This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 6:12 a.m. on Apr. 2, 2026.
Attorney Kim Geon (Judicial Research and Training Institute class 33), regarded as an ace in the M&A advisory institutional sector at the law firm YulChon, is moving to Hanwha Group. The industry expects Kim to play a central role not only in Hanwha Group's M&A but also in managing governance risks.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry and according to legal sources, Attorney Kim will join as an executive managing director of the Hanwha Compliance Committee. Kim's resignation at YulChon was recently accepted, and Kim is expected to start at Hanwha as early as on the 13th.
Kim graduated from Seoul National University School of Law and received an LL.M. from Georgetown University Law Center in the United States. Kim joined YulChon in 2007 and has primarily handled M&A advisory work, while also dealing with financial regulation and foreign exchange transaction matters.
Kim served as a task force (TF) Commissioner for amendments to the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act to implement private equity fund reform measures in 2013 and 2021, and as a mandatory tender offer TF Commissioner in 2023, earning a reputation for expertise in the design of capital market systems, legislative practice, and responding to regulations related to corporate governance.
Kim built extensive experience in the restructuring of financial firms, including the spin-off merger of the JPM fund institutional sector of Hanwha Asset Management and the spinoff of the hedge fund division at NH Investment & Securities. Other cases Kim handled include the dispute with T. K. Corporation over Lotte Homeshopping's headquarters building purchase, the physical partitioning of GS Holdings E&R, and Forest Partners' acquisition of December Asset Management.
The Hanwha Compliance Committee was launched in 2018 and is a committee that discusses governance issues and establishes and reviews related policies at the group level. It has also continued to provide training on key compliance requirements for executives and employees and to publish and distribute guidelines.