Sang Wook Cho

Career

Sang Wook Cho is a partner and head of the Labor Team at Yulchon who practices primarily in the areas of labor and employment and internal investigation. He joined Yulchon as an associate in 1999 and has been working with the firm ever since. Mr. Cho had worked on secondment at the Korean branch of General Electric International, Inc. for some time as a Yulchon attorney. With regard to labor, as deputy head of Labor & Employment Team of Yulchon, Mr. Cho provides advisory services to leading domestic companies and foreign corporations on the Korean Labor Standard Act, the Act on the Protection, etc., of Dispatched Workers, the Act on the Protection, etc., of Fixed-term and Part-time Employees, the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act and other labor laws, and represents companies in the cases for labor dispute issues such as regarding dismissal, wage and illegal dispatch of workers. Mr. Cho also advises on negotiation of separation package and HR compliance program issues. With regard to internal investigation, Mr. Cho advises clients on internal investigations provoked by whistle-blowing and disciplinary actions including for embezzlement, breach of occupation, divulgence of trade secrets, sexual harassment and workplace bullying, on responsive measures for illegal conducts including civil or criminal actions, and on government and media affairs.Mr. Cho speaks often at seminars and conferences for Amcham, BCCK and Korea Employers Federation and delivers lectures in workshops of Korean companies including Samsung Human Resources Development Center, Samsung Group and Lotte Group on labor reform, ordinary wage, disguised contracting-out, multiple labor union and temporary workers. He also writes labor columns and articles for Work Law, a monthly journal. In 2018, he was selected as a leading lawyer by Chambers Asia Pacific, and Legal 500 in the field of employment and named as an expert by Who’s Who Legal in the fields of labor & management as well as pension & benefits.

Personal

Education

2004 Cornell University Law School, LL.M.

1999 Judicial Research and Training Institute, the Supreme Court of Korea

1994 Seoul National University, LL.B.

Experience

1999-present Partner, Yulchon LLC

2019 Adjunct professor, Korea University Graduate School of Law

2018-present Vice President, Society of Labor Law Theory and the Profession

2016-2024 Advisory lawyer, Ministry of Employment and Labor

2013-present Member of Discrimination Remedy Committee, National Human Rights Commission of the Republic of Korea

2013-2015 Adjudication Member of Public Interests, Seoul Regional Labor Relation Commission

2004-2005 In-house Counsel, Korean Branch of General Electric International (Secondment)