Partner
Jeong Hwa KIM
Criminal Defense (Investigations)
Expertise
Criminal Defense (Investigations)
Criminal Defense (Litigation)
Occupational Safety · Serious Accidents
Corporate
Criminal Tax Defense
Antitrust Litigation
Construction Litigation
Capital Market Disputes
Data Privacy & Cybersecurity
Digital Assets Center
Trade Secret · Company Information Protection
Recently reviewed Professionals
Jeong Hwa Kim is a partner in the Criminal Defense Group at Lee & Ko. Before joining the firm in 2026, she served for ten years as a prosecutor, most recently leading labor and serious industrial accident cases at the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office.
Over the course of her prosecutorial career, Ms. Kim established a strong track record in labor and occupational safety matters. She handled significant unfair labor practice cases involving listed companies and investigated alleged violations of the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act by major platform operators and educational foundations. She also led prosecutions involving serious accidents at large-scale construction sites and industrial facilities. Reflecting her recognized expertise in this area, she served in 2025 as General Supervisor of the Prosecution Service’s Manual on Serious Industrial Accident Cases.
In addition, Ms. Kim played a leading role in research on artificial intelligence and advanced technologies within the prosecution service. She headed both the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office AI and Blockchain Community and the AI Criminal Law Research Group, and authored multiple papers in these fields. She also actively participated in international discussions on these emerging issues, demonstrating strong cross-border communication capabilities by serving as both moderator and simultaneous interpreter at international conferences on digital assets attended by prosecutors from various jurisdictions.
Based on this experience, Ms. Kim advises clients across a wide range of matters, including crimes involving artificial intelligence and virtual assets, labor and serious industrial accident cases, cross-border criminal disputes, and compliance issues.
Over the course of her prosecutorial career, Ms. Kim established a strong track record in labor and occupational safety matters. She handled significant unfair labor practice cases involving listed companies and investigated alleged violations of the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act by major platform operators and educational foundations. She also led prosecutions involving serious accidents at large-scale construction sites and industrial facilities. Reflecting her recognized expertise in this area, she served in 2025 as General Supervisor of the Prosecution Service’s Manual on Serious Industrial Accident Cases.
In addition, Ms. Kim played a leading role in research on artificial intelligence and advanced technologies within the prosecution service. She headed both the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office AI and Blockchain Community and the AI Criminal Law Research Group, and authored multiple papers in these fields. She also actively participated in international discussions on these emerging issues, demonstrating strong cross-border communication capabilities by serving as both moderator and simultaneous interpreter at international conferences on digital assets attended by prosecutors from various jurisdictions.
Based on this experience, Ms. Kim advises clients across a wide range of matters, including crimes involving artificial intelligence and virtual assets, labor and serious industrial accident cases, cross-border criminal disputes, and compliance issues.
Representative Matters
- [Labor · Occupational Safety · Serious Accidents]
- Numerous cases involving serious industrial accidents and occupational safety violations at major construction sites.
- Unfair labor practice cases involving CEOs and executives of listed companies.
- Numerous cases involving violations of the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act and the Labor Standards Act by online platform companies and educational foundations.
- [Corporate Criminal Defense & Economic Crimes]
- Numerous embezzlement and breach of trust cases involving CEOs of listed companies and public enterprises.
- Cases involving bribery and illegal kickbacks related to match-fixing in professional sports.
- Cases involving illegal loans and bribery committed by officers and employees of financial institutions.
- Numerous tax cases, including corporate tax evasion and organized tax crimes.
- [Digital Assets]
- Investigation of digital asset investment fraud and related crimes, selected as a Model Investigation Record by the Supreme Prosecutors' Office.
- Numerous criminal cases involving digital assets and the recovery of criminal proceeds.
- Authoring and publication of the Prosecution’s Manual on Digital Asset Crime Investigation and Enforcement.
- [General Criminal Defense]
- Numerous cases involving trademark infringement and misappropriation of trade secrets.
- Cases related to elections, assemblies, and demonstrations.
- Sexual violence cases.
Education
| 2023 | UC Irvine School of Law – LL.M. |
|---|---|
| 2015 | Hanyang University School of Law – J.D. |
| 2010 | College of Law, Hanyang University – LL.B. |
Work Experience
| 2026-Present | Lee & Ko |
|---|---|
| 2024-2026 | Prosecutor, Seoul Western District Prosecutors’ Office |
| 2023-2024 | 2023-2024 Volunteer Law Clerk, LA County District Attorney’s Office; Volunteer Attorney, Riverside County District Attorney’s Office |
| 2020-2024 | Prosecutor, Daegu District Prosecutors’ Office |
| 2018-2020 | Prosecutor, Daejeon District Prosecutors’ Office |
| 2016-2018 | Prosecutor, Incheon District Prosecutors’ Office |
Admissions & Qualifications
| 2015 | Admitted to the Korean Bar |
|---|---|
| 2024 | Admitted to the New York State Bar |
Languages
| Korean, English, and Mandarin Chinese |
Awards & Recognitions
| 2019 | Prosecutor General’s Commendation for Excellence in Criminal Investigation (2019) |
|---|---|
| 2019 | Outstanding Prosecutor of the Quarter Award (Criminal Department), Supreme Prosecutors' Office (2019) |
Publications / Presentations / ETC
- Legislative Study on Directions Concerning Regulation of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) Systems – Focusing on Duty to Disclosure and Transparency Regarding the Creations of Generative AI Systems Such as ChatGPT (Co-author, 2023, Contemporary Review of Criminal Law)
- The Study on Introduction of the CLOUD Act into S. Korean Legal System as a Means to Collect Cross-Border Evidence - Focusing on the Discussion regarding the Executive Agreements between the U.S. and Other Countries; the U.K., Australia, and the European Union (Co-author, 2023, Contemporary Review of Forensic Science)
- Transition of EU Criminal Procedure to the Collection of Cross-border E-evidence - Focusing on the Second Additional Protocol of the Cybercrime Convention and Discussions on E-evidence Regulation (Co-author, 2022, Contemporary Review of Forensic Science)
- Study on Sexual Crime and Criminal Regulation in Metaverse – Focusing on the Direction of Revision of the Act on Promotion of Information and Communication Network Utilization and Information Protection, etc (Co-author, 2022, Contemporary Review of Criminal Law)
- General Supervisor, Prosecution’s 'Serious Industrial Accident Starter Kit' (Manual Based on Analysis of Court Judgment and Rulings, 2025)
- Author, Prosecution’s Manual on Virtual Asset Crime Investigation and Enforcement (2022)
- Secretary, AI Criminal Law Research Group, Supreme Prosecutors' Office (2025)
- Team Leader, 'Prosecution Criminal Department Strengthening Task Force', Planning and Coordination Department, Supreme Prosecutors' Office (2024)
- Team Leader, AI and Blockchain Community, Supreme Prosecutors' Office (2021)
