By Park Jae-hyuk
Yulchon, one of the largest law firms in Korea, has come under the spotlight after KB Kookmin Bank was embroiled in a 1.6 trillion won ($1.4 billion) lawsuit in Indonesia over its acquisition of Bukopin Bank, which had been completed last August in accordance with the Korean law firm s advice.
The outcome of the latest litigation, which remains unclear at this moment, appears set to sway the reputation of Yulchon, which has aggressively helped Korean banks with cross-border acquisitions in the Southeast Asian country, including state-run Korea Development Bank s takeover of Tifa Finance last September.
When KB Kookmin was trying to take over Bukopin last year, the law firm was known as a hidden force by plotting strategies for dealing with the Indonesian bank s largest shareholder, helping the Korean bank obtain a license from financial authorities in both countries, structuring the transaction, performing due diligence and drafting the purchase agreement.