On August 10, 2026, SAKURA Law Office, headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo and led by Managing Partner Kenshiro Michishita, entered into a strategic business alliance agreement with DLG Law Corporation, a full-service law firm headquartered in Seoul, Republic of Korea, with the objective of establishing an international and practice-oriented framework for legal cooperation between Japan and Korea.
This alliance is intended to extend beyond conventional corporate legal services and cross-border transactions between Japan and Korea. By combining the respective professional expertise, practical experience, human resources, and international networks of both firms, SAKURA Law Office and DLG Law Corporation aim to establish a comprehensive legal support framework covering a broad range of sophisticated and emerging practice areas, including M&A, startups, venture capital and private equity, artificial intelligence, Web3.0, blockchain, digital assets, FinTech, intellectual property, data and privacy, international disputes, and other complex cross-border matters.
Prior to the establishment of the alliance, Kenshiro Michishita, Managing Partner of SAKURA Law Office, visited DLG Law Corporation in Seoul and met in person with Heechul An, Managing Partner of DLG Law Corporation. During the meeting, the parties exchanged views extensively on the respective practices of the two firms, the future demand for legal services arising from Japan-Korea business activities, international expansion in the startup and technology sectors, cross-border M&A, and legal issues relating to AI, Web3.0 and other emerging technologies.
Through these discussions, the two firms agreed to establish a long-term and substantive relationship that goes beyond the mere referral of individual matters.
Going forward, SAKURA Law Office and DLG Law Corporation will respect each other’s independence and professional expertise while cooperating flexibly in accordance with the nature of each matter and the needs of each client. In matters involving both Japanese and Korean law, the firms will seek to work closely together from the early stages of an engagement in order to provide prompt, coordinated, and effective cross-border legal services.
About DLG Law Corporation
DLG Law Corporation is a full-service law firm headquartered in Seoul, Republic of Korea, with practices spanning corporate and M&A, startups, venture capital and private equity, artificial intelligence, blockchain, finance and FinTech, intellectual property, personal information and data, international business, litigation and dispute resolution, real estate and construction, employment and labor, content and media, and other areas of business law.
The firm has developed particularly sophisticated capabilities in areas where technology and law increasingly intersect, with AI, blockchain, FinTech, data, and startups forming important components of its practice.
In the blockchain and digital-assets sector, DLG Law Corporation advises on a broad range of matters involving crypto-asset exchange services, wallets, custody, decentralized finance, NFT marketplaces, metaverse platforms, Web3 services, and blockchain games. Its work extends from the initial structuring of business models to regulatory analysis, legal feasibility reviews, anti-money-laundering compliance, and international expansion.
DLG Law Corporation also maintains an international network extending beyond Korea to locations and professional networks including Silicon Valley, Vancouver, Frankfurt, Beijing, Hanoi, Yangon, Phnom Penh, Bangkok, and Ulaanbaatar, enabling the firm to support cross-border business activities through collaboration with professionals in multiple jurisdictions.
In 2024, DLG Law Corporation became the first Korean law firm to obtain B Corp certification, reflecting its commitment not only to professional excellence and business performance, but also to the creation of broader social value.
The firm has continued to strengthen its international capabilities in recent years. In 2024, it launched the DLG Asia Practice Circle, an Asian legal network, and in 2025 it established its Silicon Valley office as well as DLG & AP, a joint law firm in Thailand, thereby further expanding the infrastructure through which it provides international legal services originating from Korea.
About Heechul An, Managing Partner of DLG Law Corporation
Heechul An serves as Managing Partner of DLG Law Corporation and also leads the firm’s Policy Center. His principal areas of practice include startups, corporate law, M&A, artificial intelligence, blockchain, intellectual property, venture capital, and private equity.
Mr. An graduated from the Department of Physics at Pohang University of Science and Technology and subsequently completed his legal education at Seoul National University School of Law. In addition to his qualification as an attorney, he also possesses professional expertise in taxation.
His practice encompasses cross-border structuring for startups expanding internationally, inbound and outbound M&A, and legal matters involving venture capital firms and accelerators. He has also been involved in educational activities at POSTECH and in organizations relating to the Korean startup and investment ecosystem.
