One of Korea’s most recognized and experienced M&A lawyers, Daniel Sae-Chin Kim advises the nation’s largest and most active companies on their cross border mergers and acquisitions, private equity buyouts and investments, international joint ventures, and private and public securities offerings.
Daniel is also known for advising major Korean conglomerates, international funds, and financial institutions on investing in emerging growth companies, with deep transactional experience in the areas of autonomous and connected vehicles, consumer electronics, ecommerce, energy, financial technology, life sciences and pharmaceuticals, logistics and supply chains, retail, semiconductors, blockchain and cryptocurrency.
He has led numerous high-value M&A transactions, including Samsung Electronics’ US$8 billion acquisition of Harman International (Nasdaq: HAR)—then the largest Korean outbound M&A transaction on record, DL Chemical’s US$2.5 billion acquisition of Kraton Corporation (NYSE: KRA), Hanwha Group’s US$1.2 billion sale and merger of Hanwha Q CELLS and Hanwha SolarOne (Nasdaq: HGCL), and Samsung Display’s US$1.9 billion sale of its interest in Samsung Corning Precision Material to Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW).
While bringing his enviable experience and tireless work ethic to bear, Daniel also works collaboratively with the firm’s litigation and investigations teams in Seoul, internationally, and across practice sectors, to provide immediate, localized, and expert counseling to clients on a wide range of matters most important to company leadership.
An award-winning practitioner, Daniel has been ranked as “Band 1” for M&A every year since 2015 through 2023 by the Chambers-Asia Pacific guide, and listed as a “Leading Individual” by every edition of The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific since 2015 through 2023. He was also selected as the “Dealmaker of the Year” by Asian Legal Business in 2022.
Daniel is the Representative of the firm’s Seoul office. Prior to joining O’Melveny, Daniel was the head of the Korea Corporate Practice at another major international law firm.
Mergers & Acquisitions
- Samsung Electronics in its ductless HVAC systems joint venture in North America with Lennox (NYSE: LII)
- Samsung Display in its US$218 million acquisition of NYSE American-listed eMagin Corporation (NYSE: EMAN)
- DL Chemical, a leading petrochemical company, in its US$2.5 billion acquisition of NYSE-listed Kraton Corporation (NYSE: KRA)
- CJ ENM in its US$785 million acquisition of 80% of equity interest in the scripted business of US-based global premium content studio Endeavor Contents
- CJ CheilJedang and Bibigo®, the top brand of Korean cuisine in the US and globally, on their multi-year global marketing partnership with the Los Angeles Lakers
- SK E&S in its acquisition of EverCharge, a leading EV charging solution provider in the US
- SK E&S in its up to US$400 million investment in REV Renewables, LLC, an LS Power company focused on the development, acquisition and operation of renewables and energy storage
- Samsung Electronics in its US$8.0 billion acquisition of NYSE-listed Harman International Industries, Inc. (NYSE: HAR), the market leader in connected car solutions
- Samsung Display in the US$1.9 billion sale of its 43% interest in Samsung Corning Precision Materials (SCP) to Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW), and its US$2.3 billion preferred shares strategic investment in Corning
- Samsung Electronics in the US$1.4 billion sale of its hard disk drive business to Seagate Technology (Nasdaq: STX) and extending and enhancing the existing patent cross-license agreement between the companies
- Temasek Holdings in its participation in a consortium with MBK Partners in the acquisition of Tesco's Homeplus, the second largest supermarket retail chain in Korea, in a deal valued at more than US$6.0 billion
- Hanwha Solar Holdings and Hanwha Q CELLS in the US$1.2 billion sale of Hanwha Q CELLS and its merger with Hanwha SolarOne
- SoftBank Corp. in its US$1.0 billion investment in Coupang, the largest and fastest growing standalone ecommerce player in Korea
- Daelim Industrial, a Korea leading petrochemical company, on its US$530 million acquisition of the Cariflex business unit of Kraton Corporation
- Hanwha Chemical, a leading global chemicals company headquartered in Korea, in its US$370 million strategic equity investment in Solarfun, a NASDAQ-listed vertically integrated PRC manufacturer of silicon ingots, wafers and photovoltaic cells and modules
- Samsung Electronics in its US$310 million acquisition of UK-listed CSR Plc's mobile connectivity and location technology as well as certain relevant patents including a license to patents and intellectual property for Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GPS and its strategic 4.9% equity stake in CSR Plc.
