Inaugural Conference _Speaker Bios

The Honorable Justice Chang Soo Yang (양창수)

Judge, Supreme Court of Korea

The Honorable Justice Chang Soo Yang was born on October 7, 1952 in Jeju, Korea. He received his LL.B. from Seoul National University, School of Law in 1974, and passed the 16th National Judicial Examination in March of the same year. Justice Yang’s judgeship started in November 1979 at the Seoul Civil District Court and continued in various courts including Seoul Criminal District Court and Busan District Court. He also served at the Office of the President. Until his appointment as a Justice in September 2008, he was a law professor at his alma mater where he taught civil law for more than 20 years since 1985. Considered the leading Korean civil law expert, Justice Yang was the chief architect in establishing a theoretical framework to resolve the maze of civil law through publishing extensive research theses and commentaries on judicial decisions. He is considered to have elevated the standard of civil jurisprudence by reorganizing its basic principles and presenting new measures of approach. He also took part in drafting of Act on the Registration of Real Estate under Actual Titleholder’s Name as well as revision of the property sections of the Korean Civil Code. Justice Yang was selected as one of the 2007’s Top 15 Scholars of Korea. Justice Yang authored several titles including “Civil Law Research”, which now comprises 9 volumes, and “Introduction to Civil Law”.

The Honorable Justice Jinsung Lee (이진성)

Judge, Constitutional Court of Korea

The Honorable Justice Jinsung Lee joined the Constitutional Court in 2012. Prior to his current appointment, Justice Lee served as a judge on various courts in Korea. He served on the Busan District Court from 1983 to 1988, the Uijeongbu Branch of the Seoul District Court from 1988 to 1990, the Seoul High Court from 1990 to 1991 and from 1992 to 1993, and the Seoul Criminal District High Court from 1991 to 1991. He also served as a Law Clerk of the Supreme Court of Korea from 1993 to 1994, Chief Judge of the Kangkyung Branch of Daejeon District Court from 1994 to 1997, and as a Professor at the Judicial Research and Training Institute from 1997 to 2000. Since then, he has served as a Senior Judge of the Seoul District Court, Patent Court, and Seoul High Court, and as a Vice Minister of the Ministroy of Court Administration of the Supreme Court. He was the Chief Judge of the Seoul Central District Court form 2010 to 2012, and of the Hwanghu High Court in 2012. Justice Lee received his L.L.B. from Seoul National University and his L.L.M. from Southern Methodist University, School of Law.

Hong-man Han
Consul General, Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Han Dong-man has been serving as Consul General of the Republic of Korea since May 2013.  Consul General Han received his Bachelor’s at Yonsei University in Korea and his Master’s in International Organization Law at the Pantheon-Sorbonne University in Paris, France. He joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1985 and has held Secretary posts in Algeria, the United Kingdom, and Australia as well as in the Office of the President in Korea. In 2002, he served as the Director of the Security Policy Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and as Consul at the Korean Consulate General of in New York. He also served as the Minister-Counsellor at the Korean Embassy in Washington, D.C. Prior to his post in San Francisco, he served as the Director-General of the International Economic Affairs Bureau of the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2011 – 2013). Consul General Han received the Order of the Service Medal in 2012 and he has written four books, including The Next 10 Years (ISBN 9788959753666), an insightful look at the future of Korea on the international stage for the next decade to come. He is married and has two sons.

Kenneth Korea

Vice President & Head of US IP Center (Silicon Valley), Samsung Electronics US R&D Center

Ken joined Samsung in February 2011 as head of its newly created US IP Center (SV), managing all aspects of its US IP operations except for patent prosecution.  His responsibilities include IP Acquisition, IP Licensing and IP Litigation.  Ken began his career as an engineer but switched to law after a few years.  Upon graduation from law school, Ken worked as a judicial law clerk to a federal judge and then worked for US Attorney’s Office as a federal prosecutor.  After five years of government service, Ken entered private practice as a patent litigator and worked at several top tier law firms, such as Brobeck Phleger & Harrison, McDermott Will & Emery and Dechert, as a litigation partner.  Over the years, Ken’s practice evolved from patent litigation into a diverse IP practice that includes IP counseling and mergers and acquisitions involving high-tech companies.  He was personally involved in many of the acquisition matters Samsung has pursued for the last five years and oversaw Samsung’s acquisition of Clairvoyante and Grandis, both Silicon Valley startups.    Ken received his Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York and graduated from Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago, Illinois, where he was on the editorial board for Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology.  Ken currently serves on the advisory board for Academy of Music and Arts for Special Education (AMASE), a non-profit organization based in Silicon Valley that teaches special needs children art and classical music.

