EY Law has expanded its Asia presence by striking an alliance deal with South Korean firm Apex Legal.

The 55-lawyer practice based in Gangnam, central Seoul, will become an EY member firm six months after the accountancy giant also secured a deal with Singapore's PK Wong & Associates, EY has confirmed.

The firm has also announced plans to establish a legal practice in Hong Kong by the end of the next financial year, and is due to start discussions with two firms in Malaysia as part of a plan to expand to 200 lawyers across the Asia-Pacific region in the next 12 months.

In Australia and New Zealand, where EY has some 12 partners, the firm is also looking to build headcount.

The accounting giant entered mainland China last January through a tie-up with 75-lawyer Shanghai outfit Chen & Co, though that remains a separate, licensed Chinese firm.

Adding to the alliance deal in Singapore, EY hopes to secure the Foreign Law Practice it applied for in October in the near future so that it can practice both Singaporean and international law.

Fellow accountant PwC signed a similar local tie-up in Singapore last June.

All of the big four accountants expanded into law firm territory in the UK last year.

EY made partner hires from the likes of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Addleshaw Goddard, and both PwC and KPMG gained alternative business structure licences from the Solicitors' Regulation Authority.