The so-called "Seocho-dong former government official law firm" LKB Partners is merging with Pyongsan. Both companies have in common that they provided legal representation in the case against Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, for violations of the Public Official Election Act. LKB and Pyongsan stated the reason for the merger is that "former government official law firms are now in a situation where they need to worry about survival," and they added, "We will pursue growth through additional mergers and acquisitions."
On the 29th, LKB (representative attorney Lee Kwang-beom) and Pyongsan (representative attorney Yoon Woong-geol) signed a memorandum of understanding regarding a strategic merger. The name of the newly established corporation will be LKB Pyongsan. The two companies have reportedly completed their agreement on the merger through internal member meetings. The acquisition and merger process is planned to be completed by the end of May at the latest.
Kim Byung-hyun (25th Judicial Research and Training Institute) representative attorney of Pyongsan noted, "Currently, the South Korean law firm market is divided between large law firms and advertising-type network law firms, leading former government official law firms to worry about survival." Lee Hee-joon (22nd) representative attorney of LKB said, "There is a perception that those who have experience in trials and investigations are the most experienced professionals. People with that background are gathered at LKB and Pyongsan, each with their own areas of expertise, which will generate sufficient synergy."
LKB and Pyongsan stated their goal is to enter the top five law firms in the country within five years. Lee Kwang-beom (13th) representative attorney of LKB said, "By growing to more than twice the size achieved through the merger of LKB and Pyongsan, we will be able to play a significant role when competing as a one team in Seocho-dong." He added, "This merger will serve as a starting point for the second and third mergers." Regarding additional mergers and acquisitions, representative attorney Lee Hee-joon stated, "We will pursue additional mergers with small and medium-sized law firms that have strengths in specific areas."
Meanwhile, LKB's revenue last year was 27.9 billion won. Pyongsan is reported to have around 20 billion won. If the two law firms merge, revenue is expected to jump to a level of 40 to 50 billion won. Currently, the revenue of the 10th largest law firm exceeds 100 billion won. The number of lawyers in LKB is reported to be around 60, while Pyongsan has around 50.