DEAL NEWS: Korea’s second largest firm, Lee & Ko, together with Paul Hastings have played lead roles on the US$200m listing of Dongkuk S&C on the KRX KOSDAQ market.

The IPO, which is the largest of Korean offering of 2009 and the only the third ever domestic IPO in Korea with an international tranche following recent changes to Korean securities laws, comprises both a Korean domestic offering as well as an international Regulation S portion.

Lee & Ko were retained by Dongkuk for local law advice while Paul Hastings acted for the underwriter, Samsung Securities, as international counsel.

Daniel Kim, Paul Hastings’ lead lawyer on the transaction, says that the deal may well prove a catalyst in bringing further IPOs to market. “This was a very meaningful offering, both for the parties involved and for the Korean IPO market,” he says. “[And] and we hope will signal the beginning of a recovery for Korean capital markets and especially Korean IPOs with international tranches.”