Kichang Chung

Practice Areas

International trade and arbitration/litigation

Career

Kichang Chung is a Co-Head of International Trade Practice Group of Lee & Ko. Also, he is an adjunct professor of law at Yonsei University Graduate School of Law, Seoul, Korea. His major practice area is international trade litigation at the WTO in Geneva, Switzerland and other dispute settlement fora under FTA and BIT.

Prior to his private practice, Kichang worked for Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. For years, he represented the Korean government as a legal counsel before the Dispute Settlement Body of the WTO. Kichang also represented the Korean government as lead negotiator at the DSU review negotiations, the mandate of which is to clarify and improve the Dispute Settlement Understanding, the procedural law of the WTO litigation.

Kichang has handled various WTO litigations where Korea was a party and a third party. These include the issues of human and animal life and health (SPS), governmental subsidies, trade remedies, Dispute Settlement Understanding of the WTO, and the GATT obligations, e.g., non-discrimination. Recently, he represented Korea in the first FTA dispute between Korea and the European Union on the labour issue under the trade and sustainable development chapter of the Korea-EU FTA.

Kichang advises government, global companies, and trade associations to solve problems arising out of international trade in goods, services, and intellectual properties. He also advises clients on legal and policy issues of international trade. Currently, he focuses on the emerging issues of international trade, such as industrial subsidy, trade and environment, trade and security, food safety, and RTA negotiations, e.g., IPEF.

Recently, the European Union has selected Kichang as one of its candidates for the position of Chairperson for Arbitrations when the European Union is involved in bilateral disputes under trade agreements with 3rd countries.

Professional Memberships

New York, New Jersey Bar

Publications

“CPTPP and State-owned enterprise” (Lee & Ko Global Commerce Institute Issue Brief Vol.3, 2021)

International Trade 2020 Trends and Developments in South Korea (Chambers & Partners, December 2020)

“An Analysis of SPS Dispute in the WTO: Korea - Radionuclides (DS495)” International Trade Law, February 2020 (in Korean)

“International Trade and Security: Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act” Lee & Ko Global Commerce Institute Issue Brief Vol.2, 2018 (in Korean)

IFLR South Korea Special 2018, International Trade “Building bridges” (IFLR, Oct 2018)

“International Trade and Security: Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act” (Lee & Ko Global Commerce Institute Issue Brief Vol.2, 2018)

“A Study on Effective Compliance in the WTO: Theoretical, Institutional, and Practical Examination on the DSU” International Trade Law, August 2013 (in Korean)

Personal

Yonsei University (B.A.,M.A.)

Michigan State University (J.D., Editor-in-Chief, Michigan State Journal of International Law)

Harvard Law School (Visiting Researcher)