Kyoojin Lee was appointed as a judge on March 1, 1989, and was promoted to Presiding Judge of the High Court in February 2011. Over his distinguished 30-year judicial career, he served as a Presiding Judge at various courts, a Supreme Court Trial Researcher, and a seconded Researcher at the Constitutional Court, concluding his tenure on March 1, 2019.
Mr. Lee earned his LL.M. (Master of Laws) degree from NYU School of Law in 1997, specializing in General Studies, including Intellectual Property. His extensive legal knowledge is grounded in practical experience across a broad spectrum of law, including civil law, family law (such as inheritance), criminal law, administrative litigation, and constitutional appeals.
In addition to his judicial roles, Mr. Lee served as a Senior Judicial Researcher at the Supreme Court for three years and as a seconded researcher at the Constitutional Court for two years. He also chaired the Supreme Court's Constitutional Studies Committee.
Leveraging his deep expertise, Mr. Lee offers high-level counseling and litigation representation across all legal areas, providing comprehensive support in both pre-dispute consultations and ongoing court proceedings.
Overview
Experience
- 1986 Passed the 28th National Bar Examination
- 1989 Judicial Research and Training Institute (18th Class), licensed as an attorney at law
- 1989 ~ 1993 Judge, Seoul District Court Uijeongbu Branch; Seoul Criminal District Court (settlements in civil, criminal, and family law cases)
- 1993 ~ 1997 Judge, Jeju District Court; Seoul District Court (settlements in civil, criminal, and family law cases)
- 1998 ~ 2000 Judge, Seoul District Court (Civil Sole Bench, Damages Division, and General)
- 2000 ~ 2001 Judge, Criminal Division, Seoul High Court (Criminal Appeals)
- 2001 ~ 2003 Seconded Judge, Constitutional Court (public law, including constitutional litigations and administrative law)
- 2003 ~ 2004 Judge, Administrative Division of Seoul High Court (administrative appeals, land expropriation, and general)
- 2004 ~ 2005 Chief Judge, Hong-Sung Brand of Daejeon District Court (settlements in civil, criminal, and family law cases)
- 2005 ~ 2007 Senior Judicial Researcher for Justice, Supreme Court (Appeals in civil, criminal, family, and administrative law cases)
- 2007 ~ 2008 Senior Researcher, Civil Division, Supreme Court (Appeals in civil cases)
- 2008 ~ 2011 Presiding Judge, Seoul Central District Court (settlement in criminal and civil cases, in charge of corruption, redevelopment, and reconstruction cases)
- 2011 ~ 2012 Presiding Judge, Busan High Court (Appeals in civil cases, in charge of real estate lease, and general cases)
- 2012 ~ 2015 Presiding Judge, Seoul High Court (Appeals in criminal cases, in charge of sexual violence and general cases)
- 2015 ~ 2017 Standing Member, Sentencing Committee of the Supreme Court (Criminal, Sentencing)
- 2017 ~ 2019 Presiding Judge, Seoul High Court
- 2021 ~ 2022 Managing Partner, BLP Law Office
- Present Partner Attorney at law, ClassHankyul
Education
- 1980 Inchang High School in Seoul
- 1984 Seoul National University, College of Law (LL.B.)
- 1997 ~ 1998 New York University, School of Law, (LL.M.) (General Studies)
- 1998 Graduated from New York University, School of Law, LL.M. (General Studies)
Representative Matters
- Litigated cases involving inter-company disputes, intra-company wages, labor, and other issues at various conglomerates such as H Group affiliates and media companies such as M and H
- Advised many companies, including D Air Conditioning, S Food, H Furniture, etc.
- Litigated civil and criminal disputes between various companies in the practice areas including capital market law, corporate bonds, business interruption, copyrights, etc.
- Conducted a number of administrative revocation litigations in the matters including disposition of development charge, military personnel disposition, and disposition by Korea Health Administration.
