Johneth Chongseo Park

Johneth Park is a partner and foreign legal consultant in the Corporate Practice Group and Office Managing Partner of the firm's Seoul office.

Areas of Practice

Johneth's primary areas of concentration include capital markets, mergers and acquisitions and private equity transactions. He has extensive experience representing corporate, financial and government-affiliated clients in Korea-related work as well as work in other jurisdictions. 

Johneth has worked on securities offerings by a wide range of Korean issuers, including The Republic of Korea, The Export-Import Bank of Korea, Korea Electric Power Corporation, Korea Hydro-Nuclear Power, Korea Western Power, Korea Midland Power, Korea East-West Power, Korea South-East Power, Korea Gas Corporation, Korea Expressway Corporation, Korea Land Corporation, Cheil Industries, Samsung Life Insurance, Shinhan Financial Group, Shinhan Bank, Hyundai Motors, Hyundai Capital Services, Hyundai Card, POSCO, POSCO Engineering & Construction, POSCO Specialty Steel, STX, SK Telecom, GRAVITY, WiderThan, and C&M, among others, and periodic SEC reporting by KEPCO and Shinhan Financial Group.

Johneth has also worked on a number of M&A and private equity transactions, including the sale of a controlling stake in a Singapore-listed subsidiary by STX Offshore & Shipbuilding, investments by Goldman Sachs PIA in a number of Korean companies, investments by Citadel in a number of PRC-based companies, joint ventures involving LG Display, private equity investments into Yingli Green Energy, acquisition of MSK Corporation by Suntech, acquisition financing involving Citi and C&M, the acquisition of Andover Bancorp by Banknorth Group, and acquisitions of brokerage firm by Boston Financial Holdings, among others.

Johneth has also worked as General Counsel for Doosan Corporation and Chief Legal Officer for HyAxiom, Inc. a US-based subsidiary of Doosan Corporation.

Experience

• Represented Doosan Corporation and its various subsidiaries on a number of corporate, IP and other transactions
• Represented Goldman Sachs PIA with respect to its various investments in Korea-based companies
• Represented Citadel with respect to its various alternative investments in PRC-based companies, including American Dairy, China Securities & Surveillance Technology, Fushi International and Harbin Electric
• Represented STX Offshore & Shipbuilding and its subsidiaries in the sale of a controlling stake in STX OSV Holdings, a Singapore-listed offshore specialty vehicle manufacturer based in Norway, to an affiliate of Fincantieri-Cantieri Navali Italiani
• Represented KDB Daewoo Securities, Citi and JP Morgan, among others, in the initial public offering in Korea of Cheil Industries, the flagship member of the Samsung Group
• Represented BofA Merrill Lynch, Citi, Goldman Sachs and other international underwriters in the initial public offering of Samsung Life Insurance, a leading life insurer in Korea and a key member of the Samsung Group
• Represented KDB Daewoo Securities and Citi in the initial public offering of Hi-mart (renamed Lotte Hi-mart), a leading electronics goods retailer in Korea
• Represented Credit Suisse in the SEC-registered offering of US$200 million floating rates notes by The Export-Import Bank of Korea
• Represented Shinhan Financial Group in its rights offering and in the filing of annual and other reports with the SEC
• Represented Shinhan Bank in the establishment of a global medium term notes program and acted as the sole international counsel in the general updates of the global medium term notes program and the issuances of various notes thereunder in reliance on Rule 144A and Regulation S
• Acted as the sole international counsel in the establishment of the global medium term notes program for Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), a government-controlled electricity provider in Korea and the issuances of various notes thereunder in reliance on Rule 144A and/or Regulation S; also represented KEPCO in the filing of annual and other reports with the SEC
• Acted as the sole international counsel in the offerings of various notes by Korea Hydro-Nuclear Power, Korea Western Power, Korea East-West Power and Korea Midland Power, each an electricity generation company and subsidiary of KEPCO, in reliance on Rule 144A and/or Regulation S
• Acted as the sole international counsel in the establishment of the global medium term notes program for Korea Land & Housing Corporation, a government-controlled entity charged with carrying out the government’s land and housing policies, and the issuance of notes thereunder in reliance on Rule 144A and Regulation S
• Acted as the sole international counsel in the general updates of the global medium term notes program for Korea Expressway Corporation, a government-controlled operator of national highways, and the issuances of notes thereunder in reliance on Rule 144A and Regulation S
• Represented various underwriters in the general updates of the global medium term notes program for Korea Gas Corporation, a government-controlled distributor of liquefied natural gas, and the issuances of various notes thereunder in reliance on Rule 144A and/or Regulation S
• Acted as the sole international counsel in the offerings of various guaranteed notes for subsidiaries of Hyundai Motor Company, a leading global auto manufacturer based in Korea, in reliance on Rule 144A and Regulation S
• Represented Hyundai Capital Services, the auto financing arm of the Hyundai Motor group, in the establishment of a global medium term notes program and acted as the sole international counsel in the general updates of the global medium term notes program and the issuances of various notes thereunder in reliance on Rule 144A and Regulation S
• Represented Hyundai Card, a leading credit card service provider in Korea, in the offerings of various notes in reliance on Rule 144A and Regulation S
• Represented various underwriters in the offerings by POSCO, a leading global steel manufacturer based in Korea, of various senior notes and exchangeable notes
• Represented various underwriters in the proposed initial public offering by POSCO Engineering & Construction
• Represented C&M, a cable service provider in Korea, in a high-yield notes offering
• Represented Yingli Green Energy, a leading solar energy company based in China, in its initial public offering for the listing on the New York Stock Exchange as well as its Series A, Series B and other pre-IPO financings
• Represented WiderThan, a ringtone servicer affiliate of SK Telecom, the leading telecommunications service provider in Korea, in its initial public offering for the listing on NASDAQ
• Represented Gravity, an online game company based in Korea, in its initial public offering for the listing on NASDAQ

Honors

Recognized Practitioner for South Korea, Capital Markets: International Firms, Chambers Global, 2016, 2017, 2018

Recommended by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2016 - Foreign firms, 2016

Media Mentions