In 2025, Mr. An and Won H. Cho, Managing Partner of DLG Law Corporation, were recognized by Legal Times as Leading Lawyers in the field of Corporate and M&A.
SAKURA Law Office considers Mr. An’s deep understanding of both corporate law and advanced technology, his substantial experience in startup and investment matters, and his strong capability in international matters to be of particular significance to the future development of cross-border legal practice between Japan and Korea.
Background and Strategic Significance of the Alliance
日Business activities between Japan and Korea have long been closely interconnected in industries including manufacturing, finance, entertainment, content, and information technology. In recent years, these commercial ties have expanded further into emerging sectors such as artificial intelligence, FinTech, Web3.0, digital assets, and startup investment.
In these areas, a single transaction or business initiative may simultaneously raise complex issues under Japanese and Korean law, as well as under data-protection, financial-regulatory, intellectual-property, foreign-exchange, anti-money-laundering, merger-control, employment, and other regulatory regimes.
This is particularly true in rapidly developing fields such as AI, Web3.0, blockchain, and digital assets, where business models often evolve alongside the legal and regulatory frameworks governing them. In such sectors, it is increasingly important not merely to examine the laws of each jurisdiction independently, but to assess the business as a whole from the planning stage, taking into account the relevant regulatory structures and practical considerations across multiple jurisdictions.
Against this backdrop, SAKURA Law Office and DLG Law Corporation have entered into this alliance with the aim of combining their respective professional expertise, practical experience, and networks in Japan and Korea and forming optimal teams for individual matters.
Through this collaboration, the firms intend to provide clients with more responsive, coordinated, and practical legal support in matters involving both countries.
The alliance is not intended to operate as a formal arrangement in which one firm simply introduces matters to the other. Rather, where appropriate, the firms will cooperate from the early stages of an engagement, share relevant information, assume responsibility for their respective legal jurisdictions, and work from a common understanding of the client’s commercial objectives and overall strategy.
Strategic Areas of Cooperation and Practical Framework
Under the alliance, SAKURA Law Office and DLG Law Corporation intend to pursue practical cooperation primarily in the following areas, drawing on their respective expertise and regional strengths.
- Japan-Korea Cross-Border Transactions and Market Entry
- M&A, Corporate Reorganizations, and Corporate Governance
- Startups, Venture Capital, Private Equity, and International Fundraising
- AI, Web3.0, Blockchain, and Digital Assets
- FinTech, Financial Transactions, and Regulatory Matters
- Intellectual Property, Data, and Privacy
- Litigation, International Arbitration, and Cross-Border Disputes
- Employment, Real Estate, and Other Legal Matters Arising from Corporate Operations
- Cooperation on Matters Involving Third Countries
- Knowledge Sharing, Professional Exchange, and Joint Initiatives
The firms will jointly support Japanese companies entering or expanding their businesses in Korea and Korean companies entering the Japanese market.
The scope of support will include establishment of local entities, consideration of business and investment structures, joint ventures, strategic alliances, distributorships and agencies, licensing, franchising, permits and approvals, contract negotiations, and other matters arising at each stage of cross-border business development.
The firms will provide coordinated legal support for M&A and other corporate transactions involving Japan, Korea, and, where relevant, third countries.
Such support may include share acquisitions, business transfers, joint ventures, capital and business alliances, legal due diligence, transaction structuring, contract negotiations, closing procedures, post-merger integration, and related corporate-governance matters.
The firms will support startups at various stages of development, including formation, growth, domestic and international fundraising, investment agreements, shareholders’ agreements, preferred shares, stock options, cross-border investments, overseas holding-company structures, and other capital-policy matters.
By combining their respective experience in startup and investment-related matters, the firms aim to provide legal support tailored to the growth stage and strategic objectives of each company.
The firms will jointly address legal issues arising in connection with artificial intelligence, generative AI, Web3.0, blockchain, crypto-assets, security tokens, stablecoins, wallets, custody, decentralized finance, NFTs, metaverse platforms, blockchain games, and other emerging digital businesses.
