Chambers Asia-Pacific Guide is published annually by a global legal media, Chambers and Partners, and provides assessments of the legal market in the Asia-Pacific region. It conducts extensive annual research including evaluating law firm submissions, interviewing key clients and partners, and conducting its own research and data analysis to announce annual rankings of leading lawyers in 19 practice areas in Korea, and Hyo Jong Choi, who leads the Insolvency Team of Lin, was recognized as a Leading Individual in the Restructuring/Insolvency category for the second consecutive year.
Recently, rumors of the “April Crisis” are spreading across the financial and construction industries. With a combination of various unfavorable factors such as poor performance in PF, unsold properties due to the real estate slump, and soaring construction costs, concerns are being raised about the possibility of construction companies going bankrupt in a row, which is also confirmed by statistics. According to the data released on the 25th by the Specialty Construction Mutual Aid Association, the amount of grants construction companies request to the Association has increased by 20% every year for the past three years, and the amount in January and February this year increased by 30% compared to the same period last year, showing an even greater upswing. In addition, according to the data released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the number of reports of voluntary closure from construction companies this year has already reached 830, the highest in a decade, and, at the end of last month, seven construction companies applied for court receivership. Most of them are mid- or small-sized construction companies located in the provinces, where more than 80% of the unsold properties are concentrated, raising concerns that local construction companies may face a chain of bankruptcies.
Amid the growing concern about the possibility of construction companies going bankrupt, Lin has launched the Construction Industry Crisis Response Task Force (TF) to respond to clients' advisory needs in an integrated and professional manner. Among the experts in this Task Force is Hyo Jong Choi, who was recognized as a ‘Leading Individual’ in the Restructuring/Insolvency field by Chambers for two consecutive years. Other team members include Moon Joo Kim, a lawyer with a construction background, Dong Jae Yi, a specialist in construction and finance, Seung Kwan Choi, a real estate expert, Jae Hak Lee, and Kwang Min Nam, an accountant formerly with Samil Accounting Firm. Under the current difficult circumstances, they are collaborating organically to provide comprehensive one-stop legal services to various stakeholders surrounding companies in urgent need of restructuring due to, inter alia, walkout.
Chambers Asia-Pacific_Restructuring/Insolvency