Sungsoon Jang, a Korea-based attorney at Bae, Kim & Lee LLC ("BKL"), Kurt Rademacher, an attorney at Charles Russell Speechlys, and Andrew Kim, a U.S.-based attorney at BKL, will discuss the Korean and U.S. Federal tax aspects for families with connections to both Korea and the U.S. They will also cover pitfalls to avoid in planning for Korean and U.S.-connected families, and useful planning techniques for U.S. and Korean cross-border and connected families.
Korea's estate/gift tax is 50%, one of the highest rates among OECD nations. Exemptions are very low compared to the U.S.: the exemption for non-residents is less than $150,000, and the full 50% estate tax rate begins at around $2 million. These taxes can apply to property of non-resident U.S. citizens, such as real estate considered to be sitused in Korea.
Real estate prices in Korea have skyrocketed in the past decade. As a result, without proper planning, many middle-class Korean Americans will be liable for significant estate taxes. Most trust and estate strategies that are standard in the U.S. do not work in Korea. In addition, because the U.S. and Korea do not have an inheritance tax treaty, there are risks of double taxation. However, there are still options for families with larger estates to reduce liabilities.
Speaker Biographies
Sungsoon Jang is a trust and estates attorney and a Partner at BKL, one of Korea’s top cross-border law firms. Sungsoon represents high-net-worth families in generational wealth transfer, including management control planning under Korea’s complex corporate laws. His practice areas and focuses include inheritance, management succession for high-net-worth clients, and more. He earned his JD from Kyungpook National University Law School in Korea and his BS in Chemical Engineering from Yonsei University in Korea.
Kurt Rademacher is a Partner who heads the U.S. Private Client Practice at Charles Russell Speechlys. Kurt represents ultra-high-net-worth families and family-controlled businesses throughout the world with respect to U.S. federal income, gift, and estate tax issues. He maintains a strong emphasis on the tax issues faced by families and businesses based in the Asia-Pacific region and in the UK. Kurt is an ACTEC Fellow and a member of STEP who is listed in Chambers High Net Worth as a Leading Lawyer in Private Wealth in Singapore, recommended in Legal 500 Asia Pacific, and named to the Citywealth Leaders List.
Andrew Chongseh Kim is a Senior Foreign Attorney at BKL and is licensed to practice in Texas and Illinois. His expertise is in cross-border disputes, including in the areas of inheritance, divorce, and management disputes. He applies unique insights to matters in the areas of wealth management, energy, competition law, and more. His insights as a scholar and legal expert have been widely cited, including in The New Yorker, Businessweek, NBC News, 60 Minutes, and the South China Morning Post, as well as in hearings of the United States Congress and in briefs to the United States Supreme Court. He earned his JD from Harvard Law School and his BS with the three majors of Physics, Economics, and Anthropology from the University of Chicago.