Photo of Grace Kim

Grace Kim

Grace Kim is an associate in Covington’s London office and a member of the Antitrust/Competition Practice Group. She assists clients across a range of industries on transactions requiring foreign direct investment review and on competition/antitrust advisory matters. As a member of the firm’s cross-office FDI initiative, Grace advises on the UK’s National Security and Investment Act and on international foreign direct investment (FDI) filing strategy, working in close cooperation with the firm’s CFIUS colleagues.

Grace previously advised on Anti-bribery and Corruption compliance matters as part of the firm’s White Collar Crime practice. Prior to joining the firm as a trainee, Grace held in-house compliance roles at the European headquarters of a global consumer electronics company and the global headquarters of a UK-based retailer.

Contact:Read more about Grace KimEmail

On 16 February, John Penrose MP published his long-awaited report into the UK’s competition regime.  Penrose was tasked by the UK Government with reviewing how the UK’s competition regime can:

  1. Play a central role in meeting the challenges of the post COVID-19 economy and in driving recovery.  The Government’s Policy Paper stated that “the pandemic is the biggest threat the UK has faced in decades and overcoming it will require all the dynamism and creativity that exists across all sectors and in all regions and nations of the UK“;
  2. Contribute to the Government’s aim of levelling up across all nations and regions of the UK;
  3. Increase consumer trust, including by meeting the Conservative Party’s 2019 Manifesto commitment to tackle bad business practices, and ensure the competition regime is strong, swift, flexible and proportionate;
  4. Support UK disruptors taking risks on new ideas and challenging incumbents; and
  5. Make best use of data, technology and digital skills which are vital to the modern economy.

Continue Reading Proposals published for radical overhaul of UK competition regime following Brexit

As we now enter the third week of lockdown in the UK, this blog post rounds-up the steps that the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and certain other regulators have taken to address the unprecedented challenges facing the country.  This includes targeted relaxation of certain elements of the rules to facilitate essential forms of coordination, for example in relation to grocery supply, in addition to wider guidance on the CMA’s approach to enforcement in respect of COVID-19-related cooperation between competitors.

While certain, limited, forms of competition may be necessary to address critical supply challenges, getting such cooperation ‘right’ from a competition perspective can be complex. Firms should be aware that competition law continues to remain in force and that regulators have resolved to act against those who take advantage of the current crisis by breaching competition rules.
Continue Reading Competition law in the time of coronavirus: UK regulators’ response and approach to the COVID-19 pandemic