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Tom Kwon

Lee & Ko

2026_ITR World Tax Highly Regarded Practitioner.png
Position: Senior Foreign Attorney (Partner)
Rating:
  • Highly Regarded
Practice Areas:
General corporate tax
Jurisdictions:
Languages:
English
Korean
Biography

Tom is Head of Lee & Ko's International Tax Practice and has over 20 years of experience in Korea and the US. He advises Korean and foreign companies, investment funds and other investors on tax-related matters, such as acquisition structuring, financing, reorganization, cross-border transactions, and offshore/onshore fund formation.

He also advises on tax controversies and investor protection. He has been involved in many transactions for foreign and Korean investors. In addition, Tom has represented high-net worth Korean individuals with tax compliance and reporting matters in the U.S. as well as Europe.

Tom is a member of the International Bar Association, the International Fiscal Association Korea, and the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea. Tom was the lead writer and editor for the Korean section of the IBFD Permanent Establishment database from 2009 to 2016.

Year joined firm: 2016

Recent matter/case highlights
  • Representing a large U.S. defensive patent aggregation firm on claim for refund of withholding tax on license fees from Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and SK Hynix.
  • Represented Biogen, Inc. on the sale of its interest in Samsung Bioepis, a biosimilar JV, to Samsung Biologics.
  • Representing ultra HNW families on emigration and inheritance tax planning.
Key practice areas
Corporate tax matters:
  • Corporate taxes 
  • Financial services 
  • M&A 
  • Restructuring 
  • Technology 
  • Transactions
Dispute resolution:
  • Audit defence 
  • Dispute resolution 
  • Litigation 
  • Pre-litigation
Indirect tax:
  • VAT
Tax advisory:
  • International tax advisory
  • Tax consulting
Sector expertise
  • Aviation
  • Construction and materials
  • Energy
  • Financial services
  • Healthcare
  • Insurance
  • Pharmaceutical and life sciences
  • Real estate
  • Technology and telecommunications
  • Utilities
Academic qualifications
  • JD, University of Pennsylvania Law School, 1994
  • BA, History, Columbia University (College), 1990
Association/network memberships
  • American Chamber of Commerce NKorea, 2016
  • International Fiscal Association Korea, 2016
Bar Admissions
  • New York State, 1995
Address:
Hanjin Building, 18floor, 63 Namdaemun-ro,
Jung-gu, Seoul, 04532
South Korea
Tel:+82263866627 Email:Contact this practitioner Website:https://www.leeko.com/leenko/member/memberDetail.do?lang=EN&memberNo=397