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.