Kim & Chang, Korea’s biggest firm, has hired Youngjin Sohn as a senior foreign partner from Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, where he led the now-closed Seoul office.

Simpson Thacher, which became the first international firm to close its South Korea office, was also one of the earliest entrants into the North Asian country, establishing its Seoul branch in 2012.

A corporate specialist, Sohn spent two decades at Simpson Thacher, joining the firm as an associate in New York in 1998 after two years at Shearman & Sterling. He moved to Hong Kong in 1999, and was made a partner in 2006.

During his time at Simpson Thacher, Sohn was involved in Korea’s first dual-listed initial public offering (Kumho Tires’ dual listing in Seoul and London in 2005) and the first Korea-listed initial public offering with an international tranche (Samsung Card in 2007). 

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