Mr. Seung Ik LEE is a partner at D&A LLC. His practice is primarily focused on Artificial Intelligence, Investment, International Affairs (U.S.), Corporate Matters, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), and Financial Dispute Resolution.

Mr. Lee has been recognized as an “Outstanding Lawyer” by the Korean Bar Association and has demonstrated exceptional expertise in the public and administrative sectors, including successfully representing the Office of the President of the Republic of Korea in major cases. He has also built a strong legal foundation by handling a number of high-profile cases widely recognized by the public, including the “Samsung Securities Dividend Incident (Phantom Stock Case),” the “Baby Bath Product Class Action,” the “Constitutional Complaint on the Separation of KBS License Fee Collection,” and the “Unfair Terms Complaint against the International Air Transport Association (IATA).”

From 2024 to 2026, Mr. Lee was seconded to the Washington, D.C. office of D&A Advisory, where he conducted in-depth, on-the-ground analysis of global capital market trends and the evolving paradigm of artificial intelligence (AI). Building on this experience, he provides comprehensive legal counsel that goes beyond ex post dispute resolution, with a focus on proactive risk management and the development of optimal investment strategies for corporate clients. In addition, he has built a strong professional network within and beyond the legal community, having previously served as a director of the Korean Bar Association (KBA) Legal Aid Foundation, a director of the Seoul Bar Association, and a director of External Relations at the Korean Lawyers Association.

Bar Admissions

• Admitted to Bar, Korea (2017)

Education

• Yonsei University Law School (JD, 2017)
• Yonsei University (BA in Business Administration, 2013)
• Sangsan High School (2008)

Significant Accomplishments

• D&A LLC (2017-Present)
• Seconded to D&A Advisory, Washington, D.C. (2024-2026)
• Director, KBA Legal Aid Foundation (2022-2024)
• Director, Seoul Bar Association (2021-2024)
• Director of External Relations, Korean Lawyers Association (2019-2024)
• Member, Public-Private Safety Management Committee, Seoul Metropolitan Government (2021-Present)

Professional Activities and Experience

• [Civil/Criminal] Handled civil litigation related to the ‘Samsung Securities dividend accident’ case, criminal (investigation, trial) and Financial Services Commission (Security and Futures Commission) investigation response, pleading, etc.
• [Class Action/Legislation] Handled a class action lawsuit (civil action, criminal complaint, report to the Fair Trade Commission) related to the 'National Baby Bath Case' and draft amendment to the Special Act on Children's Product Safety
• [Public Administration] Handled a constitutional complaint regarding the separate collection of Korea Broadcasting System (KBS) license fees
• [Fair Trade] Reported unfair terms and conditions against the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and airlines on behalf of the Korea Travel Association
• [Mergers and Acquisitions)] Performed due diligence and advised on the equity investment in Cheongdam Learning Co.
• [Mergers and Acquisitions] Performed due diligence and advised on the sale of Meritz Financial Services, a subsidiary of Meritz Financial Group

• 『Digital Economics』 National Federation of Entrepreneurs 2001
• 『Economic Analysis of Insider Transactions and Competition Policy』 Korea Economic Research Institute Regulatory Research Center 1999
• 『New Round Response Strategies in the Service Industry』 Korea Economic Research Institute Regulatory Research Center 1999
• 『Fair Trade Economics』 Regulatory Research Center, Korea Economic Research Institute 1999
• “Economic Analysis of Fair-Trade Act” Economics of Korean Law Korea Economic Research Institute 1997
• “A Study on Private Enforcement of the Fair-Trade Act” Law and Economics Korea Economic Research Institute 1997
• “Economic Analysis of Franchise Contracts and Competition Policies” Regulatory Research Summer 1997 issue Korea Economic Research Institute
• 『Let's fix the economic laws like this』 (co-author) Regulatory Research Center, Korea Economic Research Institute 1997
• The Results and Future Course of Antitrust Policy in Korea"" Paper presented in International Conference on The Role of the Three Branches of Government for the Rule of Law and the Free Market in Korea 1995
• The Results and Future Course of Deregulation Policy in Korea"" Paper presented in International Seminar on Reinventing Government: Asia Style II The Asia Foundation October 1995
• 『Deregulation Policy Evaluation』 (co-author) Korea Economic Research Institute Regulatory Research Center 1995
• Deregulation Policy in Korea"" Paper presented in International Conference on Privatization and Deregulation 1994
• 『Price Regulation in Korea』 (co-author) Korea Economic Research Institute Regulatory Research Center 1994
• 『Privatization and Deregulation』 (co-edited) Korea Economic Research Institute Regulatory Research Center 1994
• 『Privatization and Deregulation - The International Experience and Korea's approach』- (co-editor) Korea Economic Research Institute 1994
• 『Critique of Policy Regulation』 (Co-author) Regulatory Research Center, Korea Economic Research Institute 1994
• “Competitive obstacles in the toy industry and deregulation measures” Deregulation Korea Economic Research Institute Regulatory Research Center 1993
• 『Direction and Tasks of Deregulation』 Korea Economic Research Institute Regulatory Research Center 1993
• “Background and Basic Direction of Proposal on Administrative Deregulation” Proposal on Administrative Deregulation Private Advisory Committee on Administrative Deregulation 1992
• “The Motivation of Exclusive Conditional Transactions and Competition Policy” Industrial Organization Study Korean Society of Industrial Organizations 1992
• “A study on market failure as a basis for government regulation” Korean Public Administration Research Institute for Public Administration 1992
• “Asymmetric information and deregulation” Deregulation Administrative Regulatory Research Center 1992
• 『Competitive Policy of Unfair Trade Act』 Korea Economic Research Institute 1992
• 『Problems and Improvement Methods of Government Regulations -Focused on Investigation of Entrepreneurs Awareness of Government Regulations』 (Co-author) Civil Research Center for Administrative Regulations 1992
• “Price Regulation of Industrial Products” Economic Democratization and Government Regulation Korea Economic Research Institute 1991
• “Economic Analysis of Exclusive Conditional Transactions” Fair-Trade Commission 1991
• “Motives and Effects of Restriction of Sales Areas” The Korean Economic Research Institute, Korea Economic Research Institute 1991
• “Measures for Development of Investment Regulation System” 7th 5-year Fair Trade Sector Plan Policy Council 1990
• 『Demand Structure Analysis and Economic Prospects of the Domestic Automobile Industry』 Korea Investment Trust Economic Research Institute 1990
• “Opportunism Vertical Integration and Exclusive Dealing Contracts in Cooperative Organization” Ph. D. Dissertation The Ohio State University 1989