[Law Firm Now] YK Law Firm Appoints Former Judge Kim Yoonjung, Family and Inheritance Law Expert, as Lead Attorney

Former Specialist Judge for Family and Juvenile Cases at Seoul Family Court
Presiding Judge in the Appellate Divorce Case of Lee Boojin and Im Woojae
YK Expected to Strengthen Overall Competence in Family Law Sector

Kim Yoonjung, former judge of the Seoul High Court, who joined as the lead attorney at YK Law Firm. YK Law Firm

On December 18, YK Law Firm announced that it had recruited Kim Yoonjung, a former judge of the Seoul High Court (at the level of presiding judge of a district court) and an expert in family and domestic law, as its lead attorney.

Kim, who graduated from Seoul Joongkyung High School and the Department of Law at Korea University, passed the 42nd National Judicial Examination in 2000 and completed the 32nd class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute.

Appointed as a judge in 2003, she handled civil and family cases at the Incheon District Court and Seoul Central District Court. After serving at the Haenam Branch of the Gwangju District Court in 2007, she worked as a judge specializing in family and juvenile cases at the Seoul Family Court, overseeing divorce, inheritance, and child protection cases. She was also the first female public relations judge at the Seoul Family Court.

In 2016, she concurrently served as a judicial research officer at the Judicial Policy Research Institute, participating in research on family law and judicial policy, including the adult guardianship system and improvements to juvenile criminal justice procedures. From 2018 to 2021, she served as a judge at the Seoul High Court, presiding over family and civil cases.

During her tenure at the Seoul High Court, Kim was the presiding judge in the appellate trial of the divorce case between Lee Boojin, President of Hotel Shilla, and Im Woojae, former advisor at Samsung Electro-Mechanics. This case involved complex issues such as responsibility for the breakdown of the marriage, high-value property division, and child custody and visitation rights, requiring the precise fact-finding and legal analysis characteristic of higher courts. The appellate court adjusted the property division amount from 8.6 billion won to 14.113 billion won to reflect the increase in the plaintiff's assets after the first trial verdict.

After retiring from the bench, she served as the lead attorney at Hwaan Law Firm, handling a variety of family law cases including property division, inheritance, and parental rights. She also continued her academic and policy activities, participating in special training sessions, academic conferences, and symposiums organized by the Korean Bar Association.

With the recruitment of former presiding judge Kim, YK Law Firm plans to strengthen its overall legal services in the family law sector, including property division and inheritance disputes, cases related to the adult guardianship system, and corporate and individual legal consulting in response to changes in family law systems.

Kim stated, "By joining YK, I hope to contribute to both the quantitative and qualitative growth of the civil and family law practice and to enhance client satisfaction in case management."