Lee Cheng

Chief Legal Officer, Corporate Secretary, SVP, Newegg.com

Lee Cheng is the Chief Legal Officer, Corporate Secretary and SVP of Corporate Development for Newegg.com, a $2.8B global internet retailer.  He oversees and has run Newegg’s Legal, Corporate Development, Compliance, Ethics, Human Resources, Government Relations and Risk Management functions. Mr. Cheng’s work has been recognized by the Consumer Electronics Association’s Board of Industry Leaders and selection as a NAPABA Best Lawyer Under 40. In 2011, Mr. Cheng received the NYU-Polytechnic Innovation Award.  In addition, in 2013, Mr. Cheng was selected as a Top In-House Counsel by the Daily Journal and was awarded the Vanguard Award from the State Bar of California’s IP Section. Mr. Cheng has also held leadership positions and served on the Boards of professional, community and affinity organizations like the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) Southern California, Asian American Legal Foundation, the Organization of Chinese Americans (SF Chapter), the Harvard Club of San Francisco, and the Lowell High School Alumni Association.  He is a founding member of the Advisory Board of the Chapman University School of Law’s Business Emphasis Program. Mr. Cheng received a B.S. in History and Science, magna cum laude, from Harvard and a J.D. from University of California, Berkeley, School of Law.

Duane Valz

Senior Patent Counsel, Google

Duane Valz is Senior Patent Counsel, Strategic IP Initiatives, at Google. In that role, he leads a variety of projects that focus on present and future risk mitigation, spanning targeted patent development, licensing, acquisitions and open source patent strategy.  Mr. Valz has counseled a wide range of emerging growth, private and publicly held companies on IP and technology matters in various capacities.  Prior to joining Google in 2011, Mr. Valz practiced at Chadbourne & Parke LLP, where he was twice named to the IAM 250 – the World’s Leading IP Strategists.  His past experience includes serving as Head of Patent Development at Yahoo! and Director of IP at Quantum Corporation.  He received his J.D. from University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, serving as submissions editor of the Berkeley Technology Law Journal.  He also earned his B.A., with honors and distinction in general scholarship, from the University of California at Berkeley.

Hongsun Yoon

Senior Intellectual Property Counsel, LG Electronics

Hongsun Yoon is a registered United States Patent Attorney currently serving as Senior IP Counsel for LG Electronics U.S.A., Inc.  Hongsun is responsible for all intellectual property matters for LG Electronics U.S.A., Inc. and its subsidiary companies, including LG Electronics Mobilecomm U.S.A., Inc.  His work primarily involves managing and resolving IP litigations in the United States Federal District Courts and the International Trade Commission across the wide-range of LG-branded products sold in the United States.  In addition to litigation responsibilities, Hongsun provides counsel on issues relating to non-litigation based patent and trademark licensing and disputes. Prior to joining LG Electronics, Hongsun was with the law firms of Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP in Washington, D.C. and Barnes & Thornburg LLP in Indianapolis, IN.  He has a B.S. in Biochemistry from Indiana University and a J.D.,cum laude, from Indiana University Maurer School of Law.  Hongsun is actively involved in the Maurer School of Law, where he serves as a Member on the Alumni Board and is on the Board of Advisors for The Center for Intellectual Property Research.

Ben Lee

Senior Legal Director, Twitter, Inc.

