Seung Wha Chang is the Chairman of KCAB International and Professor of Seoul National University (SNU) School of Law.

In mid-2000s, Prof. Chang took the lead in founding the Korean international arbitration community. He was the founding Chairman of the Korean Council for International Arbitration (KOCIA) and chaired the drafting committee for the original KCAB International Arbitration Rules and also drafted the KCAB Code of Ethics for Arbitrators. At the same time, he played an active role to promote international arbitration in Asia, while serving as the 3rd President of the Asia-Pacific Regional Arbitration Group (APRAG).

Since late 1990s, Prof. Chang has sat as an adjudicator/arbitrator for international dispute settlement tribunals nearly one hundred times. He has served as an arbitrator (chairman or co-arbitrator) for various arbitral institutions, including the ICC, LCIA, SIAC, HKIAC, VIAC, JCAA and KCAB. He also served as a Member of the ICC International Court of Arbitration.

Besides commercial arbitration, Prof. Chang has been recognized as a leading Asian adjudicator for States-to-States economic dispute settlement. After serving as one of the most frequently appointed panelists/arbitrators for the WTO dispute settlement, in 2012, he was appointed as a Member (Judge) of the WTO Appellate Body. After returning from Geneva, Prof. Chang also served for the Korean government as the Chairman of the Korea Trade Commission. In 2022, he was appointed, for the first time in history, as an appellate review arbitrator for WTO dispute settlement.

In earlier days of his legal career, Prof. Chang practiced at Covington & Burling in Washington D.C., and served as a judge for Seoul District Court. He is a former Dean of SNU School of Law. Prof. Chang has served for the Board of Directors of POSCO (as Chairman), LG and Hyundai Motor Co.

Prof. Chang holds law degrees from SNU (LL.B.) and Harvard Law School (LL.M. & S.J.D.). He has taught international arbitration, investment and trade law courses as a tenured professor at SNU and, as a Visiting Professor, at various renowned law schools including Harvard, Yale, Stanford, NYU, Duke, Georgetown, UCLA, National University of Singapore, Hong Kong University, and Geneva University. In 2007, Harvard Law School granted him an endowed visiting professorial chair title, Nomura Visiting Professor of International Financial Systems. Prof. Chang is also Editor-in-Chief for Korean Arbitration Review, and an Advisory Board Member for the Journal of International Dispute Settlement (Oxford) and formerly the Journal of International Economic Law (Oxford).

Pui-Ki Emmanuelle Ta is the Secretary-General of KCAB International. She is responsible for overseeing KCAB International’s operations, including case management and business development.

Prior to joining KCAB International, Pui-Ki worked as an independent arbitration practitioner.

She has over 20 years of expertise as an international arbitration counsel across various jurisdictions, with strategic development experience, having previously served in leadership roles at prominent arbitral institutions. This includes 15 years at the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), working at both the Paris headquarters and the Hong Kong Asia Office. Having served as a deputy counsel at ICC Paris, she later moved to Hong Kong to serve first as a founding member and then as counsel of ICC’s first overseas office leading the case management team there. During her tenure at the ICC, she supervised thousands of international arbitration cases across a wide variety of jurisdictions and economic sectors, primarily involving parties from Asia, Oceania and the Middle East.

After the ICC, she took on the role of Chief Executive Officer and Secretary General of eBRAM International Online Dispute Resolution Centre. There, she played a key role in advancing the use of technology in arbitration and mediation, ensuring efficient and effective resolution of disputes.

She is qualified to practice at the Paris bar and speaks English, French, Mandarin and Cantonese.

Seokchun Yun serves as the Deputy Secretary-General of KCAB International in charge of supervising case management, planning and conducting business development activities in assistance of the Chairman and the Secretary General.

He was a partner at several leading law firms, including Bae, Kim & Lee, Kim & Chang, and Peter & Kim. His practice focused on international arbitration and cross-border litigation, international trade, international taxation, construction and real estate litigation, and shareholder dispute, particularly those with international aspects. During his secondment at Kobre & Kim LLP in New York, Seokchun was involved in the enforcement of arbitral awards and foreign judgments, asset tracing and recovery, and litigation at both federal and state levels in the United States.

Mr. Yun has successfully represented government entities, and both domestic and foreign multinational clients at all stages of international arbitration under the major arbitration rules including KCAB, ICSID, ICC, SIAC, HKIAC, ICDR, LCIA, LMAA, JCAA and CAS as well as in ad-hoc arbitrations. He also has experience representing clients in international mediations under the SIMC rules and before the WTO panel.

