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The comprehensive guide to the world's leading tax firms

Deloitte Anjin's tax practice is led by Sung-Sik Ahn and is respected for its structuring work. The team has expanded through the appointment of partner, and cross-border structuring specialist, Sang Hoon Baek, who joined from Kim & Chang. Baek handled ... [more]

Deloitte Anjin's tax practice is led by Sung-Sik Ahn and is respected for its structuring work. The team has expanded through the appointment of partner, and cross-border structuring specialist, Sang Hoon Baek, who joined from Kim & Chang. Baek handled the tax due diligence work and tax structuring in the design of a tax-efficient acquisition structure for a leading multinational asset manager. A further seven directors joined the practice. All of them will be focussing on international taxation and transfer pricing. Tax controversy is a big area of focus for the firm and its reputation is boosted by 25 ex-government officers who handle tax audit and appeal work

Over the year, Nam-Hyuk Park, Jong-Kuk Kim and Ki-Chan Ko worked with a large team in a number of appeals against assessments made by the NTS.

Kim & Chang operates with one of the largest tax practices within the Korean tax community. Key areas for the firm include transfer pricing, M&A, litigation and advance pricing agreements. This experience with APAs has provided the firm with a steady ... [more]

Kim & Chang operates with one of the largest tax practices within the Korean tax community. Key areas for the firm include transfer pricing, M&A, litigation and advance pricing agreements. This experience with APAs has provided the firm with a steady source of work over the past year. DJ Yeo and QH Lee represented a client in negotiating an APA between the US and Korean competent authorities. The pair managed to secure approvals from the tax authorities for the use of the transactional net margin method with regard to royalty paid on a software licence. This was the first time this method has been used in South Korea for a royalty licence.

Seven of the firm's tax professionals were involved in the successful appeal against the assessment of heavier registration tax on a client's acquisition of real property using a dormant company in a metropolitan area. The team argued that the tax authority's assessment of applying the substance-over-form principle was done without legitimate legal grounding.

Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers has, according to peers, long been a key player in the Korean market. The firm covers a wide range of tax areas but has recently placed a specific emphasis on transfer pricing as an area for continued development. The firm ... [more]

Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers has, according to peers, long been a key player in the Korean market. The firm covers a wide range of tax areas but has recently placed a specific emphasis on transfer pricing as an area for continued development. The firm now boasts 50 specialists in total working across the firm's three transfer pricing groups; general transfer pricing, financial services transfer pricing and transfer pricing for Japanese multinationals. Henry An is recognised as one of the country's leading transfer pricing specialists.

The firm maintains a strong leadership presence in the Korean tax community, with partners occupying leadership positions in the American Chamber of Commerce (Henry An), EU Chamber of Commerce (Joong-Hyun Lee), and the International Fiscal Association (David Jin-Young Lee).

The firm already had a track record for hiring former government officials, and it seems this trend has continued over the past 12 months. Man-Young Kim was brought in as a director from the NTS.

David Jin-Young Lee and Shin-Jong Kang worked together on a deal that had a large impact on the country's variable life insurance industry. During a tax audit, the NTS issued a pre-assessment worth $100 million on valuation gains on securities of a leading foreign-invested insurance company. The firm overturned the ruling and that decision had a ripple effect across the industry worth around $2 billion.

Dong-Keon Lee represented a client, a foreign invested company, that was exempt from customs duties and VAT on imported capital goods with respect to investments to manufacture goods in a foreign investment zone. Following the decision to cease trading in Korea, the NTS tried to claw back these tax exemptions. However, Lee successfully prevented the authorities from reclaiming any of them. This was the first successful attempt to prevent claw back.

Ernst & Young is a firm in a positive transition. Thanks to a reorganisation, the firm is now part of Ernst & Young's Far East Area. This integration has reaped rewards for the John Lee-led tax practice. Thanks to the increased cooperation between firms ... [more]

Ernst & Young is a firm in a positive transition. Thanks to a reorganisation, the firm is now part of Ernst & Young's Far East Area. This integration has reaped rewards for the John Lee-led tax practice. Thanks to the increased cooperation between firms in other countries the firm negotiated the first APA for an international bank in Korea.

The practice was also chosen by the NTS to provide guidance on the anticipated consolidated tax return regime, which is expected to be published towards the end of the year.

Other work has included offering tax advice to a leading Korean apparel company which expanded its activities into South-East Asia. The firm's role included an initial structuring on entry into the country, overseas M&A, tax planning and cross-border issues to help optimise the offshore investment structures.