Their cooperation will extend to legal review of business models, domestic and international regulatory analysis, licensing and registration, anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing compliance, contractual arrangements, intellectual property, data-related matters, and other legal and regulatory issues.
By combining DLG Law Corporation’s practical experience in blockchain and Web3 services with SAKURA Law Office’s work in advanced technology and emerging-business matters, the firms aim to develop a legal support framework grounded in a practical understanding of both technology and regulation.
The firms will provide integrated legal support in connection with domestic and international financing, investments, financial transactions, FinTech services, and financial platforms.
This will include advice on business structures, financial regulation, contractual arrangements, compliance, cross-border financing, securities-related matters, acquisition finance, foreign investment, and international expansion.
The firms will cooperate on intellectual-property matters involving patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, licensing, joint research and development, and related matters.
They will also provide legal support regarding personal information, data utilization, AI and big data, cybersecurity, international data transfers, and other data-protection and privacy issues, taking into account the legal systems and practical requirements of the relevant jurisdictions.
The firms will cooperate on commercial disputes, corporate disputes, international arbitration, interim measures, enforcement proceedings, and other contentious matters involving Japan and Korea.
Depending on the nature of each matter, the firms will coordinate on strategy, local-law analysis, evidence, proceedings, and enforcement with a view to providing seamless support from the early stages of a dispute through final resolution.
The firms will also cooperate on a broad range of legal issues arising from cross-border business operations, including overseas assignments, employment and labor management, matters relating to officers and employees, real-estate acquisitions and leasing, development, construction, permits and approvals, and other matters requiring local legal and regulatory knowledge.
The alliance is not limited to Japan and Korea.
By leveraging the international networks of both DLG Law Corporation and SAKURA Law Office, the firms intend to build appropriate legal teams for matters involving third countries, including jurisdictions in Southeast Asia, North America, Europe, and China, in cooperation with trusted local professionals where necessary.
In addition to cooperation on client matters, the two firms will seek to deepen their relationship through exchanges of information on legal and regulatory developments, joint research, seminars, co-authored publications, professional exchanges, and other initiatives.
Through these activities, the firms aim to continuously enhance their expertise in Japanese and Korean legal practice and to further develop a durable professional relationship.
Future Outlook and the Mission of SAKURA Law Office
Through this alliance, SAKURA Law Office will further strengthen its ability to provide locally grounded and practical legal support in cross-border matters connecting Japan and Korea.
In addition to established areas of corporate legal practice such as M&A, international transactions, dispute resolution, and intellectual property, the firm will place particular emphasis on legal services relating to artificial intelligence, Web3.0, blockchain, digital assets, FinTech, startups, and venture capital and private equity, all of which are expected to become increasingly important in the years ahead.
By combining DLG Law Corporation’s sophisticated expertise and practical foundation in Korea with SAKURA Law Office’s legal capabilities in Japan and international network, the firms intend to establish a framework capable of supporting clients consistently throughout the entire lifecycle of their businesses, from initial planning and execution to growth, international expansion, and dispute resolution.
SAKURA Law Office does not regard this alliance as a merely formal affiliation.
Rather, the firm places importance on developing the relationship into a lasting and sustainable partnership by building mutual trust and a proven record of cooperation through each actual matter undertaken together.
SAKURA Law Office will continue to address emerging legal challenges that transcend national borders, jurisdictions, and conventional practice areas, combining advanced professional expertise with practical problem-solving capabilities in order to support the sustainable growth and international development of its clients.
By building substantive relationships of trust with outstanding law firms and professionals in jurisdictions around the world and connecting their deep understanding of local legal systems, commercial practices, and social environments, SAKURA Law Office will continue to develop an international legal-support platform through which clients can confidently pursue their businesses wherever opportunities may arise.
For Inquiries
SAKURA Law Office
Ark Hills South Tower 4F
1-4-5 Roppongi, Minato-ku
Tokyo 106-0032, Japan
Managing Partner: Kenshiro Michishita
Website：https://sakura-lawyers.jp
DLG Law Corporation
법무법인 디엘지
8th Floor, 311 Gangnam-daero,
Seocho-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Website：https://dlglaw.co.kr/
Email: [email protected]