Ben is Senior Legal Director at Twitter, Inc. and leads the litigation, IP, and employment teams at Twitter. Prior to joining Twitter, Ben was Senior Counsel at Google and has worked in-house at AT&T Corp. and NEC Laboratories America, as well as taught as an adjunct professor at Seton Hall University School of Law. Ben has a B.S. degree in both physics and economics from Yale University and a J.D. from Columbia Law School.

Sang Jo Jong (정상조)

Dean and Professor, Seoul National University, School of Law

Sang Jo Jong is Dean and Professor of Law at Seoul National University, School of Law. Professor Jong received his LL.B. from Seoul National University and his Ph.D. from London School of Economics. His doctorate thesis was titled “The Legal Protection of Computer Programs with particular reference to U.K., U.S., Japan & Korea.” He focuses his research and teachings on copyright, trademark, patent, and unfair competition laws. Professor Jong taught comparative intellectual property law at Georgetown University Law Center in 2007 and at Duke Law School in 2003. He also served as a civilian member of the Presidential Council of Intellectual Property, as a Director of the Center for Law & Technology at Seoul National University, and as a Panel Member of the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center. His publications include The Legal Protection of Computer Programs with particular reference to U.K., U.S., Japan & Korea (Ph.D. Thesis), Contributory Infringement of Patents in Korea (2000), Property versus Misappropriation: Legal Protection for Databases in Korea, (2002), Criminalization of Netizens for the Access to On-line Music, (2004), and Fair Use: A Tale of Two Cities, Intellectual Property in Common Law and Civil Law (Edward Elgar, Northampton, 2013).

Dai-Kwon Choi (최대권)

Professor Emeritus, Seoul National University, School of Law
Distinguished Professor, Handong University, School of Law

Dai-Kwon Choi is Professor Emeritus at Seoul National University, School of Law, and Distinguished Professor at Handong University, School of Law. Professor Choi teaches Constitutional Law and Sociology of Law at both universities. He received his L.L.B. from the Seoul National University, College of Law.  He received his .LL.M. and Ph.D. in Political Science from University of California, Berkeley, School of Law. His recent publications include Bopsahoehak (Sociology of Law, 1983), Bopkwa sahoe (Law and Society, 1992), Honbophak kangui (Constitutional Law, 2001), (as a co-editor) Judicial System Transformation in the Globalizing World: Korea and Japan (2007), and Bochiju-ui wa minjuju-ui (The Rule of Law and Democracy, 2012). Professor Choi was Head of the Legal Education Reform Committee of the Presidential Advisory Commission for a New Education Community. He was also a member of the Presidential Advisory Commission for Judicial Reform.

Hong Shik Cho (조홍식)

Professor, Seoul National University, School of Law

Hong Shik Cho is a Professor of Environmental Law, Administrative Law, and General Theory of Law and Policy at Seoul National University, School of Law. Before joining the Seoul National University faculty in 1997, Dr. Cho served as a District Court Judge from 1989 to 1991. After resigning from his judgeship, he attended University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, where he received his LL.M. and J.S.D. Upon returning to Korea, he was appointed as the first professor to teach Environmental Law at Seoul National University. Since then, Professor Cho has taken various leadership roles in academic and government organizations. During his tenure at Seoul National University, he served as the Associate Dean in charge of student affairs, as the Faculty Director for Graduate Program in Public Law, and as the Associate Director of American Studies Institute. He is currently the Chief Director of Center for Energy and Environmental Law and Policy. Dr. Cho was a visiting professor at a number of law schools, including University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, Duke Law School, University of Tokyo, and Freiburg University in Germany. He also worked with the Korean government as a member of the Regulatory Reform Subcommittee of Ministry of Environment of Korea.  He currently works as a member of the Presidential Committee on Green Growth and a few other governmental committees. He is a member of Seoul Bar and New York State Bar. Professor Cho’s recent publications include Climate Change and the Rule of Law (2010), Case Book on Environmental Law (2012), Energy Law and Policy in the Age of Climate Change (2013).