Throughout his career, Seokchun has managed legal matters and issues that involve a wide range of governing laws, including those of Korea, England and Wales, the United States (federal, New York, California, and Delaware), Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, Germany, Switzerland, Isreal, Russia, Japan, and China. He also possesses expertise in international instruments and norms such as the CISG, UNIDROIT Principles and WTO treaties.

Immediately prior to assuming his current position, Mr. Yun served as the General Counsel of 42dot Inc., the global software center of the Hyundai Motor Group. At the beginning of his professional journey, he served as a judge advocate fulfilling the roles of military judge and prosecutor in the Republic of Korea Navy.

Seokchun is also actively engaged in academia and professional organizations. He currently holds the position of Director of Research at the Korean International Trade Law Association, and serves as a director of the Korea Private International Law Association and a director of Korean Association of Arbitration Studies. He has taught as a lecturer at Seoul National University College of Law, regularly publishes scholarly articles and treatises, and is a frequent speaker at notable seminars and conferences on various topics such as international arbitration and trade.

Mr. Yun holds an LLM from Harvard Law School, an LLM and an LLB from Seoul National University, as well as a BBA from the Minister of Education of Korea. He is also a graduate of the Judicial Research and Training Institute of the Supreme Court of Korea and admitted to practice law in both New York and Korea. Seokchun speaks native Korean, English, Japanese and Chinese (Mandarin), and has reading proficiency in German.

Sangki Kam is the director of International Arbitration Team and International Cooperation Team of KCAB International. Since joining KCAB in 2008, he has performed multiple tasks such as promotion & education of arbitration, overall planning and management of KCAB, managing arbitration cases, and operating Los Angeles office.

Mr. Kam holds Bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree, both in Law, from Sungkyunkwan University, Korea.

Young Shin Um is a Senior Counsel at the International Arbitration Team.

Young Shin worked as a Senior Deputy Director at the International Dispute Settlement Division in the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Korea, where she managed investor-state disputes and represented the Korean government in ICSID Rules Reform Project and in UNCITRAL Working Group III. Prior to joining the government in 2020, Young Shin practiced international arbitration in major Korean law firms.

Young Shin holds LL.B. and J.D. from Seoul National University (LL.B., 2007, and J.D., 2012), LL.M. from New York University (LL.M. in International Legal Studies, 2008 / LL.M. in International Business Regulation, Litigation and Arbitration, 2019), and is S.J.D. candidate at Seoul National University.

Young Shin is licensed to practice law in Korea and in New York State.

Juneyoung Choi currently serves as Deputy Counsel on the International Arbitration Team at KCAB International. He is licensed to practice law in the Republic of Korea.

Prior to joining KCAB International, Juneyoung worked as a litigation attorney focusing on international disputes. He acted as counsel for a Korean real estate developer in a SIAC arbitration concerning a hotel construction project, and contributed to an international arbitration research initiative led by the Korea Council for International Arbitration (KOCIA).

Juneyoung holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (with a concentration in Japanese) from Duke University, USA. He also earned his Juris Doctor degree from Yonsei University in Korea.

Jaehee Jeon is the Business Development Manager at KCAB International, where she plays a central role in shaping and executing the institution’s international business development and marketing strategy. She has overall responsibility for the planning and delivery of the Seoul ADR Festival, KCAB International’s flagship international event.

Her work focuses on strengthening KCAB International’s presence across North East Asia and South Asia, through targeted outreach, strategic partnerships, and sustained engagement with key stakeholders in the global arbitration and ADR community. She also oversees the development of promotional content and manages relationships with media, law firms, and relevant institutions.

Jaehee brings over 11 years of experience in legal business development and marketing. Prior to joining KCAB International, she worked at a leading Korean law firm, where she supported the firm’s global corporate legal practice and international client development initiatives.

Jaeyeun Kwon is the Business Development Assistant Manager at KCAB International, where she is currently in charge of international relations.

She conducts research and analysis on trends in international arbitration. She handles corporate communications and plans and implements international events to engage the global arbitration community. She is also responsible for publications, including the Korean Arbitration Review and the Annual Report.

Before joining KCAB International, she worked as a professional French and English interpreter, drawing her experience in Europe, and also as a foreign media relations officer for the Korean government.

Jangyoun Woo serves as a Business Development Assistant at KCAB International. She supports business development initiatives aimed at capacity-building and professional development, including training programs and the Vis Moot. Her responsibilities encompass outreach, event management, and social media operations. Prior to joining KCAB International, she worked as a paralegal at a boutique arbitration firm based in Korea, where she assisted with case management and hearing logistics. She is fluent in Korean and English, with conversational proficiency in Chinese.