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Partner: Jihyun Kim
Quick facts
Established

1980

Number of Partners

42

Number of IP Practitioners

121

Languages

Korean, English, Mandarin, Japanese, French, German, Spanish, Vietnamese, Burmese, Portuguese

Network Memberships

INTA, AIPPI, APPA, LES

Key practice areas
Intellectual property
Trade mark disputes
Trade mark
Patent
Patent prosecution
Trade mark prosecution
IP transactions
Labor and employment
International arbitration
White collar crime
Product liability and recall
Insolvency
Tax
Firm overview

BKL is one of the very few Korean law firms providing fully-integrated IP legal services and has steadfastly maintained such tradition since the inception of our practice in the 1990s. Our IP practice consists of prosecution, litigation and transactions involving all areas of IP.


IP Litigation and Dispute Resolution:

With four prominent former judges specializing in IP on our team (Messrs. Taeck Soo Kwon, Myung Kyu Lee, Kijoong Kang and Junghi Park), BKL has one of the nation’s most renowned IP litigation/dispute resolution practices. Particularly strong in representing clients in the pharmaceutical and high-tech industries, the depth and prestige of our practitioners in this area has set us apart from other IP practices in Korea. Also included in this area is our trade secret practice which encompasses all aspects of litigation, investigation and legal compliance involving trade secrets, in both civil and criminal contexts. The key members of our trade secret practice team are Ms. Jihyun Kim and Mr. Tae Uk Kang, both of whom are also former judges.


IP Transactions:

BKL's IP transactions lawyers provide clients with deep and broad experience in negotiation of IP licence, due diligence, IP audits, and the development of IP portfolio strategies. Our transactional practice advises many of the market-leading companies in the entertainment & sports sectors in connection with IP licensing and technology transfers. Messrs. Mun Ki Nam, Tae Uk Kang and Ingi Min are partners specializing in IP transactions.


IP Prosecution:

As an integral part of our IP practice, our IP prosecution team has represented a number of multinational corporations from a wide range of technical fields, including engineering, electronics, manufacturing, and chemical/pharmaceutical/biomed. Collaboration between our patent prosecution attorneys and other BKL practice groups ensures provision of balanced and comprehensive legal services to our clients.

Practice Areas & Sector Specialisations

Key IP Areas:

Copyright & related rights, Designs, Intellectual property (contentious), Intellectual property (prosecution), IP transactions, Life sciences IP, Patent, Patent contentious, Patent prosecution, PTAB litigation, Trade mark, Trade mark contentious, Trade mark prosecution

Key Sector Expertise:

Aerospace, Automotive, Biotechnology, Chemical, Computer technology & services, Construction & materials, Defence, E-commerce, Electrical, Electronics, Financial services, FMCG, Food & beverage, Gaming, Hospitality & leisure, ICT & software, Industrials, Life sciences, Manufacturing, Media, Pharmaceutical, Professional services, Retail, Sports, Technology hardware, Telecommunication, Transport, Utilities

Address:
Centropolis B, 26 Ujeongguk-ro, Jongno-gu
Seoul
03161
Tel:+82234040000 Fax:+82234040001 Email:Contact Us Web Address:https://www.bkl.co.kr/en/law
2026 Edition
Copyright & related rights
Highly Recommended
6 firms ranked
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Highly Recommended

Bae Kim & Lee
13 practice areas
View full profile
Kim & Chang
11 practice areas
View full profile
Lee & Ko
14 practice areas
View full profile

Recommended

Shin & Kim
13 practice areas
View profile
Yoon & Yang
12 practice areas
View profile
Yulchon
14 practice areas
View full profile
IP transactions
Highly Recommended
7 firms ranked
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Highly Recommended

Bae Kim & Lee
13 practice areas
View full profile
Kim & Chang
11 practice areas
View full profile
Lee & Ko
14 practice areas
View full profile
Yulchon
14 practice areas
View full profile

Recommended

Shin & Kim
13 practice areas
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YNP IP
7 practice areas
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Yoon & Yang
12 practice areas
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Patent disputes
Tier 1
8 firms ranked
View full list

Tier 1

Bae Kim & Lee
13 practice areas
View full profile
Kim & Chang
11 practice areas
View full profile
Lee & Ko
14 practice areas
View full profile