Kuk Cho (조국)

Professor, Seoul National University, School of Law

Kuk Cho is a Professor of Law at Seoul National University, School of Law. He received his LL.B. and LL.M. from Seoul National University College of Law, and his LL.M. and J.S.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law. He was a visiting scholar at the University of Leeds Centre for Criminal Justice Studies in U.K., and a visiting research fellow at the University of Oxford Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, also in the U.K. After serving as a member of the Police Reform Committee of the National Police Agency from 2003 to 2005, he studied at Harvard University as a visiting scholar of Harvard-Yenching Institute. Upon returning to Korea, Professor Cho served as a member of the Inspection Committee of the Ministry of Justice from 2005 to 2007, and as a commissioner of the National Human Rights Commission from 2007 to 2010. He was a member of the Sentencing Committee of the Supreme Court of Korea from 2009 to 2011.

Jibong Lim (임지봉)

Professor, Sogang University Law School

Jibong Lim is a Professor of Law at Sogang University Law School, and an academic advisor for the Constitutional Court of Korea. He received his LL.B. and LL.M. from Seoul National University, School of Law. He received his second LL.M. from University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, where he also received his J.S.D. Since graduating from Seoul National University, Dr. Lim served as a Visiting Lecturer at a number of renown universities in Korea, including Kyungsung University, University of Ulsan, Inha University, Hannam University, Seokyung University, and Seoul National University. He was also a Professor at Konkuk University School of Law from 2000 to 2006, where he served as a Chair of International Legal Studies Department. Dr. Lim is also a member of various academic and government associations, including Korean Sociology of Law Association, Korean Public Law Association, and Korean Constitutional Law Association. Some of Dr. Lim’s most recent English publications include Korea Constitutional Court, a leader of Social Change and Judicial Activism in Korea (2004) and The Korea Constitutional Court, Judicial Activism, and Social Change (2004).

Jae Wan Park (박재완)

Professor, Hanyang University School of Law

Jae Wan Park is a Professor of Law at Hanyang University School of Law. He received his LL.B from Seoul National University, School of Law, where he also majored in Economics, and his LL.M from University of California, Berkeley, School of Law. After passing the Higher Civil Servant Examination in 1987 and the National Judicial Examination in 1989, he served as a Judge from 1992 to 2006. After his judgeship, he studied at Harvard Law School as a visiting scholar and a recipient of Fulbright Foundation Senior Researcher Scholarship. He currently serves as a director of the Association of Korean Bankruptcy Law, and the Korean Association of the Law of Civil Procedure. Professor Park is also a member of the Special Committee for Revision of Bankruptcy Law at Department of Justice of Korea, and Panel of Specialists for the Advisory Committee of Judicial Policy at Supreme Court of Korea.

Sang Won Lee (이상원)

Professor, Seoul National University, School of Law

Sang Won Lee is a Professor of Law at Seoul National University School of Law, where he teaches Criminal Law and Procedure. Professor Lee has been a professor since 2013, and served as an associate professor from 2008 to 2013. He has also served as a district court judge from 1992 to 2004, as a judge in the Constitutional Court of Korea from 2004 and 2006, and as a judge in the Supreme Court of Korea from 2006 to 2008. He has served as a commissioner in various organizations, including Sentencing Commission of Korea, Criminal Justice Reform Commission of the Ministry of Justice, National University Improvement Committee of the Ministry of Education, Presidential Committee for Public Information, Human Rights Committee of the National Police Agency, and Public Defender Supervising Committee of the Seoul High Court. He has also served as the president of Korean Police Law Association and as an executive board member of the Korean Criminal Law Association. Professor Lee’s research interests include laying bridges between legal theories and legal practices, systematic theory building of criminal law and procedure, and constitutional adjudication and criminal/civil adjudication. Professor Lee is the author of a number of books, including “Access to Justice and Transparent Judiciary” (2012) and “American Cases on Legal Ethics” (2012). Professor Lee received his LL.B. from Seoul National University School of Law and his LL.M. from UC Berkeley School of Law. He also holds a Ph.D. in Law from Seoul National University.

