Kelly Hyunsoo Jin
Counsel
Kelly Jin is counsel in the private equity transactions group. She primarily focuses her practice on advising private equity funds, private and public companies and financial investors on cross-border corporate transactions. She has significant experience in private equity and M&A transactions involving South Korea and multiple jurisdictions across the globe.
Prior to joining Ropes & Gray in 2020, Kelly was a corporate associate at leading international law firms in Seoul and New York.
Experience
- Advised E-Mart, Inc. in its acquisition of Shafer Vineyards, a U.S. winery.
- Advised E-Mart, Inc. in its US$3 billion acquisition of eBay’s businesses in South Korea.
- Advised TPG Capital in its follow-on minority investment in Kakao Mobility, South Korea's largest taxi hailing app.
- Advised Bain Capital Credit in its minority investment in K-Bank, South Korea's first online-only bank.
- Advised Bain Capital Credit in its investment in ST Unitas, a leading Korean edu-tech company.
Notable transactions in which Kelly was involved prior to joining the firm include:
- Advised The Blackstone Group in its acquisition of a stake in Geo-Young, a leading wholesale distributor of pharmaceutical drug products in Korea, from Anchor Equity Partners.
- Advised MBK Partners in its sale of Daesung Industrial Gases to Macquarie.
- Advised CJ CheilJedang Corporation in its acquisition of Schwan’s Company, a private U.S. company in the food and beverage industry.
- Advised MBK Partners in its US$6.1 billion acquisition of Homeplus from Tesco.
- Advised Hanon Systems, an affiliate of Hahn & Co., a Korean private equity firm, in its US$1.23 billion acquisition of the Global Fluid Pressure & Controls Business of Magna International Inc., a public Canadian company.
- Advised Samsung Electronics in its US$1.1 billion sale of its printer business to HP, Inc.
Education
- JD, Columbia Law School, 2006; Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar
- BA, Korea University, 2003
Admissions / Qualifications
Qualifications
- Hong Kong, Registered Foreign Lawyer (New York), 2022
- New York, 2007
Awards
- Legal 500 Asia-Pacific: Rising Star for “Corporate and M&A: Foreign Firms” in South Korea (2020-2023)
- IFLR Asia Awards: Private Equity Rising Star (2016)