Tier 2

Shin & Kim
13 practice areas
View profile
Yoon & Yang
12 practice areas
View profile
Yulchon
14 practice areas
View full profile

Tier 3

FirstLaw PC
3 practice areas
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Lee International
6 practice areas
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Patent prosecution
Tier 3
15 firms ranked
View full list

Tier 1

FirstLaw PC
3 practice areas
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Kim & Chang
11 practice areas
View full profile
YP Lee Mock & Partners
4 practice areas
View full profile

Tier 2

Lee International
6 practice areas
View full profile
NAM IP Group
3 practice areas
View full profile

Tier 3

Bae Kim & Lee
13 practice areas
View full profile
Koreana Patent Firm
6 practice areas
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Lee & Ko
14 practice areas
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Muhann Patent & Law Firm
4 practice areas
View full profile
You Me Patent & Law Firm
6 practice areas
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Other Notable Firms

HANOL ClassHankyul IP & Law
3 practice areas
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PI IP LAW (Lee Park & Associates)
5 practice areas
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SungAm Suh International Patent & Law Firm
4 practice areas
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YNP IP
7 practice areas
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Yoon & Lee International Patent & Law Firm
5 practice areas
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Trade mark disputes
Tier 2
7 firms ranked
View full list

Tier 1

Kim & Chang
11 practice areas
View full profile
Lee & Ko
14 practice areas
View full profile
Yulchon
14 practice areas
View full profile

Tier 2

Bae Kim & Lee
13 practice areas
View full profile
Cho & Partners
7 practice areas
View full profile
Yoon & Yang
12 practice areas
View profile

Tier 3

Lee International
6 practice areas
View full profile
Trade mark prosecution
Tier 2
15 firms ranked
View full list

Tier 1

Kim & Chang
11 practice areas
View full profile

Tier 2

Bae Kim & Lee
13 practice areas
View full profile
FirstLaw PC
3 practice areas
View full profile
Lee & Ko
14 practice areas
View full profile
Muhann Patent & Law Firm
4 practice areas
View full profile
SungAm Suh International Patent & Law Firm
4 practice areas
View full profile
YP Lee Mock & Partners
4 practice areas
View full profile

Tier 3

Cho & Partners
7 practice areas
View full profile
Lee International
6 practice areas
View full profile
NAM IP Group
3 practice areas
View full profile
Yoon & Yang
12 practice areas
View profile
You Me Patent & Law Firm
6 practice areas
View profile

Other Notable Firms

E M Hwang & Partners
5 practice areas
View full profile
PI IP LAW (Lee Park & Associates)
5 practice areas
View full profile
Yoon & Lee International Patent & Law Firm
5 practice areas
View profile
Overview

Bae Kim & Lee is highly recommended for handling IP disputes, especially patent litigation. The firm delivers a high standard of integrated IP legal services and has a strong presence in technical sectors. The team has strong capabilities to handle cross-border IP disputes, making Bae Kim & Lee one of the leading law firms in South Korea. In addition to litigation, the firm supports clients in prosecution, copyright, and IP transactional matters.

Notable IP practitioners: Taeck Soo Kwon, Kijoong Kang, Jihyun Kim 

Testimonials

2026

"We have used BKL's service for our JV with a Chinese battery manufacturer and we were quite satisfied with their service. It seemed they genuinely want the client to succeed and paid close attention to even minor issues to ensure that our project can proceed as envisioned."

Tae Geun Kim

"Meets tight deadlines, stays responsive, understands difficult requests from the business, pays attention to detail."

 

2025

"Customer-oriented service. Flexibility in fees."

"Excellent quality advice and always prompt turnaround, no matter how small or large the mandate - they are never chasing the fee, just always looking after the client first."

"They are business oriented, provide pragmatic replies and always make them available in a prompt manner when necessary. They are also anticipating issues and know our needs."

"We appreciate their responsiveness and high-quality service they provide. They always demonstrated a high level of competence and professionalism."

"We had complete confidence in the expertise and professionalism of Bae Kim & Lee. Their team consistently demonstrates a high level of competence, their availability and ability to speak Korean did provide a huge support to complete the task."

Linked Reviews
Patent

Case studies demonstrate that the firm assisted clients across various sectors with patent disputes, litigation, infringement lawsuits, and prosecution work.

Six firms lead with more than four nominations for this year’s Managing IP Asia-Pacific Awards
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