Won Kyou Ryou (유원규)

Partner, Lee & Ko

Won Kyou Ryou is a partner in the Litigation & Arbitration Group. Prior to joining Lee & Ko in 2009, he served as a judge in various courts in Korea.  In particular, he served as a research judge at the Supreme Court of Korea and as a presiding judge at the Seoul High Court and the Seoul Central District Court, handling many civil and criminal cases in the areas of finance and customs, insurance, cross-border transactions, shipping and white collar crimes.  He made a significant contribution to the training of newly-admitted legal professionals in his capacity as a professor at the Judicial Research and Training Institute of the Supreme Court of Korea. He has extensive experience in court administration by serving numerous important positions such as a Director General of the Office of Court Administration, the Chief Librarian of the Supreme Court Library, the Chief Judge of the Seoul Western District Court and the Chief Judge of the Seoul Family Court. During Mr. Ryou’s tenure as a judge, he accumulated extensive experience in a wide range of administrative, civil, criminal, white collar crimes involving Korean and international companies. He was a member of the Sentencing Commission of the Supreme Court of Korea and has particular interest in criminal cases and litigations. He has been involved with some of the most recent leading civil and criminal cases. Mr. Ryou received his LL.B. from Seoul National University in 1975 and his LL.M. from UC Berkeley School of Law in 1988.

Chang Rok Woo (우창록)

Chairman, Yulchon

Chang Rok Woo is the chairman of Yulchon. 
Mr. Woo had already earned a sterling reputation as a tax lawyer at the biggest law firm in Korea when, in 1992, he opened his own law office, Woo & Partners. In 1997, Mr. Woo established Yulchon with five renowned practitioners in antitrust, M&A, finance, and international trade. 

Since then, Mr. Woo has overseen Yulchon’s growth into one of the largest full-service law firms in Korea with more than 330 professionals. This remarkable growth, without any mergers or acquisitions, is due to Mr. Woo’s warm leadership. He is not only a determined leader, but also a genuine and generous one who facilitates trust, communication and the adoption of creative ideas. Mr. Woo’s outstanding leadership was noted by Joongang Monthly, one of the Korea’s leading publications, when it awarded him the CEO Leadership Award.

 Mr. Woo is universally recognized as the best tax lawyer in Korea. He is consistently named to the International Who’s Who of Corporate Tax Lawyers & Business Lawyers, and he is the first Korean to be recognized by the University of Washington Law School as a Distinguished Alumnus. 
In addition to Yulchon’s pro bono activities, in which he plays a leading role, Mr. Woo has also been actively engaged in a variety of civic organizations. He is chairman of the Good Society, director of Nonghyup Foundation, and director of the Scholarship Foundation of Seoul National University Law School. As a director of Seed School, he devotes himself to the education of neglected youths to realize his vision of public good. Mr. Woo received his LL.B. from Seoul National University, School of Law, and his LL.M. from University of Washington Law School. He was a Visiting Scholar at University of California, Berkeley, School of Law.

Belinda Lee

Latham & Watkins

Belinda S Lee is a partner in the Antitrust & Competition Practice in the San Francisco office of Latham & Watkins LLP.  Her practice focuses on cartel matters and complex business litigation for companies across a variety of industries.  She regularly represents US and Asian companies on abuse of dominance and price-fixing cartel investigations before regulators and courts in the US, Canada, Europe, Brazil, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, and Australia. She also has significant experience representing clients in consumer class actions, mass tort actions, and on issues of personal privacy.  Ms. Lee serves on the editorial board of the ABA’s Antitrust magazine and is a frequent author and speaker on legal issues relating to expert witnesses, antitrust compliance and law firm diversity issues.  Ms. Lee also believes it is important to give back to the community, and has served on the Boards of several community and non-profit organizations, including the San Francisco Bar Association’s Justice & Diversity Center, the National Association for Law Placement Foundation, the Western Center on Law & Poverty, the Constitutional Rights Foundation, and the California Heritage Museum.  Ms. Lee received her JD, cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 1998 and her BS (Foreign Service), magna cum laude, from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service in 1995.

