'D&L' wins naming contest grand prize

Name under primary consideration for official adoption

Law firms Daeryuk Aju and Lin sign an MOU. [Daeryuk Aju provided]
Law firms Daeryuk Aju and Lin sign an MOU. [Daeryuk Aju provided]

"D&L" has been selected as the grand prize winner in a naming contest for the merged law firm that Daeryuk Aju and Lin are working to establish.

The contest, held from Sept. 7 to Sept. 10, drew about 1,500 participants who submitted more than 200 entries, including duplicates. Judging took longer than expected, pushing the announcement back by about a month from the originally scheduled date.

The merger committee of the two firms narrowed the field to 10 finalist entries, then held a vote open to all employees of both firms to determine the winner. "D&L" received the most votes and was named the grand prize winner.

Judges and staff praised D&L, saying it "stands out for its message of connection and unity — combining the 'D' from Daeryuk Aju's English initials and the 'L' from Lin, with the '&' symbolizing the powerful synergy the two firms create together." They added that the name "intuitively expresses the firm's aspirations as a global law firm while carrying forward its existing identity."

Eleven participants submitted "D&L." Under the contest's original rules, the earliest submission took precedence in the event of identical entries, so Son Jeong-hyeon was named the grand prize winner as the first to submit the name.

"I'm delighted to have won the grand prize," Son said. "I hope the merged firm grows into the top law firm in the country."

A special prize not originally included in the awards plan will be created for the other participants who submitted "D&L," each of whom will receive a gift voucher.

The excellence award went to Park Seon-yong, who submitted "ON," meaning "always awake for customers 24 hours a day," while the merit award went to Baek Hye-min, who submitted "IEUM," meaning "connecting trust with customers." The grand prize winner will receive 5 million won ($3,730), the excellence award winner 3 million won and the merit award winner 2 million won.

Daeryuk Aju and Lin said they are giving primary consideration to adopting "D&L" as the name of the merged firm.

The two firms said they would "celebrate the launch of the new integrated firm, take to heart the hopes and affection embedded in every name submitted by the public, and leap forward boldly as a new law firm."


notstrong@heraldcorp.com