Suk-hyun HongAttorney

Tel : 02-6710-0372 | Email : shhong@joowonlaw.com

Suk-hyun Hong is a specialist attorney in finance, fintech, and corporate criminal matters, with extensive practical experience in financial regulation, regulatory agency response and criminal defense, emerging industries such as blockchain and cryptocurrency, as well as management dispute-related matters.

Mr. Hong worked at Kim & Chang for four years, handling various advisory matters and cases related to financial, capital markets, and fintech regulations. Prior to that, he served as a Judge Advocate (military prosecutor) in the Republic of Korea Army for three years, building his expertise in handling criminal cases. In particular, he accumulated specialized knowledge in financial regulatory issues for global big tech companies by providing on-site legal counsel to Google Payment Korea LLC.

Mr. Hong demonstrates exceptional capabilities in regulatory agency response and criminal defense, including responding to Financial Supervisory Service and prosecution investigations and defending economic crime cases. He has successfully handled complex financial crime cases involving unfair trading practices, Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, and violations of the Electronic Financial Transactions Act.

Furthermore, Mr. Hong provides specialized legal services not only in traditional financial regulations such as the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act, the Act on Registration of Credit Business, the Specialized Credit Finance Business Act, and the Electronic Financial Transactions Act, but also in emerging digital finance areas including the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information and the Virtual Asset User Protection Act.

Recently, he has been demonstrating exceptional capabilities in cases involving breach of trust, embezzlement, and non-compete obligations related to management disputes at mid-sized companies and startups.

Experience

• Regulatory Response & Criminal Defense
• Represented a global algorithmic trading firm in investigations by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) concerning alleged market manipulation and naked short selling.
• Advised and defended private fund distributors and trustee banks in FSS investigations and subsequent criminal prosecutions.
• Defended executives of a cryptocurrency exchange in a multi-billion-won case involving violations of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (result: suspended sentence).
• Successfully defended a client accused of a 500 million KRW breach of trust (result: acquittal).
• Corporate Control & Shareholder Disputes
• Provided legal advice on partnership agreements, shareholders’ agreements, subscription agreements, and investment contracts.
• Successfully represented clients in litigation concerning shareholders’ register and accounting book inspection, share transfer claims, and name change registration of shares.
• Achieved a full victory in a 10 billion KRW damages lawsuit arising from alleged breach of fiduciary duty.
• Corporate Advisory
• Reviewed business models and key documents (Terms of Service, Privacy Policies, MOUs, etc.) for startups to ensure regulatory compliance.
• Advised on establishment, operation, and liquidation of domestic cryptocurrency exchanges.
• Conducted legal analysis on blockchain projects and token offerings for domestic and overseas exchange listings.