Like its big-four rivals, KPMG offers a full range of tax services. Financial services and outbound M&A work are particular strengths of the practice. The outbound M&A work is handled by the firm's international corporate tax practice, which provides ... [more]

Like its big-four rivals, KPMG offers a full range of tax services. Financial services and outbound M&A work are particular strengths of the practice. The outbound M&A work is handled by the firm's international corporate tax practice, which provides clients with the necessary planning requirements.

Yulchon's tax practice has grown over the past year thanks to the hiring of two new partners. Soo Jeong Ahn joined from Citibank and will work in international tax, with an emphasis on US taxation. Dae Hee Yoon was previously senior secretary to the ... [more]

Yulchon's tax practice has grown over the past year thanks to the hiring of two new partners. Soo Jeong Ahn joined from Citibank and will work in international tax, with an emphasis on US taxation. Dae Hee Yoon was previously senior secretary to the president for economic policy. Yoon also has experience of working across numerous government finance departments.

In the few years KG Lee has been with Yulchon, he has built up a reputation as one of Korea's leading tax advisers. Lee was heavily involved in forcing the NTS to change the tax law to allow Korean subsidiaries and branches of foreign-owned companies to deduct the cost of stock option charge-backs as part of the ordinary salary expenses. This amendment is anticipated to produce tax reductions for foreign multinationals that use stock options as part of their compensation system. One client was "really blown away" by the work Lee did on this case. Lee also regularly represents Korea at the signing of treaties at OECD meetings.

The firm's ability to perform well in court is aided by Soon Moo Soh and Seok Hoon Kang, who were both previously judges. The pair successfully convinced the country's Supreme Court that the inclusion of depository receipts in the scope of taxable shares for a leading international investment bank would be a violation of the long-standing principle of "taxation by the rule of law".

Bae Kim & Lee's tax practice is well-recognised in Korea for its advisory work in all aspects of the tax practice including planning and resolution of issues related to financial products, securities, M&A and cross-border transactions.The team has an ... [more]

Bae Kim & Lee's tax practice is well-recognised in Korea for its advisory work in all aspects of the tax practice including planning and resolution of issues related to financial products, securities, M&A and cross-border transactions.

The team has an established history of success in representing clients that dispute national and local tax rulings.

Hwang Mok Park's tax practice provides a full range of tax services to numerous domestic and multinational clients, including joint ventures of Korean and foreign companies and leading banking and finance institutions.Woo Young Choi and Sang Hyun Cho ... [more]

Hwang Mok Park's tax practice provides a full range of tax services to numerous domestic and multinational clients, including joint ventures of Korean and foreign companies and leading banking and finance institutions.

Woo Young Choi and Sang Hyun Cho worked together to represent Dow Chemical Korea in an appeal against a transfer pricing decision by the authorities on the import of chemical products. This is the first appeal court case on the application of the repurchase method in the transfer pricing area in Korea. The firm also represented Saint-Gobain Vetrotex in an appeal on the imposition of the custom duty and VAT on the imports of assets after repair.

Lee & Ko's tax practice has a strong focus on litigation and controversy. The dispute resolution team is comprised of former senior members of the Korean judiciary and prosecutor's office, including two former Supreme Court justices and the former head ... [more]

Lee & Ko's tax practice has a strong focus on litigation and controversy. The dispute resolution team is comprised of former senior members of the Korean judiciary and prosecutor's office, including two former Supreme Court justices and the former head of the Korean Board of Audit and Inspection.

The Shin & Kim tax group includes seven lawyers, four certified public accountants, two licensed customs consultants and two other tax professionals. All have experience in a broad range of tax issues, including participation in tax investigations from ... [more]

The Shin & Kim tax group includes seven lawyers, four certified public accountants, two licensed customs consultants and two other tax professionals. All have experience in a broad range of tax issues, including participation in tax investigations from both sides of the table. The team includes senior members with high-level participation in Korea's tax administration from the government side, including Keun-Young Lee, who was the former commissioner of the Tax Affairs Office of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. Dae-Young Lee is the former deputy commissioner of the Korea Customs Service.

Like their competitors, the firm regularly advises clients in court, but unlike their competitors, they often represent the NTS, too. Partner Choon Cho successfully represented the tax authorities by getting the Supreme Court to overturn a lower court ruling relating to a VAT claim filed by the taxpayer against them. The case related to the construction industry.

Yoon Yang Kim Shin & Yu's tax practice includes among its members leading Korean tax attorneys, certified public accountants, and foreign licensed attorneys. The tax group also represents clients in litigation and disputes, including administrative proceedings ... [more]

Yoon Yang Kim Shin & Yu's tax practice includes among its members leading Korean tax attorneys, certified public accountants, and foreign licensed attorneys. The tax group also represents clients in litigation and disputes, including administrative proceedings and appeals, requests for administrative review, litigation, and disputes with the NTS.