting our clients’ smooth transitions abroad. As managing partner of our Seoul office, I am committed to positioning our firm to be the leading provider of insightful, practical solutions for our clients in the Korean market and beyond.”

“We congratulate Tyler as he embarks in this new leadership position with the firm,” said K&L Gates Global Managing Partner Jim Segerdahl. “He has built an extremely strong practice, and has emerged as a trusted advisor to numerous multinational companies that have legal needs spanning the globe and that are based in, or otherwise have ties to, Korea.”

“In addition to Tyler, we are fortunate to have a number of excellent lawyers with substantial practices with ties to clients in Korea, Asia and beyond,” added Segerdahl. “We look forward to continuing to grow those practices and opportunities consistent with our culture of collaboration and teamwork.”

Won succeeds Seoul partner Eric Yoon as the office’s chief legal representative, a role in which Yoon, who was instrumental in launching the office in 2012, has served ever since. He will continue as a partner with the firm in both Seoul and New York. From 2020 to 2022, Yoon served as the elected President of the Foreign Law Firm Association of Korea. With the transition, Won will now serve as the chief legal representative of the Seoul office.

The firm’s Seoul office, in close cooperation with lawyers in the firm’s other offices and local Korean counsel firms, assists domestic clients with accessing foreign markets and resolving other legal issues overseas. The firm’s wider Korea practice, comprising lawyers in Seoul as well as overseas, assists Korean companies doing business in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and beyond with their diverse contentious and non-contentious legal needs.

As Korean companies become increasingly globalized and shift their business to a variety of different countries, including the United States, Europe, and Southeast Asia, it is expected that there will be extensive opportunities for close partnerships between the firm and its clients for years to come. Won is dedicated to collaborating closely with the firm’s other offices across Asia to create positive synergy and deliver seamless, cross-border services to clients across a broad variety of practice areas and geographic locations.