South Korean law firms Barun Law and Dongin Law Group have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) at Barun’s office in Seoul on 14 September 2026 to pursue a merger.
Both firms said the merger would be pursued on an equal footing, rather than through one firm acquiring or absorbing the other.
“Under the principles of equality and mutual respect, we will pursue a merger that leverages the strengths of both law firms while complementing each other’s operational gaps,” said Dong Hoon Lee, Barun’s senior managing partner, in a statement.
Both firms said negotiations were underway with the goal of executing a definitive merger agreement within 12 months of the MoU’s effective date.
An exclusivity clause applies during the term of the MoU, under which neither party may engage in identical or similar merger negotiations with a third party without the other’s prior written consent.
However, the firms also said that while the MoU establishes the basic principles and direction of the merger talks, it did not finalise the merger or obligate either firm to complete it, although certain provisions, including those relating to exclusivity and confidentiality, were legally binding.
Throughout the merger process, both firms will conduct conflict-of-interest checks covering their respective clients, opposing parties and key affiliates.
Barun currently has 303 lawyers, including 287 Korean-qualified and 16 foreign-qualified lawyers, while Dongin has 250, including 245 Korean-qualified and five foreign-qualified lawyers. Once completed, the merger would create a law firm with 553 lawyers, including 532 Korean-qualified lawyers and 21 foreign-qualified lawyers.
With 532 Korean-qualified lawyers, the combined firm would rank as South Korea’s sixth-largest law firm by number of Korean-qualified lawyers, based on Ministry of Justice figures as of August 2026.
The tentative name for the merged law firm is Barun Dongin.