- Represented clients in a variety of family law litigation and non-litigation matters, including division of inheritance, legal reserve of inheritance, and guardianship of adults
- Conducted and advised on internal disputes of churches and religious foundations, division of churches, and other organizational legal matters.
- Advised many companies, including D Air Conditioning, S Food, H Furniture, etc.
- Litigated civil and criminal disputes between various companies in the practice areas including capital market law, corporate bonds, business interruption, copyrights, etc.
- Conducted a number of administrative revocation litigations in the matters including disposition of development charge, military personnel disposition, and disposition by Korea Health Administration.
- Represented clients in a variety of family law litigation and non-litigation matters, including division of inheritance, legal reserve of inheritance, and guardianship of adults
- Conducted and advised on internal disputes of churches and religious foundations, division of churches, and other organizational legal matters.
Publications
- Application for Litigation Relief and Order for Correction of Cognizance (Supreme Court, June 2, 2008, Decision 2007Mu77), Issues in Criminal Lawsuits, Vol. 7: Commemorating the Retirement of Justice Cha Han-Sung (2014), Criminal Practice Research Association
- Negligence of Registration Officer and State Liability (Supreme Court Decision 2004da2786, November 15, 2007), Special Law Studies, Vol. 10: Commemorating the Retirement of Justice Jeon Soo-An (2012), Judicial Development Foundation
- Ruling on the Return of Brokerage Fees Exceeding the Limit (Supreme Court, December 20, 2007, Decision 2005da32159), Righteous Justice: Commemorating the Tenure of Justice Lee Yong-Hoon (2011), Judicial Development Foundation
- The Case of the Interim Director of Gyeonggi Foundation (Supreme Court, July 19, 2007, Decision 2006Doo19297), Righteous Justice: Commemorating the Tenure of Justice Lee Yong-Hoon (2011), Judicial Development Foundation
- Limitations of the Legislative Power to Formulate Statutory Sentences in Light of the Severe Aggravation of Drug Offenses (Constitutional Court, Decision 2002hunba24, November 27, 2003), Constitutional Precedent Commentary (2010), Judicial Development Foundation
- The question of legality to notify universities of rounded scores in accordance with the policy of 'abolishing decimal points by rounding' in the college entrance examination (Supreme Court Decision 2005da66770, December 13, 2007), Supreme Court Case Commentary No. 71 (Second Half of 2007) (2008), Court Library
- Requirements for Preliminary and Optional Joint Proceedings under Article 70 of the Civil Procedure Codes (Supreme Court, June 26, 2007, Decision 2007ma515), Supreme Court Case Commentary No. 67 (First Half of 2008) (2008), Court Library
- Whether the registration of a priority provisional attachment is subject to a request for removal when a creditor of the new owner of the real estate applies for an auction (Supreme Court, April 13, 2007, Decision 2005 Da8682), Supreme Court Case Commentary No. 67 (first half of 2008) (2008), Court Library
- Whether land is "within the scope necessary for the use of a building" under Article 8 of the Act on the Ownership and Management of Multi-unit Buildings - Supreme Cour, Decision No. 2005da66374, 66381 (December 27, 2007), Supreme Court Case Commentary No. 72 (Second half of 2007) (July 2008), Court Library
- Petition for constitutional review of Article 259(2) of the Criminal Code - Constitutionality of the Criminal Penalty of Homicide by Injury of a Parent or Guardian from the Perspective of the Principle of Equality - Constitutional Court Decision Commentary 2002 (2003), Constitutional Court
- Press Freedom and the Law of Preliminary Restriction - Focusing on the Constitutionality of Broadcasting Bans, Press Arbitration, Vol. 21, No. 4 (2001), Press Arbitration Committee
- Korean ADR in the Light of American ADR [Arbitration No. 296 (2000), Korean Commercial Arbitration Board].
Kyoojin Lee
Attorney at Law
T. +82-2-3458-0908
F. +82-2-595-1892
E. kjl@classhklaw.com