Sun Young Kim

Sunyoung Kim

Partner
Baker McKenzie & KL Partners Joint Venture Law Firm

Biography

Sunyoung Kim is a partner in the Dispute Resolution Team in Baker McKenzie & KL Partners Joint Venture Law Firm. Ms. Kim acted as counsel in various international arbitration cases brought before the ICC, SIAC, CIETAC and KCAB as well as in ad-hoc arbitrations. She also has experience in cross-border joint venture and M&A transactions.

Ms. Kim has been consistently recognized as a Next Generation Partner by Legal 500 since 2019 and was named Litigation Star in the Benchmark Litigation Asia Pacific Guide in 2023 and 2024. She was also named Arbitration Lawyer of the Year, North Asia at the Asian Legal Business Women in Law Awards in 2021.

In Legal 500, Sunyoung Kim was described as someone who “possesses the diverse language capabilities, networking connections, and insights required of an international lawyer” and “a skillful advocate who is also extremely responsive, hardworking, and dedicated.”

Practice Focus

International Arbitration

  • Advised on a SIAC arbitration case concerning a dispute between a Norwegian company and a Korean company in connection with a contract of affreightment.
  • Advised on a CIETAC arbitration case concerning a dispute between a Chinese company and a Korean company in connection with a supply contract.
  • Advised on an ICC arbitration case concerning a dispute between foreign private equity firms and the largest shareholder of a Korean company in connection with a shareholders agreement.
  • Advised on an ICC arbitration case concerning a dispute between a Hong Kong company and a Korean company in connection with a franchise agreement and trademark license agreement.
  • Advised on an ICC arbitration case concerning a dispute between a Korean company and a German company in connection with a supply agreement.
  • Advised on an ad hoc arbitration concerning a dispute between a Korean company and a Thai company in connection with a sales agency agreement.
  • Advised on an ICC arbitration case concerning a dispute between a Korean company and a Swiss company in connection with a convertible bond agreement.
  • Advised on an ad hoc arbitration case concerning a dispute between a Korean company and an English company in connection with a construction contract.

Cross-border Joint Venture and M&A

  • Advised POSCO in relation to its joint venture with an Indonesian company for the development of an integrated steel mill plant in Indonesia.
  • Advised SK Holdings in connection with its acquisition of a 35% stake in K-Power from British Petroleum.

Professional Honors

  • Next Generation Partner, Legal 500 Asia-Pacific (2021-2024)
  • Litigation Star, Benchmark Litigation Asia Pacific (2023-2024)
  • Lawyer of the Year, Legal Times (2021)
  • Leading Lawyer, Legal Times (2019-2021)
  • Arbitration Lawyer of the Year, North Asia, ALB Women in Law Awards (2021)
  • Next Generation Lawyer, Legal 500 Asia-Pacific (2019-2020)

Admissions

  • New York~United States (2007)
  • Korea (2004)

Education

  • University of California at Berkeley (LL.M.) (2006)
  • Yonsei University (LL.B.) (1997)

Languages

  • English
  • Korean
  • "Civil v. Common Law: How They Differ and Why This Matters for International Arbitration," California International Arbitration Week (March 2024)
  • "An Asian lens on the interplay between international arbitration and insolvency," Hong Kong Arbitration Week, GAR Live (October 2023)
  • "Recent Global Trends in IP Arbitration," KCAB Webinar (January 2023)
  • ESG Forum Series: Navigating the Unknown, “ESG, Fight or Flight?” KCAB Webinar (October 2022)
  • "2021 ICC Arbitration Rules," KORCHAM-ICC joint webinar (February 2021)
  • "Dispute resolution in the COVID-19 era," Seoul ADR Festival KOCIA-KICA joint webinar (November 2020)