South Korea’s ToolGen hires Dave Boncheun Koo as chief legal officer
He was previously serving as partner at Yulchon
South Korea’s ToolGen hires Dave Boncheun Koo as chief legal officer
He was previously serving as partner at Yulchon
South Korean biotech company ToolGen has hired US litigator Dave Boncheun Koo as chief legal officer and executive vice president to enforce its global patent rights.
While leading the company’s efforts to monetise its IP portfolio through royalty income, he will work alongside executive vice president Yoori Kim
Kim leads the Seoul-based company’s IP business and has helped expand the company’s CRISPR RNP patent portfolio. Recently, she secured a ruling from the US Patent Trial and Appeal Board to resume interference proceedings to determine who was first to invent the CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technology.
A company official stated: “While EVP Kim flawlessly consolidated the technical and legal assets essential for monetisation, EVP Koo will serve as the game changer by deploying these assets to finalize negotiations and deliver results. He is a proven master of litigation and negotiation, with a track record of leading complex disputes among global conglomerates to successful outcomes.”
Koo was previously serving as partner at Yulchon. For 17 years, he worked at Kim & Chang in Seoul. Prior to that, he worked in the US at firms including Baker McKenzie, Paul Hastings and the defunct firm Brobeck Phleger & Harrison.
The company stated that Koo will focus on two strategic priorities, patent monetization through litigation and pursuing the resumed US interference proceedings to “defend ToolGen’s technological leadership and foundational patent rights.”
Currently, the firm is engaged in a patent infringement actions against Vertex in the UK, the Netherlands and the US.
The company added that Koo would seek ‘just compensation’ from global companies for unauthorizedly using ToolGen’s patented technologies.
Koo expressed: “EVP Yoori Kim has done an exceptional job expanding and fortifying our core patent portfolio, completing our preparation for monetisation. Now is the time to deploy our full capabilities to win infringement actions worldwide while executing a flawless strategy in the resumed interference proceedings. We will demonstrate the value of ToolGen’s foundational patents through concrete financial results.”