- CJ ENM, a leading Korean entertainment and merchandising company, in connection with the US$275 million strategic equity financing of Skydance Media, a US diversified media company, together with other investors
- CJ Logistics, a Korean logistics company, in its US$216 million acquisition of a majority stake in DSC Logistics, a US logistics and supply chain management company
- Hotel Shilla on its proposed US$121 million acquisition of 44% stake in 3Sixty Duty Free, a US airport duty free retailer
- Samsung Electronics in its acquisition of Dacor, a leading American brand in the luxury home appliance category
- Samsung Electronics in the sale of its fiber optics business to Corning Inc., the world leader in specialty glass and ceramics
- Hansol Paper, the largest paper manufacturer in Korea, in its sale of its European Schades and R+S group companies to US-based Iconex, a market leader in low-cost paper receipt and differentiated label solutions
- LG Chem, a Korean battery and chemical company, on its acquisition of Uniseal, a US leading automotive adhesive maker
- Golfzon Newdin and its affiliates in the acquisition of 100% equity interest in Leadbetter Golf Academies, a US-based golf instruction institute founded by legendary golf coach David Leadbetter
- SeAH Steel, the largest steel pipe producer in South Korea, in its acquisition of an oil country tubular goods (OCTG) processing plant from Laguna Tubular Products, a steel company based in Mexico, and in its acquisition of an OCTG manufacturing and processing plant from OMK Tube, a steel maker based in Russia. Both facilities are located in Houston, Texas
- Korea East-West Power in its acquisition of Marubeni Sustainable Energy, Inc., a leading integrated energy company focused on renewable energy production, based in the US
- Dong-A Pharmaceutical, a leading Korean pharmaceutical company, in its US$125 million equity investment from, and in the structuring and organization of its strategic alliance with, GlaxoSmithKline
- An Asian financial institution in its attempted bid for the Asian operations of Lehman Brothers
- Morgan Stanley Private Equity in its 42% equity investment in Hyundai Rotem, one of world's leading makers of high-speed trains and other rail transports
- Morgan Stanley Private Equity in its acquisition of KEB Commerz Investment Trust Management Company (KEBIT) from Korea Exchange Bank and Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft and in KEBIT's subsequent merger with Landmark ITMC
- Morgan Stanley Private Equity in its acquisition of Jinbang Steel, a leading manufacturer of steel pipes and other steel products, from Ssangyong Corporation
- Marathon Asset Management in its management-led buyout of The Executive Centre Limited, a leading serviced-office provider throughout Asia and Australia
- Walmart in its US$882 million sale of its Korean retail operations to Shinsegae
Languages
- Korean
Admissions
Bar Admissions
- California
- New York
- Korea: Foreign Legal Consultant (New York, US)
Education
- University of Chicago Law School, J.D. 1997
- New York University, B.A. 1992
Honors & Awards
- Named to The Legal 500’s Private Practice Powerlist – M&A – Asia Pacific (2024)
- Individually ranked Band 1 by Chambers Global and Chambers Asia-Pacific in South Korea Corporate/M&A (2015-2025)
- Individually ranked as a “Leading Individual” in South Korea Corporate/M&A by The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific (2015-2023)
- Individually selected as “Dealmaker of the Year” by Asian Legal Business (2022)
- Named to The A-List of Korea’s Top 100 Lawyers by the Asia Business Law Journal