Catharina Min

Office Managing Partner, Reed Smith

Catharina Min is currently the Office Managing Partner of the Silicon Valley Office of Reed Smith.  She is the head of the Korean Practice Group.  She practices corporate and mergers and acquisitions law with an emphasis in representing both U.S. and international clients in mergers and acquisitions, private financings, joint ventures, strategic alliances, corporate partnering and other corporate transactions. She also represents emerging companies in general corporate matters and financings. She has particular expertise in representing Korean, Japanese and Chinese clients acquiring companies in the United States and Europe and in other cross-border transactions. Ms. Min is a frequent speaker at many organizations including ASCEND, Asian Business League, Silicon Valley Association of Start-up Entrepreneurs and Korean IT Network Forum where she covers topics related to cross-border transactions and venture capital financings and also issues related to Asian-American and women lawyer mentoring and empowerment. Ms. Min received her B.A. from University of Virginia and her J.D. from University of Virginia School of Law, where she was an editor of Virginia Law Review.

Organizers

Laurent Mayali

Lloyd M. Robbins Professor of Law, University of California, Berkley, School of Law

After attending the University of Montpellier (France), Laurent Mayali served as a tenured research scholar at the Max Planck Institute for European Legal History in Frankfurt, Germany, and at France’s Center for National Research. He joined the faculty of Berkeley’s rhetoric department in 1985 before permanently joining the Boalt faculty in 1988. In 1997, he was elected to a chair in Roman Christianity and sources of modern law at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, at the Sorbonne in Paris. He has been a visiting law professor at several universities and has lectured extensively throughout Europe and Africa in the areas of legal history and comparative law. Professor Mayali is the author and coauthor of many publications, including Droit savant et coutumes; L’exclusion des filles dotees (XIIeme-XVeme siecles); Of Strangers Foreigners; and Identite et droit de l’autre; Mourir pour la Patrie et autres textes. E. Kantorowicz, Presentation et traduction avec P. Legendre et Anton Schutz; Repertorium Veterum Codicis Justiniani (with G. Dolezalek); Subjektivierung des justiziellen Beweisverfahrens (with D. Simon); Europaische und amerikanische Richterbilder, Rechtpreschung. Materialen und Studien (with D. Simon); “Symposium on Ancient Law, Economics & Society,” (with J. Lindgren and G. Miller) in the Chicago Kent Law Review; Error Judicis. Juristische Wahrheit und justizieller Irrtum (with D. Simon); Rare Law Books and the Language of Catalogues, Universita degli Studi di Siena (with M. Ascheri). He has also published numerous articles on medieval jurisprudence, customary law, and comparative law.

John Yoo
Emanuel S. Heller Professor of Law, University of California, Berkeley, School of Law

John Yoo received his B.A., summa cum laude, in American history from Harvard University. Between college and law school, he worked as a newspaper reporter in Washington, D.C. He received his J.D. from Yale Law School, where he was an articles editor of the Yale Law Journal. He then clerked for Judge Laurence H. Silberman of the U.S. Court of Appeals of the D.C. Circuit. Professor Yoo joined the Boalt faculty in 1993, then clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas of the U.S. Supreme Court. He served as general counsel of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee from 1995-96. From 2001 to 2003, he served as a deputy assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Counsel at the U.S. Department of Justice, where he worked on issues involving foreign affairs, national security and the separation of powers. Professor Yoo is a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and has been a visiting professor at Chapman Law School, the University of Chicago, and the Free University of Amsterdam, and he held the Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Law at the University of Trento. Professor Yoo also has received the Paul M. Bator Award for excellence in legal scholarship and teaching from the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy. He is the author of The Powers of War and Peace: The Constitution and Foreign Affairs after 9/11 (University of Chicago Press, 2005); War by Other Means: An Insider’s Account of the War on Terror (Grove/Atlantic 2006); and Crisis and Command: The History of Executive Power From George Washington to George W. Bush (Kaplan 2010); and co-author of Taming Globalization: International Law, the U.S. Constitution, and the New World Order (Oxford 2012). He has also co-edited Confronting Terror: 9/11 and the Future of American National Security (Encounter 2011).