Kim & Chang, Nexus squaring off over Samsung vs. Elliott

By Park Si-soo

Lim Shin-kwon Kim & Chang

Choi Young-ik Nexus

Behind the looming showdown between the Samsung Group and U.S hedge fund Elliott Associates are two domestic law firms ― Kim & Chang and Nexus.

Kim & Chang, the nation’s biggest legal service provider, is working for Samsung, while Nexus, a 22-member boutique law firm, is fronting for Elliott. The American firm is committed to blocking the merger between Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries.

Lim Shin-kwon, 39, leads a team of Kim & Chang lawyers for Samsung. His counterpart is Choi Young-ik, 52, Nexus’s managing partner. The two are equally versed in mergers and acquisitions.

They were not immediately available for comment.

Lim graduated from Seoul National University (SNU) with a bachelor’s degree in law and earned a master’s degree in the same subject from SNU and New York University.

“Throughout his career, Lim has advised funds and corporations on various M&A transactions, including mergers, buyouts, growth capital investments, divestitures and joint ventures,” according to the Kim & Chang website.

Choi once worked at Kim & Chang ― from 1991 to 2000, before founding Nexus in 2011.

It’s unknown why Choi assumed what many lawyers described as a “risky” role in helping Elliott in a country where Samsung wields near-absolute power.

“I don’t think Samsung is something special,” Choi was quoted as saying in a report, Thursday.

He was embroiled in a legal dispute between Samsung C&T and the British hedge fund Hermes in 2004, in which he represented the British firm and won a favorable verdict for his client.

Choi’s team for Elliott has another lawyer involved in several anti-Samsung cases: Park Hye-joon.

Park represented Manchester Securities in a lawsuit the American insurance firm filed against Samsung Electronics in 2002. The case wrapped up favorable for Manchester. He, along with Choi, dealt with the 2004 Hermes case.

Choi is a son-in-law of former Constitutional Court chief Kim Yong-joon, who served as chairman of President-elect Park Geun-hye’s power transition team in 2013. Kim works at Nexus as a senior advisor and his son also belongs to the firm.

Choi graduated from Seoul National University in 1986 with a bachelor’s degree in law. He earned a master’s degree in law from the University of Washington in 1995.